Events / Program: Guests of the Institute

	Title	Date	Type	Speakers
	Carl Schmitt vs. Hans Kelsen: The Quarrel of Our Age	Mon, 20.04.2026	Seminars and Colloquia	Ludger Hagedorn Richard Cockett	Carl Schmitt vs. Hans Kelsen: The Quarrel of Our Age Mon, 20.04.2026 Speakers: Ludger Hagedorn Richard Cockett Series: Seminars and Colloquia Richard Cockett is currently writing a book about the rise of right-wing populism, a global phenomenon that he views as a clash of political dispositions, primarily between liberal internationalists and ethno-nationalists. Cockett will argue that these two competing worldviews are best exemplified, and, indeed, have been codified, by the two most influential jurists of the 20th century, namely Vienna’s Hans Kelsen and the German Carl Schmitt. Read more
Carl Schmitt vs. Hans Kelsen: The Quarrel of Our Age Mon, 20.04.2026 Speakers: Ludger Hagedorn Richard Cockett Series: Seminars and Colloquia Richard Cockett is currently writing a book about the rise of right-wing populism, a global phenomenon that he views as a clash of political dispositions, primarily between liberal internationalists and ethno-nationalists. Cockett will argue that these two competing worldviews are best exemplified, and, indeed, have been codified, by the two most influential jurists of the 20th century, namely Vienna’s Hans Kelsen and the German Carl Schmitt. Read more
	Veering Right While Talking Left: Diagonalist Political Communication in Italian Red-Brown and Rightwing Populism	Mon, 16.03.2026	Seminars and Colloquia	Vito Laterza Ayşe Çağlar	Veering Right While Talking Left: Diagonalist Political Communication in Italian Red-Brown and Rightwing Populism Mon, 16.03.2026 Speakers: Vito Laterza Ayşe Çağlar Series: Seminars and Colloquia In this Fellows Colloquium, Vito Laterza will build on the emerging concept of diagonalist political communication to show its relevance to the mainstreaming of rightwing populism. Read more
Veering Right While Talking Left: Diagonalist Political Communication in Italian Red-Brown and Rightwing Populism Mon, 16.03.2026 Speakers: Vito Laterza Ayşe Çağlar Series: Seminars and Colloquia In this Fellows Colloquium, Vito Laterza will build on the emerging concept of diagonalist political communication to show its relevance to the mainstreaming of rightwing populism. Read more
	Questions of Race and Nation: The Persecution of the Romany Peoples in Europe 1933–1945	Tue, 10.03.2026	Lecture	Michael Stewart Misha Glenny	Questions of Race and Nation: The Persecution of the Romany Peoples in Europe 1933–1945 Tue, 10.03.2026 Speakers: Michael Stewart Misha Glenny Series: Lecture In this Monthly Lecture, Michael Stewart addressed the misalignment between different approaches to discussing the persecution of Romany peoples during World War II and asked the question: What does it mean to be racially persecuted? Read more
Questions of Race and Nation: The Persecution of the Romany Peoples in Europe 1933–1945 Tue, 10.03.2026 Speakers: Michael Stewart Misha Glenny Series: Lecture In this Monthly Lecture, Michael Stewart addressed the misalignment between different approaches to discussing the persecution of Romany peoples during World War II and asked the question: What does it mean to be racially persecuted? Read more
	Unthinkable Europeans in Unequal Europes	Tue, 24.02.2026	Lecture	Manuela Boatcă Ayşe Çağlar	Unthinkable Europeans in Unequal Europes Tue, 24.02.2026 Speakers: Manuela Boatcă Ayşe Çağlar Series: Lecture In this Monthly Lecture, Manuela Boatcă took up the notion of "unthinkable history" proposed by the Haitian anthropologist Michel-Rolph Trouillot in the context of the Haitian Revolution, and discussed the theoretical and political implications of questions of Europeanness. She specifically asked: What is it that makes Romani Europeans unthinkable in a European project? Read more
Unthinkable Europeans in Unequal Europes Tue, 24.02.2026 Speakers: Manuela Boatcă Ayşe Çağlar Series: Lecture In this Monthly Lecture, Manuela Boatcă took up the notion of "unthinkable history" proposed by the Haitian anthropologist Michel-Rolph Trouillot in the context of the Haitian Revolution, and discussed the theoretical and political implications of questions of Europeanness. She specifically asked: What is it that makes Romani Europeans unthinkable in a European project? Read more
	The Impact of US–China Technology Competition on Concepts of Humanity	Mon, 16.02.2026	Seminars and Colloquia	Misha Glenny Nigel Inkster	The Impact of US–China Technology Competition on Concepts of Humanity Mon, 16.02.2026 Speakers: Misha Glenny Nigel Inkster Series: Seminars and Colloquia This talk explored how the US–China technological rivalry reflects deeper, competing visions of human nature embedded in emerging technologies. It examined the risk that these divergent models become globally normative through the export of technological systems and values. Read more
The Impact of US–China Technology Competition on Concepts of Humanity Mon, 16.02.2026 Speakers: Misha Glenny Nigel Inkster Series: Seminars and Colloquia This talk explored how the US–China technological rivalry reflects deeper, competing visions of human nature embedded in emerging technologies. It examined the risk that these divergent models become globally normative through the export of technological systems and values. Read more
