New Publication: Protests against Overtourism across Europe and EU Policy Response

New Publication! Protests against Overtourism across Europe and EU Policy Response - Co-authored with Karl Agius

This chapter analyses protests against overtourism across Europe in 2024 using Protest Event Analysis of media reports. It identifies key protest locations, actors and grievances—especially housing pressures and declining quality of life—and examines how EU institutions respond, highlighting policy efforts aimed at managing tourism flows and promoting more sustainable, “balanced” tourism.

You can access the paper here.

Citation:

Agius, Karl & Briguglio, Michael (2026): Protests against Overtourism across Europe and EU Policy Response, in Briguglio L., Avellino M., and Butcher, J. (Eds) Overtourism in Cities and Small Islands (Routledge), pp. 120-134 https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003609940-11

Open Access Publication about Protests in the Second Year of Covid-19 - the case of Malta

My latest peer-reviewed publication Protests in the Second Year of covid-19 – the Case of Malta has been published in the academic journal 'Protest' (Brill).

The paper is available here. 

This study analyses protests in Malta during 2021 (N = 94) and compares them to those in 2020 (N = 74). Malta’s protest dynamics are analysed within the theoretical frameworks of political opportunity structures and small-state studies, while also drawing on scholarship on protest and social movements during the covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, the environment was the most prominent issue, followed by Daphne Caruana Galizia and covid-scepticism, respectively. During 2021 there was a spike in protests (mostly sceptical) dealing directly with the Pandemic and its policy ramifications. The most prominent organizers of protest events were Repubblika and their affiliates, especially in relation to Daphne Caruana Galizia, and Moviment Graffitti, primarily on the environment. The demonstration was the most popular type of protest repertoire, but other repertoires were also used. Valletta was the most popular venue for protest events.

Citation: Briguglio, M. (2025). Protests in the Second Year of covid-19 – the Case of Malta. Protest, 5(1), 27-55. https://doi.org/10.1163/2667372X-bja10076

Image: The Malta Independent

Publications/Scholarly Writings - Michael Briguglio

Agius, Karl & Briguglio, Michael (2026): Protests against Overtourism across Europe and EU Policy Response, in Briguglio L., Avellino M., and Butcher, J. (Eds) Overtourism in Cities and Small Islands, pp. 120-134 (Routledge) https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003609940-11

Messina, B.C., Briguglio, M., Freire, D., Gard, R., Ocakli, B.O., Schermer, J.A. and Qiu, S. (2025), Social Well-Being in an Unsettled World: 75 Years of the International Social Science Journal. Int Soc Sci.. https://doi-org.ejournals.um.edu.mt/10.1111/issj.70031

Agius K, Briguglio M and Bermúdez Pérez JL. Tourism, Real Estate, and Urban Pressures: The case of Marsascala, Malta  Open Research Europe 2025, 4:183

Penca, J., Ertör, I., Ballesteros, M., Briguglio, M., Kowalewski, M., Pauksztat, B.,Cepić, D., Piñeiro-Corbeira, C., Vaidianu, N.,  Villasante,S. & Pascual-Fernández, JJ. (2025) Rethinking the Blue Economy: Integrating social science for sustainability and justice. npj Ocean Sustainability 4, 40. 

Briguglio, Michael (2025). Protests in the Second Year of covid-19- The Case of Malta. Protest 5(1), 27-55.

Briguglio, Michael (2024): Ekonomija, Soċjeta u Impatti Rispettivi. In L-Istat Tan-Nazzjon 2024, edited by Vince Marmara' and Lou Bondi. Malta: Klabb Kotba Maltin

Briguglio Marie & Briguglio, Michael (2024). Lino Briguglio – No Man Is An Island. Malta: Kite

Michael Briguglio (2024). Twenty years of Malta’s EU membership : the impact on Maltese environmental NGOs. 20 Years of EU Membership Paper Series, 3-16.

