Populism is on the rise. What does that mean not only for the state of our liberal societies but also for the economy? Is economic growth thinkable under non-democ­ratic rule? Joost Haddinga explores the inter­change of the two. He is awarded first prize for his contri­bution to our essay compe­tition organized by WirtschaftsWoche and Center for Liberal Modernity.

Vladimir Putin’s brutal attack on Ukraine has changed Germany’s perspective of Russia by highlighting the country’s imperi­alism and Ukraine’s central role as the empire’s crown jewel.

Under Orbán’s pressure, the EU-Commission has removed the Russian Patriarch Kirill from the sanctions list – a fatal under­es­ti­mation of the powerful role of the Russian-Orthodox Church in the war against Ukraine.

What happened in Srebrenica 27 years ago is now occurring in Bucha, Mariupol and other areas of Ukraine conquered by Russia. An essay by Marieluise Beck

We are living in times of rapid change: climate change, digital­ization, the COVID-19 pandemic, the looming systemic compe­tition with China, global migration, and the realignment of global­ization are changing our...

After failing to agree on exclusive spheres of influence in Europe with the Trump admin­is­tration, the Kremlin is challenging Washing­ton’s ability to keep unity among Euro-Atlantic allies and protect European...

Europe is suffering from high gas prices. At some gas hubs, they increased more than 250% since January, and already have impact on the retail prices for house­holds in many...

When Angela Merkel took office as German Chancellor in 2005, she was better prepared for the challenges on the EU’s eastern border than any other West European head of government....

Digital­ization repre­sents one of the major challenges of our time. Hence, it is crucial to obtain a profound under­standing of the digital trans­for­mation in order to be able to design and steer it.

An answer to Wladimir Putin’s fine tuned op-ed in the German weekly Die Zeit by Ralf Fücks, Center for Liberal Modernity.

Since January 2021 there has been growing military escalation in conflict-affected areas of Donbas. Russia has built up military equipment deployment along the Russian-Ukrainian border, reposi­tioned its army and strengthened...

Lukas Daubner argues that the liberal forces of all stripes should once again take a positive view of the future.

Only temporarily, says Michael Zürn, Director at the Berlin Social Science Center. 

Liber­alism is a political persuasion devoted to the pursuit of human flour­ishing. It demands that, at a minimum, every indi­vid­ual must be per­mit­ted to write its own life’s story, unob­structed by fear,...

Emotions play a huge role in populist politics. Liberals have largely overseen the impor­tance of emotions. Populists are able to use fear and other emotions against liberal democracy. But the answer...

Fly less! Eat less meat! In the struggle against climate change, there is one thing in particular we should do: moderate our lifestyles. Individual respon­si­bility definitely matters. Will renun­ci­ation and...

On this date 74 years ago, the Red Army liberated the Auschwitz-Birkenau exter­mi­nation camp. The 27th of January became the Day of Remem­brance for the Victims of National Socialism. Much has...

Over the last 200 years, Liber­alism has been a stunning success story. It brought forward liberty and prosperity for the many instead of privi­leges for the few. Yet, today liberal thinking and...

There can be no liberal modernity without social justice, which is why nothing can surpass the social democ­ratic idea, which has been margin­alized in the current SPD. Anyone, who is...

The rapid pace of moderni­sation renders people suscep­tible to populism. In cosmopolitan milieus, this came as a surprise. Yet the warning signs had long been apparent.

About the motives for founding a Center for Liberal Modernity.