PublicationsSociety
Contemporary democracies face an era of mounting pressure: authoritarian drift, digital disruption, a crisis of representation, and eroding trust in institutions. This is not a passing downturn but a structural transformation threatening the foundations of democratic governance.
Born out of the 2025 Venice Seminars, this volume asks a defining question: can democracy’s malaise be addressed within the liberal paradigm, or does it demand a more radical rethinking? Its contributors examine the resources of political liberalism alongside post-liberal alternatives grounded in community, ethics, and political order. The debate remains open — and essential.
Our Initiatives Society
The international association Reset Dialogues on Civilizations has launched the Reset Seminars of Pluralism in the Middle East and North Africa, a yearly international program on cultural and religious pluralism and political liberties. The purpose is to promote a local intellectual response to the rise of rigorist strands of Islamic thought by training 40 emerging opinion-leaders on the relationship between religion, history and power and to contribute to the reawakening of pluralistic traditions in Muslim contexts.
The current political situation in Post-Soviet countries, primarily the Russian Federation, raises questions about the cultural roots of today’s prevailing nationalist political ideologies and behaviours. The international scientific community has to overcome the lack of knowledge about Russia’s Post-Soviet history, also in order to avoid the sheer repetition of old clichés – liberal -western opinions versus a despotic-eastern world
Videos Society
Political scientist Claus Leggewie reflects on the transformation of democratic discontent into what he describes as a “right-wing radical” assault on liberal institutions, while also exploring possible democratic responses rooted in civic participation and institutional reform.
ConveningSociety
8
June
2026
University of Milano-Bicocca
University of Milan-Bicocca, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo, Milan
25
May
2026
Venice International University
The Seminars will explore the relationship between civic virtue, character formation, and public ethics at a moment when liberal democracies face growing pressure from autocratic forces. They will consider how virtuous leaders and communities emerge, which social mechanisms foster ethical behavior, and how religious and secular traditions shape character.
14
May
2026
Luiss Guido Carli University
This international roundtable convenes leading scholars and public intellectuals to examine the contemporary crisis of higher education and its implications for democratic life.