Michael Briguglio (2024) Turkish Politics and ‘the People’ – Mass Mobilisation and Populism, written by Spyros A. Sofos. Protest, 4(1), 103-106

Michael Briguglio interviewed by Timothy Alden (2023): Beyond Labels: Rethinking Identity Politics, Equity, and Democracy – . Think Magazine – July 2023

Briguglio, M., Cayli Messina, B., Gard, R., Gatto, A., Schermer, J.A., Shahzad, U., Webster, L. and Zhao, J. (2023), A new team and vision of the international social science journal. International Social Science Journal, 73: 255-259.

Lino Briguglio, Michael Briguglio, Sheila Bunwaree, Claire Slatter (Eds.) (2023): Handbook of Civil Society and Social Movements in Small States (Routledge – Taylor & Francis)

Lino Briguglio, Michael Briguglio, Sheila Bunwaree, Claire Slatter (Eds.) (2023): Introduction: Civil society and social movements in small states – in Lino Briguglio, Michael Briguglio, Sheila Bunwaree, Claire

Slatter (Eds.) (2023): Handbook of Civil Society and Social Movements in Small States (Routledge – Taylor & Francis)

Michael Briguglio (2023): Environmental protest in Malta during the COVID-19 pandemic, in Lino Briguglio, Michael Briguglio, Sheila Bunwaree, Claire Slatter (Eds.) (2023): Handbook of Civil Society

Briguglio, Michael (2022). Protests in a Small Island State during the Year of covid-19: The Case of Malta, Protest, 1(2), 299-328.

Briguglio, Michael & Brown, Maria (2022): Repoliticising Movements: The Case of Pro-LGBTIQ Rights in Malta in Herausgegeben von Meike Schmidt-Gleim, Ruzha Smilova & Claudia Wiesner (Eds): Democratic Crisis Revisited The Dialectics of Politicisation and Depoliticisation. Nomos

Brown, Maria & Briguglio Michael (eds.) 2022. Social Welfare Issues in Southern Europe. (Routledge)

Briguglio, Michael & Brown, Maria (2022): Introducing Social Welfare Issues in Southern Europe, in Brown, Maria & Briguglio Michael (eds.) 2022. Social Welfare Issues in Southern Europe. (Routledge)

Briguglio, Michael & Brown, Maria (2022): Saving Migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, in Brown, Maria & Briguglio Michael (eds.) 2022. Social Welfare Issues in Southern Europe. (Routledge)

Mayo, Peter, Brown, Maria & Briguglio, Michael (2022): An analysis of pertinent issues in education in Southern Europe in Brown, Maria & Briguglio Michael (eds.) 2022. Social Welfare Issues in Southern Europe. (Routledge)

Agius, Karl & Briguglio, Michael (2021) Mitigating seasonality patterns in an archipelago: the role of ecotourism. Maritime Studies.

Briguglio, Michael (2020): The Daphne Protests at the end of 2019 – A Chronology. In: Social Conflict Year Book. Observatory of Social Conflict: Barcelona

 Briguglio Michael (2019).Checking Malta’s Powerful Prime Minster through Constitutional Reforms In: ConstitutionNet

Briguglio, Michael (2019): WASP (Write a Scientific Paper): Discourse Analysis. In: Early Human Development. 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2019.03.014

Briguglio Michael and Caruana Christabelle (2018): Why do men join the men’s rights movement in Malta? Interface: a journal for and about social movements. Volume 10 (1-2): 279 – 296

Briguglio Michael and Brown Maria (2018): Civil society perspectives on green jobs in sustainable energy: The case of European Malta: Energy & Environment

Briguglio Michael (2018): Digital Activism, Physical Activism – Malta’s Front Harsien ODZ. In: Contention - The Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Protest. Vol 6, 1: pp. 49-67.

Briguglio, Michael (2017): Panama Papers and Malta. In M. Hodun (Ed.): European Atlas of Democratic Deficit. (Poland: European Liberal Forum), pp.64-67.

Briguglio Michael (2017). Eddie r-Rikonciljatur. In Grech, S. (Ed.) L-Avukat Eddie Fenech Adami – Bejn Storja u Miti, pp.105-8. Malta: Horizons.

