Riace, Calabria: Depopulation and a Model of Rebirth

12.02.2025 / Expert Comments Calabria, with its breathtaking landscapes and unique cultural heritage, is facing one of the most critical challenges of the 21st century: depopulation. The small inland villages, once the heart of vibrant communities are emptying at an alarming rate. Younger generations are emigrating to urban centers and...

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Globalization and its Impact on Romania and Italy’s Rural Areas: The Role of EU Structural Funds

12.02.2025 / Expert Comments The processes of globalization have caused significant transformations in the world economy, significantly affecting both urban and rural areas. The rural regions of Transylvania, part of Romania, have been no exception, experiencing phenomena such as industrial relocation, migration to cities or other countries, and the transformation...

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Sustainable Tourism Between Valorisation and Overcrowding: The Italian Case of Marche

21.01.2025 / Expert Comments Between rolling hills, historic villages, and breathtaking beaches, the Marche region stands as one of Italy’s true gems. A precious treasure whose growing popularity as a tourist destination raises a crucial question: how can the influx of visitors be managed without compromising the natural beauty and...

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Restrictions on Religious Freedom: A Comparison between Italy and Romania

12.02.2025 / Perspectives Although both Italy and Romania formally guarantee religious freedom, the practical challenges faced by religious minorities differ significantly. In Italy, limitations stem mainly from bureaucratic obstacles and the lack of official recognition for some religious communities, such as the Islamic community. […] In Romania, however, the main...

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SLAPPed is the New CENSORed: Legal Actions that Threaten Democracy

20.01.2025 / Perspectives Undoubtedly, journalists, human rights organizations, and activists are particularly threatened, especially in countries where governments exhibit authoritarian tendencies. However, SLAPPs also jeopardize everyone else’s rights: they suppress information that should be made public, limiting the right to access information and participate in democratic debates on related facts...

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Hungarian Community Foundations and the SDGs: Local sustainability in an illiberal context

26.06.2023 / Case studies Authors: Stefan Cibian Ph.D. and Georgi Georgiev Ph.D Candidate Download publication Image designed by Freepik “The quality of democracy decreased in Hungary. We have seen the biggest attacks on NGOs by the Government between 2016 and 2019-2020.”1 The civil society movement in Hungary faces unprecedented systematic...

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