	What Is a ‘World Order’? (And What Would a Planetary One Look Like?)	Tue, 10.02.2026	Lecture	Misha Glenny Nils Gilman	What Is a ‘World Order’? (And What Would a Planetary One Look Like?) Tue, 10.02.2026 Speakers: Misha Glenny Nils Gilman Series: Lecture Drawing on his work, Nils Gilman argued in this Monthly Lecture that the liberal international order is dead, and that any viable successor must be a planetary order centered on ecological survival, planetary habitability, and multiscalar governance. He outlined the material foundations of such an order, from a global technosphere to enforced transparency, treating planetary stability as a non-negotiable security requirement. Read more
What Is a ‘World Order’? (And What Would a Planetary One Look Like?) Tue, 10.02.2026 Speakers: Misha Glenny Nils Gilman Series: Lecture Drawing on his work, Nils Gilman argued in this Monthly Lecture that the liberal international order is dead, and that any viable successor must be a planetary order centered on ecological survival, planetary habitability, and multiscalar governance. He outlined the material foundations of such an order, from a global technosphere to enforced transparency, treating planetary stability as a non-negotiable security requirement. Read more
	State Failing and Separatism in the Former Soviet Union (1987–2022)	Mon, 02.02.2026	Seminars and Colloquia	Clemena Antonova Martin Malek	State Failing and Separatism in the Former Soviet Union (1987–2022) Mon, 02.02.2026 Speakers: Clemena Antonova Martin Malek Series: Seminars and Colloquia Martin Malek examined what defines a “state” and how state failure emerges when core functions such as the monopoly on the use of force and the maintenance of public order erode. Drawing on a comparative analytical framework and empirical data, the talk explored the role of separatism in processes of state weakening and fragmentation in selected former Soviet republics. Read more
State Failing and Separatism in the Former Soviet Union (1987–2022) Mon, 02.02.2026 Speakers: Clemena Antonova Martin Malek Series: Seminars and Colloquia Martin Malek examined what defines a “state” and how state failure emerges when core functions such as the monopoly on the use of force and the maintenance of public order erode. Drawing on a comparative analytical framework and empirical data, the talk explored the role of separatism in processes of state weakening and fragmentation in selected former Soviet republics. Read more
	The Politics of Weakness: A Reverse Perspective on Power and Europe	Mon, 12.01.2026	Seminars and Colloquia	Adam Bence Balazs Ivan Krastev	The Politics of Weakness: A Reverse Perspective on Power and Europe Mon, 12.01.2026 Speakers: Adam Bence Balazs Ivan Krastev Series: Seminars and Colloquia In this Fellows' Colloquium, Adam Bence Balazs proposed a reverse perspective on power, in order to shed new light on a series of seemingly paradoxical European cases where weakness is overriding the traditional measure of power. Read more
The Politics of Weakness: A Reverse Perspective on Power and Europe Mon, 12.01.2026 Speakers: Adam Bence Balazs Ivan Krastev Series: Seminars and Colloquia In this Fellows' Colloquium, Adam Bence Balazs proposed a reverse perspective on power, in order to shed new light on a series of seemingly paradoxical European cases where weakness is overriding the traditional measure of power. Read more
	The Fifth Estate: An Urgent Look at the Sociology of Knowledge	Mon, 15.12.2025	Seminars and Colloquia	Misha Glenny Peter B. Kaufman	The Fifth Estate: An Urgent Look at the Sociology of Knowledge Mon, 15.12.2025 Speakers: Misha Glenny Peter B. Kaufman Series: Seminars and Colloquia In this Fellows’ Colloquium, Peter B. Kaufman presented The Fifth Estate: An Urgent Look at the Sociology of Knowledge, exploring what people believe, how they come to believe it, and the interests shaping those beliefs. Drawing on Ludwik Fleck and Karl Mannheim, he called for a renewed focus on Wissenssoziologie to confront future crises of toxic thinking. Read more
The Fifth Estate: An Urgent Look at the Sociology of Knowledge Mon, 15.12.2025 Speakers: Misha Glenny Peter B. Kaufman Series: Seminars and Colloquia In this Fellows’ Colloquium, Peter B. Kaufman presented The Fifth Estate: An Urgent Look at the Sociology of Knowledge, exploring what people believe, how they come to believe it, and the interests shaping those beliefs. Drawing on Ludwik Fleck and Karl Mannheim, he called for a renewed focus on Wissenssoziologie to confront future crises of toxic thinking. Read more
	Homo Academicus-Homo Politicus. A Biography of Philip E. Mosely	Thu, 04.12.2025	Seminars and Colloquia	Maria Todorova Misha Glenny	Homo Academicus-Homo Politicus. A Biography of Philip E. Mosely Thu, 04.12.2025 Speakers: Maria Todorova Misha Glenny Series: Seminars and Colloquia In this Fellows’ Colloquium, Maria Todorova reconsidered Philip E. Mosely as a historical prism through which broader processes of identity, ideological formation, and generation can be understood. Based on extensive archival materials, the project also examined the specificities of biography, the traps of autobiography, and the challenges of the archive. Read more
Homo Academicus-Homo Politicus. A Biography of Philip E. Mosely Thu, 04.12.2025 Speakers: Maria Todorova Misha Glenny Series: Seminars and Colloquia In this Fellows’ Colloquium, Maria Todorova reconsidered Philip E. Mosely as a historical prism through which broader processes of identity, ideological formation, and generation can be understood. Based on extensive archival materials, the project also examined the specificities of biography, the traps of autobiography, and the challenges of the archive. Read more