Briguglio Michael (2017). Reforming Malta’s constitution to enhance the independence of ‘fourth’ branch institutions. In: ConstitutionNet

Briguglio, Michael (2017): ENGO Impacts on Climate Change Policy in European Malta. Sociology and Anthropology 5(4): 269-278

Briguglio, Michael (2016): Environment, in Briguglio M. & Brown, M. (Editors) 2016: Sociology of the Maltese Islands, Malta: Miller, pp. 309-322

Briguglio, Michael (2016): Political Parties and Social Movements, in Briguglio M. & Brown, M. (Editors) 2016: Sociology of the Maltese Islands, Malta: Miller, pp. 323-337 

Briguglio, M; Bugeja, I. and Vella, M.G. (2016): Social Policy, Poverty and Social Exclusion, in Briguglio, Michael (2016): Environment, in Briguglio M. & Brown, M. (Editors) 2016: Sociology of the Maltese Islands, Malta: Miller, pp. 373-390

Briguglio, M. (2016): Institutionalization: A one-way process? The case of Birdlife Malta. Bretterblog series: Movements and Institutions.

Briguglio, M. & Tedesco, C. (2016): Social Interaction of Cancer Survivors in Malta. A sociological analysis. Malta Medical Journal Vol 28(3), pp. 21-27

Briguglio M. & Brown, M. (Editors) 2016: Sociology of the Maltese Islands, Malta: Miller

Briguglio, M. (2016). The Zonqor Conflict in Malta, in M. Trinidad Bretones, C. Andrés Charry, J. Pastor, J. Quesada (Eds). ‘2015: Social Conflict Yearbook, pp. 210-219. Observatori del Conflicto Social: Universitat de Barcelona.

Briguglio, Michael (2015). ‘Ten Years of Malta’s EU Membership – The Impact on Maltese Environmental NGOs.’ Reflections of a Decade of EU Membership: Expectations, Achievements, Disappointments and the Future Occasional Papers, No. 7, Institute for European Studies (Malta).

Briguglio, Michael (2015). ‘Malta’s EU accession, environmental sustainability and ENGO activism’. In, Condie, J., & Cooper, A. M. (2015). Dialogues of Sustainable Urbanisation: Social Science Research and Transitions to Urban Contexts. Penrith, N.S.W.: University of Western Sydney.

Briguglio, Michael (2015), The Bird Hunting Referendum in Malta. Environmental Politics, Vol 24/5 (835- 839)

Briguglio, Michael (2014), Bird Hunting in European Malta: A Case of ENGO Empowerment?, in Liam Leonard, Sya Buryn Kedzior (ed.) Occupy the Earth: Global Environmental Movements (Advances in Sustainability and Environmental Justice, Volume 15) Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.295 – 324

Kennet, Miriam; Amaral, Sofia; Tezza, Enrico; Briguglio, Michael; Gale de Oliveira, Michelle S.; (2014): The European Economy: Crisis an Recovery (Reading: The Green Economics Institute Publishing House).

Gale de Oliveira, Michelle S.; Kennet, Miriam; Amaral, Sofia; Tezza, Enrico; Briguglio, Michael; Salman, Doaa (2014): The Greening of the Mediterranean – Crisis and Recovery (Reading: The Green Economics Institute Publishing House).

Briguglio, Michael; Brown, Maria; Bugeja, Ian (2014): ENGO Activism in the EU: The G10, Climate Change and Social Policy. In: Tony Fitzpatrick (ed) International Handbook On Social Policy And The Environment, pp.176-204. UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Briguglio, Michael (2013): The Politics of Bluefin Tuna in Malta. Roczniki Socjologii Morskiej. Annuals of Marine Sociology (2013), VOL. XXII. p51-61.

Briguglio, Michael and Pace, Roderick (2013): ‘Malta’ [The Labour Party], in The Palgrave Handbook of Social Democracy in the European Union (Eds: Jean-Michel de Waele, Fabien Escalona and Mathieu Vieira). Palgrave Macmillan.

Briguglio, Michael (2013): EU Accession and Civil Society Empowerment – The Case of Maltese ENGOs. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis: University of Malta.

