Current Fellows' research
- Political Concepts in Chinese International RelationsVincent Mo’s project explores how Chinese scholars of international relations (IR) theorize and present “what China is” and “China’s relations with others” through key political concepts: state, civilization, morality, and relationality.
- Dipesh Chakrabarty and the Postsecular Criticism of HistoricityThe project aims to develop a theoretical framework for postsecular interpretations of history.
- Between Floating and Empty Signifiers in the Post-Transition Discourse on ‘Solidarity’ (1989-2024)This project sets out to analyze recent conceptual makeovers in political and academic discourse that have appropriated Poland’s Solidarity movement in the service of various specific agendas, despite its former heterogeneity.
- Racialization and Enslavement in Interimperial MoldaviasFor over 500 years, Roma were enslaved on the territory of today’s Romania as part of a labor regime with an elaborate infrastructure.
- The Future of the Liberal Vision in a World Without RulesAs a lifelong liberal and a former practicing politician, Michael Ignatieff faces a world he never expected: the rise of a counter-revolutionary right and the near collapse of the liberal international order created after 1945. This situation is not without precedent.
- Revolutionary Conservatism: Liberalism’s Next Grand RivalAt the IWM, Maciej Kisilowski will build on his recently published co-edited book, Let’s Agree on Poland: A Case Study in Strategic Constitutional Design (Oxford University Press, 2025), to examine revolutionary conservatism as a coherent global ideological rival to liberal democra
News
- Alexandra Exter and the World by Katia Denysova“In her home, as in herself, there was a striking fusion of European culture and the Ukrainian way of life. On the walls, among drawings by Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger and Georges Braque, one could see pieces of…
- Vienna meets Prague Festival 2026: 22.–25. AprilBereits das siebte Jahr in Folge bringt Vienna meets Prague ein facettenreiches Kulturprogramm aus Österreichs Nachbarland nach Wien. Gemeinsam mit den Partnerinstitutionen präsentiert das IWM über fünf Tage hinweg…
- ERC Mentoring Initiative: Call for ApplicationsThe Institute for Human Sciences (IWM Vienna), together with the Polish Academy of Sciences and generously supported by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, has established a mentoring initiative for…
Upcoming events
- Book Talk with Toby WalshSeminars and Colloquia
- IWM Digital Humanism Fellowship Lecture with Toby WalshLecture
- Fellows' Colloquium with Naja Dyrendom GraugaardSeminars and Colloquia
- Fellows' Colloquium with Richard CockettSeminars and Colloquia
Recent Media
Upcoming events
- Book Talk with Toby WalshSeminars and Colloquia
- IWM Digital Humanism Fellowship Lecture with Toby WalshLecture
- Fellows' Colloquium with Naja Dyrendom GraugaardSeminars and Colloquia
- Fellows' Colloquium with Richard CockettSeminars and Colloquia
News
- Alexandra Exter and the World by Katia Denysova“In her home, as in herself, there was a striking fusion of European culture and the Ukrainian way of life. On the walls, among drawings by Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger and Georges Braque, one could see pieces of…
- Vienna meets Prague Festival 2026: 22.–25. AprilBereits das siebte Jahr in Folge bringt Vienna meets Prague ein facettenreiches Kulturprogramm aus Österreichs Nachbarland nach Wien. Gemeinsam mit den Partnerinstitutionen präsentiert das IWM über fünf Tage hinweg…
- ERC Mentoring Initiative: Call for ApplicationsThe Institute for Human Sciences (IWM Vienna), together with the Polish Academy of Sciences and generously supported by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, has established a mentoring initiative for…
Current Fellows' research
- Global Relations over the Next DecadeJames C. O’Brien will ask what kind of possibilities for international cooperation will emerge after the current period of instability. It is clear that there will be no restoration of the old “normal” (which never was normal).
- Justice Denied as a Key Failure of Post-Autocratic Democratic Reforms: A Case Study of the Macedonian Special Prosecutor’s OfficeThe issue of organized crime and corruption arguably remains the greatest stumbling block in convincing the European Union to expand into the Western Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine.
- Tariffs, Technology, and Transfer Unions: The Historical Origins of European Economic (Dis)UnityDespite the European Union’s best efforts at forging greater economic, cultural, and political unity among member states, Europe’s “usable past” in economic history remains a patchwork of national stories, rather than a unified narrative.
- Revolutionary Conservatism: Liberalism’s Next Grand RivalAt the IWM, Maciej Kisilowski will build on his recently published co-edited book, Let’s Agree on Poland: A Case Study in Strategic Constitutional Design (Oxford University Press, 2025), to examine revolutionary conservatism as a coherent global ideological rival to liberal democra
- Trustworthy AI and Digital HumanismArtificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming every aspect of modern life, from how we work and learn to how we govern and connect.
- Staging the Border: The Symbolic Creation of the Danube Monarchy in Southeastern Europe before 1791Borders and border regions have attracted intensified scholarly interest, shaped by historiographical developments and 20th-century conflicts. This project examines how the European–Ottoman frontier in the early modern Balkans was perceived, visualized, and staged.
Recent Media
The IWM is a community of scholars pursuing advanced research in the humanities and social sciences.
For four decades, the Institute has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions of the world. It hosts more than a hundred fellows each year, organizes public exchanges, and publishes books, articles, and digital fora.