European Book Club: „Liberal Responses to Populism“ by Karen Horn & Stefan Kolev

Liberal Responses to Populism

Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Time: 18:00 – 19:30
Location: Zentrum Liberale Moderne, Reinhardt­straße 15, 10117 Berlin

Liberal democracy is under pressure. Across the Western world, populist movements have surged – fuelled by disil­lu­sionment, nativism, and a growing distrust in liberal insti­tu­tions and the liberal elite. How did we arrive at this point, and what can be done to restore confi­dence in liberal ideals and their promise for a better world of tomorrow?

The new volume Liberal Response to Populism (De Gruyter 2025), edited by Karen Horn, Stefan Kolev, and Julian F. Müller, offers a multi­faceted exami­nation of this challenge. From the psychology of radical­ization to the lure of sovereignty and from histo­rical reflec­tions to forward-looking policy innova­tions, the book explores how liberalism can meet the populist moment with clarity, creativity, and renewed conviction.

We invite you to join us for an evening of reflection and discussion with contri­butors to this thought-provoking collection.

Speakers

Karen Horn
Karen Horn is a honorary professor of economics at the University of Erfurt (Germany), where she teaches the history of economic thought and economic journalism. She is parti­cu­larly interested in the work of Adam Smith, Friedrich A. Hayek, Walter Eucken, and James M. Buchanan, and in the tradition of liberalism generally, with a special focus on ordoli­be­ralism. At the Verein für Social­po­litik, the association of German-speaking econo­mists, she is a member of the committee for the history of economic thought. She serves as an editor of Perspek­tiven der Wirtschafts­po­litik, one of the two academic journals of the Verein, and is the co-chair of the NOUS network. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Lausanne (Switz­erland).

Stefan Kolev
Stefan Kolev is the academic director of the Ludwig Erhard Forum for Economy and Society in Berlin and a professor of political economy at the University of Applied Sciences Zwickau (Germany). His research centers on the history of economic thought, especially ordoli­be­ralism and Austrian economics, consti­tu­tional economics, and the future of the Social Market Economy. He is a co-editor of the ORDO Yearbook for the Order of Economy and Society and of the Journal of Contextual Economics – Schmollers Jahrbuch. He spent his last sabba­tical at the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Insti­tu­tions at Princeton University (USA). He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Hamburg (Germany).

Aris Trantidis
Lecturer in Inter­na­tional Relations and Politics, University of Lincoln. His research stands at the inter­section of politics and political economy, with publi­ca­tions on clientelism, dominant party systems and semi-autho­ri­tarian regimes. He has published on the concept of democracy and hegemony and has written exten­sively on the Greek crisis.

Karolina Wigura (Moderation)
Karolina Wigura is senior Fellow at the Center for Liberal Modernity. She is Associate Professor at Warsaw University and a Member of the Board at Kultura Liberalna Foundation. Wigura was awarded fellow­ships at the Wissen­schafts­kolleg zu Berlin and the Robert Bosch Academy. From 2016 to 2018, she was a Co-Director of the Polish Program „Knowledge Bridges“ at St Antony’s College at the University of Oxford. Together with Jarosław Kuisz, she recently published Post-Traumatic Sovereignty. An Essay (Suhrkamp 2023). She is a regular contri­butor to The New York Times and The Guardian.

This exclusive event will bring together a select group of experts for a stimu­lating dialogue. We look forward to your active participation!
If you have any questions or need further assis­tance, please feel free to reach out to Christina Russmann (christina.russmann@libmod.de) or Alexander Schwitteck (alexander.schwitteck@libmod.de). They will be happy to assist you with any inquiries.

Best regards,
Ralf Fücks, Karolina Wigura and Jarosław Kuisz