Briguglio, Michael (2013): Climate Change and ENGOs in Malta and the EU, in Kennet, M, Blackett-Ord, R., Lewis, P., Gale de Oliveira, M.S. Proceedings of the 8th Annual Green Economics Institute, Green Economics Conference at Oxford University: Fixing Global Finance. Green Economics: The Economics of Survivability, Sustainability and Resilience, pp.98-101. Series Editor

Briguglio, Michael (2012): ‘Nature, Society and Social Change’, Societies Without Borders 7:4 (2012) 470- 477.

Briguglio, Michael (2012). ‘ENGOs, EU accession and empowerment: the case of land rationalisation in Malta’, International Journal of Green Economics, 6: 3, 279-297

Briguglio, Michael (2012), ‘The Enabling of Civil Society’, in Carmel Borg and Raphael Vella (eds), Shooting Society – Documenting Contemporary Life in Malta, pp.244-248 (Malta: Midsea Books).

Briguglio, Michael (2012). Land rationalization in Malta in an EU context, in Kennet, M, Göke, J. , Jociute, K. and Heinemann V. Proceedings of the 7th Annual Green Economics Institute, Green Economics Conference: Green Economy: Reform and Renaissance of economics and its methodology – Solutions for the 21st Century Green Economy: Rethinking Growth: RIO +20, pp.42-43. Series Editor Heinemann V. A Green Economics Institute Publication.

Briguglio Michael, Brown, Maria, and Aquilina Diana (2011). ‘A Civil Society Perspective of Sustainable Energy Policy and Green Jobs in Malta as a Small EU State’, in Saviour Rizzo (ed), Green Jobs from a Small Scale Perspective – Case Studies from Malta, pp.10-19 (Belgium: Green European Foundation).

Briguglio, Michael, and Bugeja, Ian (2011). ‘Exploring Malta’s Welfare Model’, Bank of Valletta Review, 43, 12-27.

Briguglio, Michael (2010). ‘Are ENGOs empowered through EU accession? The case of Maltese ENGOs’, International Journal of Green Economics, 4: 3, 262-274

Briguglio, Michael and Aquilina, Diana (2010). ‘The Social Impact of Liberalisation of Plastic Bottles in Malta’, International Journal of Green Economics, 4: 3, 275-291

Brown, Maria and Briguglio, Michael (2010). ‘Milani aktar minn erbghin sena wara: Edukazzjoni, zghazagh qeghda u nuqqas ta’ xoghol f’Malta’ (‘Milani, more than forty years later: Education, unemployed youth and lack of employment in Malta’), in Carmel Borg, (ed.), Lorenzo Milani – Bejn Ilbierah u Llum (Lorenzo Milani – Between Past and Present), pp. 447-470, Malta: Horizons Publications.

Briguglio, Michael (2010). ‘Malta’s Labour Party and the Politics of Hegemony’, Socialism and Democracy, 24: 2, 213 — 226

Briguglio, Michael (2010). ‘EU Accession and Civil Society Lobbying: The case of Maltese ENGOs’, in, Jociute, K. and Kennet, M. (2010), Proceedings of the Green Economics Institute Annual Green Economics Conference: Green Economics and Green Jobs. 29-31 July 2010 at Mansfield College, Oxford University, UK. Series Editor Heinemann V.A., pp.40-43. A Green Economics Institute Publication.

Briguglio, Michael (2009). ‘Politics, the State and Civil Society – A Theoretical Framework’, in Josann Cutajar and George Cassar, (eds), Social Transitions in Maltese Society, Malta: Agenda.

Briguglio, Michael and Brown, Maria, (2009). Global and European Institutional Perspectives of the Green Economy, and Civil Society NGOs perspective, in Kennet, Miriam and Baster, Naomi (2009), Proceedings: Preparing for Copenhagen COP15, Climate change and economics, the battleground of the growth/development paradox. Green Economics Conference 28 November 2009 at Oxford University Club, pp.52-66. A Green Economics Institute Publication.

Brown, Maria and Briguglio, Michael (2009). ‘Discouragement Amongst Ageing Workers in Malta within an EU Context’, Societies Without Borders, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp.45-60.

Briguglio, Michael (2009): ‘Iż-Żerriegħa ta’ Soċjetà Aħjar’, in Adrian Grima, (ed.), Kieku l-ikel jitkellem, pp.131-133, Malta: Inizjamed.

