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The European Union’s (EU’s) Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) has gained increasing attention as the EU faces new threats and challenges from its surroundings. As part of its CSDP, the EU currently runs six military operations and 11 civilian missions. This paper aims to analyze the EU’s social media use of four CSDP missions and operations running in two regions: in the Mediterranean and in the Western Balkans.

The paper has a mixed-methods research design. A computer-assisted content analysis was conducted to extract data on the Twitter communication of the chosen missions, followed by a quantitative analysis on which elements of the EU’s strategic communication can be identified. The timeframe for investigation was set up between 1 January 2019 and 31 August 2020.

Patterns of communication cannot be recognized either based on regional or on the civilian-military division. The strong connectivity with the accounts of other European actors and/or institutions is striking. This study finds that the concept of local ownership can be observed only at European level, local populations of the host countries are usually not targeted. Even though several elements of the EU’s strategic communication are recurrent on the missions’ official Twitter account, Twitter communication seems to be an intra-European communication tool.

The research revealed the main features of the Twitter communication of four CSDP missions. Due to the software-assisted methodology, measuring influence score was made possible, a feature that was still missing from academic literature regarding this specific area, the EU’s CSDP.

This paper aims to investigate the mechanisms behind the development of e-democracy. The contrasting cases of Italy and Hungary are selected as the case studies. With the development of new information and communication technology, more and more elements of domestic politics have been transferred to the internet-based platforms. As a response to the deep financial, economic and political crisis that Europe endured over the period 2010-2015 and as a result of the disappointment with traditional parties, new political movements and parties were created. In this paper, the Italian Five Star Movement (M5S) and the Hungarian Lehet Más a Politika (“Politics Can Be Different”) and Momentum are examined to trace the specific mechanisms that led to their establishment.

The research is based on mixed method approach, using primary and secondary data to identify and examine mechanisms conducive to the emergence of e-democracy. It uses quantitative analysis along with discourse analysis and social media analysis. The research is based on the analysis of respective parties’ social media communication. The social media analysis has been carried out by the SentiOne social listening software within the time frame of February 2018 and the end of 2019. Along different types of democracy measurements, Italy and Hungary have been analysed between 2017 and 2019.

The paper identifies the key preconditions for the emergence of e-democracy. These are freedom, gender gap, inequality and corruption. It also then elaborates on mechanisms, such as social media activity and citizen engagement, which lead to the emergence of e-democracy. The thesis of this article is that in Hungary (compared to Italy), elements of high-quality standards for a democracy are still missing to establish a successful political party which uses the sustainable concept for e-democracy. In Hungary, the examined parties use social media only as media representation without exploiting the possibilities lying in social media platforms. They mostly rely on these networking sites during elections and no strong sentiments can be identified in their communication. Italy is a more developed democracy where online platforms are used to engage citizens regularly. M5S actively communicates through these platforms, which is reflected in the amount of comments and strong social media activity even out of election period.

The originality of the paper is the social media analysis to test the use of social media in the parties’ political communication. The paper defines key factors and mechanisms concerning the establishment of e-democracy through inductive analysis of two contrasting cases. Italy and Hungary are two member states of the European Union (EU) with different development, their current preparation and situation regarding e-democracy give insights on how the quality of democracy determines their attitude towards cyber parties. While Italy being a founding member of the EU has become an established democracy, Hungary, after the transition, has developed into a new democracy.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the legal and political background of COVID-19 related measures introduced during the first wave of the pandemic in the Visegrad Group. These countries introduced measures within the state of emergency that may be violation against the values of the European Union, such as the rule of law.

A mixed approach methodology is used. Firstly, the examined countries are analysed and compared from the aspect of constructional law and political science in the form of case studies. Then, empirical research is conducted based on social media analysis limited to Twitter contents.

The authors found that, however, in every analysed country, the measures challenge the European values these are not expressed in the social media equally. While Slovakia is displayed from a cooperative aspect, the Czech Republic has a few critics. Poland and Hungary have a biased, negative reputation filled with heavy critics.

The limitation of this paper lies in the empirical research, as social media analysis was conducted based on keyword search and within a defined time scope.

Findings help decision-makers concentrate on and modify their communication concerning the extraordinary regulations during a worldwide crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The feedback of social media users analysed is valuable for politicians and government officials as well.

The socio-political impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have not been elaborated in the literature yet with respect to the V4 countries. The V4-countries are a special entity as an intergovernmental platform within the EU, whose reputation as democracies is rather heterogeneous.

“Teaching the European Union” is a term as elusive as the notions of “EU Studies” or “European Studies,” both discussed and debated by generations of scholars and practitioners. The case of the EU, and of the art of teaching EU-related content, is one of the most striking examples, where the emphasis on values and principles cannot be passed by indifferently. What is being taught and how it is being taught have a direct impact on the trajectory of the European integration process today and in the years to come. The objective of this introductory chapter is to offer a brief insight into the book’s context and the book’s relevance. Against this backdrop this volume’s content is outlined. A few points for the readers to consider follow.

The purpose of this paper is to contextualise and examine critically the collection of the papers dealing with the broad and multi-faceted question of risk, threats and challenges governments are exposed to in the 21st century. To this end, the concept of ‘distributed risks and threats’ is introduced to account of challenges spread across the context, in which governments are embedded.

This paper offers a critical insight into the content of the issue.

The key argument that this paper advances is that while the nature of risks, threats and challenges that governments are exposed to today is qualitatively new and their scope unprecedented, a lot of governments’ capacity remains idle, i.e. ready to be deployed to address these risks, threats and challenges.

As a review paper, the points conveyed in this paper sketch and highlight, rather than explore in-depth, the possible and new research avenues that the collection of papers prompts.

This paper highlights that the – developed over the centuries – capacity of the government to act and address risks and threats is incommensurate with the agility of challenges borne in the 21st century.

This paper introduces the concept of ‘distributed risks and threats’ to account of the qualitatively new and hybrid challenges spread across the context, in which governments are embedded. This conceptualization of risks and threats, or challenges, offers a handy way to contextualize the variety of ways in which the government is challenged today.