Who we are

The Center for Liberal Modernity is a political think tank and a debating platform. LibMod stands for the defense and renewal of liberal democracy, for the promotion of ecolog­ical modernity and for profound expertise in Eastern Europe.

“Who We Are” — Booklet as PDF

Mission

Liberal democracy faces growing chal­lenges across the globe. In this time of funda­mental change, we need an honest and trans­parent debate about the future of our society and the global order. To this end, we at LibMod

  • contribute to the defence of open societies and to the renewal of liberal democracy.
  • focus on the inter­sec­tion of climate change miti­ga­tion, a modern economy and liberal democracy.
  • promote foreign and security policies that are both realistic and respect human rights.
  • strive to advance democracy and EU inte­gra­tion in the countries of Eastern Europe.

Our work is inde­pen­dent and non-partisan.

Values

We believe that indi­vidual freedoms and social respon­si­bility, self-deter­mi­na­tion and strong public insti­tu­tions form a symbiotic rela­tion­ship. We strongly advocate for liberal democracy as the best guarantee for the protec­tion of human rights and dignity. We are committed to envi­ron­mental progress and a liberal climate policy. We do not confuse a love for peace with defencelessness.

What we do

We employ a range of approaches to attain our objectives:

  • We develop analyses and policy recommendations.
  • We publish studies, policy papers and other written materials in collab­o­ra­tion with partners and external specialists.
  • We host confer­ences, expert talks and forums, ranging from inter­na­tional events to informal discussions.
  • We bring together indi­vid­uals from politics, academia, business and civil society.
  • We facil­i­tate sound policy discus­sions and political education.
  • Our websites, first and foremost libmod.de, serve as platforms for debates.

Legal form and financing

LibMod is a non-profit limited liability company (gGmbH), which is legally barred from making profits and is obliged to use all fund allo­ca­tions for charity purposes as per our statutes.

Our financing is derived from project funds from public in- stitu­tions, private foun­da­tions, and asso­ci­a­tions as well as donations. Moreover, we receive insti­tu­tional funding from the federal budget like other think tanks and educa­tional insti­tu­tions. The use of our funds undergoes regular auditsby both our donors, the Federal Audit Court (Bundesrech- nungshof) and the financial administration.

Share­holders

Ralf Fücks
Managing Partner
Former Chairman of the Heinrich Böll Foundation
Former Senator of the State of Bremen

Marie­luise Beck
Former Parlia­men­tary State Secretary

Deidre Berger
Tikvah Institute

Prof. Hans Fleisch
Lawyer/​Of Counsel at Flick Gocke Schaumburg
Former Secretary General of the Asso­ci­a­tion of German Foundations

Armin Hut­ten­lo­cher
Political consul­tant and publicist
Focus on conflict and crisis regions in Eastern Europe, the Near and Middle East and regions in Africa

Dr. Maritta Koch-Weser
Founder and President, Earth3000 gGmbH

John Korn­blum
Former U.S. Ambas­sador to Germany

Alex­an­dra Gräfin Lambsdorff
Chair­woman of the Board of Trustees, Quistorp Foundation

Sabine Leu­theus­ser-Schnar­ren­ber­ger
Vice Chair­woman, Friedrich Naumann Foun­da­tion for Freedom

Karin Prien
Minister for Education, Science and Culture of the State of Schleswig-Holstein

Prof. Gert Weisskirchen
Former Member of the Bundestag, Eastern Europe expert

Advisory board

Yurii Andrukhovych
Writer

Yev­ge­nia Belorusets
Artist and writer

Mari­anne Birthler
Former member of the People’s Chamber of the GDR
Former Federal Commis­sioner for the Stasi Records

Svetlana Gannushkina
Winner of the Alter­na­tive Nobel Prize
Director, refugee aid organ­i­sa­tion Civic Assis­tance Committee and “Migration and Law” Network of human rights organ­i­sa­tion Memorial

Gustav C. Gressel
Senior Policy Fellow, Euro­pean Council on Foreign Relations

Rebecca Harms
Member of the European Parliament

John Herbst
Direkctor, Dinu Patri­ciu Eurasia Center, Atlan­tic Council
Former ambassador

Dr. Karen Horn
Univer­sity lecturer in the history of economic ideas
Editor-in-Chief, journal Perspec­tives on Economic Policy
Freelance author

Thomas Kleine-Brock­­hoff
Vice President and Director of the Europe Programme,
The German Marshall Fund of the United States

Dr. Fred Luks
Head of the Compe­tence Centre for Sustainability,
Vienna Univer­sity of Economics and Business

Ahmad Mansour
Psychol­o­gist
Chairman, Muslim Forum Deutsch­land e.V.

Markus Meckel
Last Foreign Minister of the GDR
Former Member of the Bundestag

Barbara Monheim
Chair­woman, German-Polish-Ukrainian Society

Prof. Dr. Armin Nassehi 
Professor of General Sociology and Social Theory,
Ludwig Maxi­m­ilian Univer­sity, Munich

Ruprecht Polenz
President, German Society for Eastern European Studies
Former Member of the German Bundestag

Prof. Timothy Snyder
Historian, Yale University
Author of Blood­lands

Sylke Tempel (†)
DGAP
Former Editor-in-Chief, Inter­na­tional Politics