Briguglio, Michael and Brown, Maria (2008). ‘Lobbying in Malta: Environmental NGOs and Social Capital’. Paper presented at the TSCF 2008 Malta Conference, Malta, September 19-22 2008.

Brown, Maria and Briguglio, Michael (2007): ‘The Unemployed Labour Force aged 40 years and over in Malta’. Paper presented at the Social Policy Association Postgraduate Workshop at the University of Oxford, December 12, 2007.

Briguglio, Michael (2003): ‘Global Dominance / Global Resistance’, in Carmel Vassallo and Clare Thake Vassallo, (eds), The Communist Manifesto – Karl Marx’s Legacy to Humanity, pp. 23-39, Malta: Malta University Press

Briguglio, Michael (2001): Ideological and Strategic Shifts from Old Labour to New Labour in Malta. Unpublished dissertation: University of Malta

Briguglio, Michael (1998): State/Power: Hiltonopoly. Unpublished dissertation: University of Malta.

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Scholarly Publications list:  https://www.um.edu.mt/profile/michaelbriguglio

Michael Briguglio also writes regularly in the Maltese press

2 new open access publications on Social Welfare in Southern Europe

With reference to 'Social Welfare Issues in Southern Europe', (Routledge, 2022) co-edited by Maria Brown and Michael Briguglio, the following 2 chapters are now available in Open Access Format:

- Introducing Social Welfare Issues in Southern Europe, by Michael Briguglio and Maria Brown

- An Analysis of Pertinent Issues in Education in Southern Europe, by Peter Mayo, Maria Brown, Michael Briguglio

Both chapters may be downloaded from here. 

New Publication: Twenty years of Malta’s EU membership : the impact on Maltese environmental NGOs

 Briguglio, Michael (2024). Twenty years of Malta’s EU membership : the impact on Maltese environmental NGOs. 20 Years of EU Membership Paper Series, 3-16. 

In this study, I analyse the impact of EU accession on Maltese Environmental Non-Governmental Organisations (ENGOs), twenty years after Malta, the smallest EU-member state, joined the Union in 2004. In the run-up to EU accession, the environment was often seen as an area which would benefit from Malta’s EU membership, especially since Malta had a lack of environmental legislation and enforcement. Not surprisingly, Environmental NGOs (ENGOs) supported Malta’s EU accession. ENGOs are major protagonists in environmental politics in Malta. Their activism covers different areas, though some issues - most notably land development, and hunting of birds - are more visible and contentious in the public sphere. Environmental protest is also one of the most common types of protest in Malta.

I investigate the impacts of Malta’s European Union (EU) accession on Environmental NGOs (ENGOs) through a sociological perspective, following two decades of Malta’s accession. For this purpose, the activism of ENGOs in relation to Malta’s EU accession was analysed, through political process theory and a social constructionist approach which engaged with the interpretations of the same ENGOs on the issue under analysis. For this purpose, primary data was collected through elite interviews with representatives from Malta’s major ENGOs. The main research question of this study is “how do ENGOs interpret the impacts of the EU, 20 years after Malta’s accession?” 

The study is a follow-up of a similar study I had published following ten years of Malta’s EU membership. It forms part of the '20 Years of EU membership' paper series published by the Institute for European Studies, University of Malta. 

Download: https://www.um.edu.mt/media/um/docs/events/20yearseumembers/MichaelBriguglio.pdf

New Publication: The Daphne Protests at the end of 2019. A Chronology - Michael Briguglio

My latest peer-reviewed article, 'The Daphne Protests at the end of 2019 - A Chronology' has just been published in the Social Conflict Yearbook 2019, by the Observatory of Social Conflict, University of Barcelona.

The article (in English) may be accessed and downloaded from this link:

Las protestas por el asesinato de Daphne Caruana. Una cronología | Briguglio | Anuario del Conflicto Social (ub.edu)

Abstract: This article deals with the escalation of protests in Malta concerning the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia at the end of 2019. The well attended protests continued the trend of civil society activism since the murder of the journalist in 2017. They were characterised by the creation of a broad coalition of social movement organisations, and the eventual resignation of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. 

