Democracies and the liberal world order are currently challenged by weakened global rules, new constellations of actors, and emerging domestic cleavages. Changing context factors, among others, are: the (terminal?) weakening of the post-WWII liberal world order; the growing and deepening of cleavages in the EU, which threaten the EU’s existence in its North/ South and East/ West dimensions; the rise of violations of international rules in Europe, which is facing an assertive Russia and a volatile Turkey; the rise of populism in Western and Eastern Europe, and beyond; the fact that traditional liberal democracies are being undermined and threatened by so called hybrid forms of democracy, which look dangerously similar to autocracies. As a result of these and related trends, the assumption of democracies being the only players in town has become questionable. The lecture series we are offering will take a closer look at these developments, analyzing and comparing them. While the countries in East and Central Europe and Russia will be in the focus, other areas and regions will be referred to as well. Invited are speakers who will analyze the topic from various angles, dealing among other aspects with the following guiding questions: Is it possible to extract historical and cultural legacies enabling Western Europe to develop democratic features and a market economy? How does Eastern Europe fit into the pattern presented above? How does Russia and its current developments fits into the picture? Are there any indications of sustainable new forms of political governance? Is there increasing pressure on established concepts to develop new concepts that could address these trends?