Events / Program: Guests of the Institute

	Title	Date	Type	Speakers	Register
	Unthinkable Europeans in Unequal Europes	Tue, 24.02.2026	Lecture	Manuela Boatcă Ayşe Çağlar	REGISTER HERE	Unthinkable Europeans in Unequal Europes Tue, 24.02.2026 Speakers: Manuela Boatcă Ayşe Çağlar Series: Lecture In this Monthly Lecture, Manuela Boatcă draws on the notion of "unthinkable history" proposed by the Haitian anthropologist Michel-Rolph Trouillot in the context of the Haitian Revolution, and discusses on the theoretical and political implications of questions of Europeanness. She specifically asks: 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 draws on the notion of "unthinkable history" proposed by the Haitian anthropologist Michel-Rolph Trouillot in the context of the Haitian Revolution, and discusses on the theoretical and political implications of questions of Europeanness. She specifically asks: 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 explores how the US–China technological rivalry reflects deeper, competing visions of human nature embedded in emerging technologies. It examines 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 explores how the US–China technological rivalry reflects deeper, competing visions of human nature embedded in emerging technologies. It examines 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
	Influencing Machine: AI Agents and Humans	Mon, 24.11.2025	Seminars and Colloquia	Ludger Hagedorn Sanja M. Bojanic		Influencing Machine: AI Agents and Humans Mon, 24.11.2025 Speakers: Ludger Hagedorn Sanja M. Bojanic Series: Seminars and Colloquia In the age of machine learning and large language models, AI agents do not merely assist or augment human activity. Instead, they operate as protocol-governed environments that modulate and structure the very conditions of affectivity, cognition, communication, and labor. To articulate this transformation, Bojanić introduced the concept of Model Context Protocols (MCPs). Read more
Influencing Machine: AI Agents and Humans Mon, 24.11.2025 Speakers: Ludger Hagedorn Sanja M. Bojanic Series: Seminars and Colloquia In the age of machine learning and large language models, AI agents do not merely assist or augment human activity. Instead, they operate as protocol-governed environments that modulate and structure the very conditions of affectivity, cognition, communication, and labor. To articulate this transformation, Bojanić introduced the concept of Model Context Protocols (MCPs). Read more
	Überreichtum und Unsterblichkeit	Tue, 18.11.2025	Lecture	Martin Schürz Misha Glenny		Überreichtum und Unsterblichkeit Tue, 18.11.2025 Speakers: Martin Schürz Misha Glenny Series: Lecture Auf Basis von sozialpsychologischen Ansätzen und Überlegungen von Sigmund Freud zum Tod untersucht Martin Schürz, wie Vermögenskonzentration, Endlichkeit und Unsterblichkeitsprojekte zusammenhängen. Sigmund Freud ging davon aus, dass das Unbewusste den Tod nicht kennt. Andererseits verhindere die Todesangst wichtige, aber riskante Unterfangen. Und letztlich gehe es darum, das endliche Leben zu ertragen. Read more
Überreichtum und Unsterblichkeit Tue, 18.11.2025 Speakers: Martin Schürz Misha Glenny Series: Lecture Auf Basis von sozialpsychologischen Ansätzen und Überlegungen von Sigmund Freud zum Tod untersucht Martin Schürz, wie Vermögenskonzentration, Endlichkeit und Unsterblichkeitsprojekte zusammenhängen. Sigmund Freud ging davon aus, dass das Unbewusste den Tod nicht kennt. Andererseits verhindere die Todesangst wichtige, aber riskante Unterfangen. Und letztlich gehe es darum, das endliche Leben zu ertragen. Read more
	Socialist Yugoslavia and the Global South in the Long 1970s: Exploring the Contradictions of Decolonial Solidarity	Mon, 17.11.2025	Seminars and Colloquia	Paul StubbsDino Pasalic		Socialist Yugoslavia and the Global South in the Long 1970s: Exploring the Contradictions of Decolonial Solidarity Mon, 17.11.2025 Speakers: Paul StubbsDino Pasalic Series: Seminars and Colloquia In this Fellows’ Colloquium, Paul Stubbs discussed work in progress on his book exploring socialist Yugoslavia’s relations with the Global South during the long 1970s. He focused on Yugoslavia’s “intermestic” policies in a changing global context, and on its evolving support for decolonial liberation movements, including in Palestine and Southern Africa. Read more
Socialist Yugoslavia and the Global South in the Long 1970s: Exploring the Contradictions of Decolonial Solidarity Mon, 17.11.2025 Speakers: Paul StubbsDino Pasalic Series: Seminars and Colloquia In this Fellows’ Colloquium, Paul Stubbs discussed work in progress on his book exploring socialist Yugoslavia’s relations with the Global South during the long 1970s. He focused on Yugoslavia’s “intermestic” policies in a changing global context, and on its evolving support for decolonial liberation movements, including in Palestine and Southern Africa. Read more