The end of the liberal world as we know it?

Populist parties effectively challenge democracy, European integration, and international order. At the same time, authoritarian states openly challenge liberal values. Counter-revolutions and counter-institutionalizations abound. Does this herald the end of the liberal world as we know it? Is Europe disintegrating? How can the resistance to the global governance be explained? Is there a way to overcome the multiple crises?

Jan Zielonka is Professor of European Politics at University of Oxford and Ralf Dahrendorf Professorial Fellow at St Antony’s College. Michael Zürn is Director at the WZB and Professor of International Relations at Freie Universität Berlin. Each has written a recently published book (with Oxford University Press) that tackles these questions. The authors will discuss the liberal order in Europe and beyond and ask why it is has been widely contested. They will draw on their books Counter-Revolution in Europe. Liberal Europe in Retreat (Jan Zielonka) and A Theory of Global Governance. Authority, Legitimacy, and Contestation (Michael Zürn), which effectively speak to each other.

The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Anna Sauerbrey, editor and writer at Der Tagesspiegel, as well as opinion writer for The New York Times.

The event will be held in English with no translation into German.