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Opposition among native workers to immigrants is well understood as a response to the economic and cultural instability caused by globalization. Increased capital mobility weakens the place-based leverage of strike action and collective bargaining, rendering unions susceptible to the protectionist concerns of native members. Yet, immigrant workers still join labor unions and turn to these organizations to improve working conditions and amplify their political voice. Little is known about the conditions underpinning pro-immigrant action by labor unions. This dissertation argues that when immigrant activists mobilize themselves, then partner with native trade unionists, they can pressure union leaders to support their concerns. By analyzing data from more than 120 in-depth interviews with trade unionists, employers, NGO-officials and politicians, conducted during 16 months of fieldwork in Denmark, Germany and the UK, I present evidence for the counterintuitive finding that weak, fragmented unions such as those in the UK more readily engage in pro-immigrant action than strong, encompassing unions such as those in Denmark and Germany. Combining cross-national and cross-sectoral observational and archival data with interviews, I explore three issue areas critical to the demands of immigrant union members: extreme right wing parties and movements, workplace discrimination, and job marginalization. Analysis of immigrant claims-making reveals that those immigrant activists who link their mobilization to the identity template prevalent in their host country, are better able to partner with native trade unionists and secure support from union leaders.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Europe and the US quickly joined in a strong and coordinated response. But how significant is the Ukraine crisis response for longer-term trends in transatlantic relations? This thematic issue addresses this question by focusing on the factors that affect the strength of the transatlantic relationship. Only by exploring the impact of various structural, strategic, economic, institutional, and domestic factors can we better understand the current and future state of EU–US relations—both in normal times and in times of crisis. Two questions are explored across cases: First, is the EU–US relationship changing in various fields? Second, how can the putative changes (or stability) in EU–US relations be explained? For this purpose, the articles also operationalize and apply a common explanatory framework. This Introduction sets out and justifies the overall research questions, develops the analytical framework, and briefly explains the empirical focus of the articles that follow.

This article summarizes the thematic issue findings, focusing on the factors that contribute to stabilize or weaken EU–US relations. Seen together, the articles have systematically documented that there is a growing pressure on transatlantic relations both in multilateral institutional settings as well as in foreign and security policy. On the one hand, transatlantic relations within NATO are strengthening in the context of Russia's new war in Ukraine, pushing Europe closer to the US and papering over disputes among European nations about the course of intra-European security cooperation. Shared norms and institutions as well as non-state actors with an interest in keeping the relationship strong for economic, strategic, or more normative reasons also serve to stabilize the relationship. On the other hand, longer-term geopolitical and economical structural changes together with domestic factors, particularly in the US, and in some cases diverging interests, suggest a parallel longer-term weakening of the relationship.

The global commons – the High Seas, Antarctica, the Atmosphere, and Outer Space – are resource domains outside the authority of states. Historically, the global commons have been practically inaccessible and thus rarely subject to sovereignty claims and international regulations. With technological advances and environmental developments, the global commons have become a key site for international relations (hereinafter IR). In spite of often competing claims from state and non-state actors to these areas, the global commons have remained mainly cooperative. This is not what one would expect from most IR perspectives in a close to anarchical environment and a volatile geopolitical international environment. This Special Issue sets out to address this puzzle by asking: To what extent and why is there little conflict in the global commons? For this purpose, this introduction develops a common framework that distinguishes between three models and corresponding hypotheses of the factors affecting the level of cooperation and conflict in these domains. While two are based on realist and liberal IR perspectives, we draw on constructivism, political theory, and law to develop a third model, called the Human Heritage model. To conclude, this introduction also sums up the findings and discusses their implications for the global commons and IR studies.