Keywords: Malta, Daphne Caruana Galizia, Civil Society, Joseph Muscat, Social Movements, Protest

Reference: Briguglio, Michael (2020): The Daphne Protests at the end of 2019 - A Chronology. In: Social Conflict Year Book. Observatory of Social Conflict: Barcelona DOI: 10.1344/ACS2020.10.11

My full list of academic publications can be accessed here:

Michael Briguglio's Blog: My sociological publications (mikes-beat.blogspot.com)

My sociological publications

A list of my sociological peer-reviewed publications may be accessed from this link.

Open Access publications are available from the following links (click on them for access):

Academia
ResearchGate
Open Access Repository - University of Malta

Google Scholar

For any information regarding my publications, kindly contact me via this link.

Checking Malta’s Powerful Prime Minster through Constitutional Reforms - Michael Briguglio

My article 'Checking Malta’s Powerful Prime Minster through Constitutional Reforms'.  has been published in ConstitutionNet. 

You can read the article here. 

This is a follow up of my previous article on the matter published in 2017.  

ConstitutionNet is project created to support legislators, constitutional lawyers and other constitutional practitioners in finding useful and relevant information, sharing knowledge and building a community of best practice. ConstitutionNet is an International IDEA (an IGO headquartered in Sweden) project developed and maintained with generous support from the Government of Norway.
The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is an intergovernmental organization that supports sustainable democracy worldwide. Its mission is to support sustainable democratic change by providing comparative knowledge, and assisting in democratic reform, and influencing policies and politics.

New Publication on Discourse Analysis

My latest paper, WASP (Write a Scientific Paper): Discourse Analysis has been published in Early Human Development, a peer-reviewed journal published by Elsevier (Science Direct).

The paper argues that discourse analysis enables the identification of what social actors say and do but also of what they represent in terms of values and motivation Such an analysis can also unearth ideological representations which legitimize the reproduction of social structures, irrespective of whether such representations reflect some objective reality or not. In their turn, such structures are contingent and incomplete, and are subject to changes. Discourse analysis examines their political and historical construction and functioning. What this approach does is help us understand how certain facts and non-facts make it to the political agenda whilst others do not, and how they are interpreted within the public sphere.

DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2019.03.014

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378378219301835?via%3Dihub

Publication of paper on civil society perspectives on green jobs in sustainable energy: The case of European Malta

My co-authored research article with Maria Brown 'Civil society perspectives on green jobs in sustainable energy: The case of European Malta ' has been published in peer-reviewed journal Energy & Environment (SAGE). 

The objective of this paper is to analyse the perspectives of civil society actors in Malta about the country’s sustainable energy policy and its impact on green jobs. Perspectives of 11 civil society actors comprising employers, trade unions and non-governmental organisations are analysed to provide a broad reflexive analysis of the policy process in question. Findings illuminate a broad consensus within civil society that the policymaking process in the field of sustainable energy should incorporate different voices from civil society – such as employers, trade unions and environmental non-governmental organisations – apart from experts in energy, economics and other areas. Indeed, this study’s findings include civil society’s reviews on how commercial viability, workers’ rights, environmental protection and sustainability interact with and within the sustainable energy sector and related green jobs. Nonetheless, this study signals that within Maltese civil society, sharing of knowledge and good practice and effort coordination lack. Different interests and sectarianism testify to inconsistently interacting and competing human local networks. This broadens the discourse on effective sustainable energy policy and creation of related green jobs, also making it more complex. Indeed, the direction of such discourse bears potential for sporadic development. Whilst challenging vertical trajectories, institutionally centred and technical transitions in the area of environmental sustainability, the primary data gained from this study highlight need for policy to address the identified challenges through projects, funding and incentives that foster coordination between different types of civil society organisations.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1177/0958305X18813685

Publication of paper on Digital Activism, Physical Activism and Malta's Front Harsien ODZ

My research article 'Digital Activism, Physical Activism - Malta's Front Harsien ODZ' has been published in peer-reviewed journal Contention - The Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Protest. 

This article analyzes the interaction between the digital (online) and physical (offline) activism of Front Harsien ODZ, a Maltese environmental movement organization. It looks into how Front activists perceive these forms of activism and verifies how important each form is to the organization. Consequently, the research presented herein is operationalized through interviews with Front activists and through participant observation from an insider’s point of view. This article concludes that activists within Front Harsien ODZ feel that they are part of a social network. The organization’s recruitment, mobilization and activism techniques are at once digital and physical. Most Front activists were already part of preexisting social networks before joining the Front, and the new Front network made good use of Malta’s political opportunity structures, including the Zonqor controversy; Malta’s small size; and the country’s vibrant media landscape.

Link: https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/contention/6/1/cont060104.xml

Reforming Malta’s constitution to enhance the independence of ‘fourth’ branch institutions - Michael Briguglio

My article 'Reforming Malta’s constitution to enhance the independence of ‘fourth’ branch institutions'  has been published in ConstitutionNet.  

ConstitutionNet is project created to support legislators, constitutional lawyers and other constitutional practitioners in finding useful and relevant information, sharing knowledge and building a community of best practice. ConstitutionNet is an International IDEA (an IGO headquartered in Sweden) project developed and maintained with generous support from the Government of Norway.

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is an intergovernmental organization that supports sustainable democracy worldwide. Its mission is to support sustainable democratic change by providing comparative knowledge, and assisting in democratic reform, and influencing policies and politics.

You can read the article here.

Sociology of the Maltese Islands

Sociology of the Maltese Islands

Edited by Michael Briguglio and Maria Brown

Published by Miller Distributors

Date of publication: October 2016 [The book is available at leading bookshops and at https://www.agendamalta.com/en/products/malta-non-fiction/2037269]

ISBN: 9789995752590 

Sociology of the Maltese Islands, edited by Michael Briguglio and Maria Brown and published by Miller, was officially launched at the University of Malta.. 

News feature (in Maltese, on TVM) about the book launch - click here

Book review by Edward Zammit in Sunday Times of Malta - click here

Book review by Angele Deguara in Malta Independent on Sunday - click here

During the launch Minister Evarist Bartolo referred to the text as a breakthrough for evidence-based study of Maltese society. Journalist James Debono, who chaired the debate, said that the book is an accessible reader which shows the intersection between continuity and change in Maltese society. Sociologist Angele Deguara explained the important role of sociology to help inform policy making in a context of progressive change and recurrent inequalities and contradictions.

In reply to questions from the floor, Michael Briguglio explained diverse methods used by sociologists in their evidence-based research, and spoke about the commonalities and differences in the Maltese identity. Maria Brown highlighted the need for multidisciplinary approaches in the study of Maltese society and explained that all sociological methods have their strengths and weaknesses. 

Sociology of the Maltese Islands provides a broad sociological introduction to various areas of Maltese society currently featuring in public and scholarly debate and research. 

The book may be of interest to a wide range of students, including undergraduates, students at post-secondary level, as well those carrying out research at post-graduate level.

Researchers, policy makers, politicians, journalists, activists and the general public may find this book useful for the provision and scholarly review of data and debates on key issues, areas and concepts relevant to contemporary Maltese society.

Edited by Michael Briguglio and Maria Brown. Includes contributions by Godfrey Baldacchino. Angela Abela, Katya DeGiovanni, Joanne Cassar, Marvin Formosa, Maja Miljanic Brinkworth, Nathalie Grima, Maria Brown, Ruth Baldacchino, JosAnn Cutajar, Brenda Murphy, Marceline Naudi, Peter Mayo, Manwel Debono, Saviour Rizzo, George Cassar, Valerie Visanich, Noel Agius, Michael Briguglio, Mary Grace Vella, Silvan Agius, Helena Dalli, Ian Bugeja, Jacqueline Azzopardi, Mario Vassallo, Carmen Sammut.

Chapters: Prologue, Introduction, Family Life, Childhood, Youth, Ageing, Demography, Race & Ethnicity, Class, Gender & Sexuality, Education, Work, Tourism, The Arts, Consumption & Leisure, Development, Environment, Political Parties & Social Movements, Elections, Governance & Leadership, Social Policy Poverty & Social Exclusion, Social Control Crime & Deviance, Religion, Media

(L-R Maria Brown, Evarist Bartolo, James Debono, Angele Deguara, Michael Briguglio)