The AUTHLIB consortium cordially invites you to the project’s concluding academic conference titled
Mapping the Illiberal Challenge:
Patterns, Drivers, and Consequences
on
Thursday-Friday, January 8-9, 2026
held in person at
the Central European University
(1051 Budapest, Nádor str. 15.)
REGISTER HERE
As Europe confronts the rise of illiberalism across the continent and graples with its political and societal consequences, the Horizon-funded Neo-authoritarianism in European and the Liberal Democratic Response (AUTHLIB) project brings together leading scholars to unpack what drives this shift and how democracies can respond.
Over two days, speakers will explore—among many other themes—the historical roots of illiberalism, the appeal of illiberal narratives and voters’ receptiveness today, the strategies of far-right actors, the social and economic anxieties they tap into, and the evolving challenges to constitutionalism, pluralism, and the rule of law. Drawing on cutting-edge research—from large-scale surveys and social-media analyses to deliberative forums—the conference will present the project’s final academic insights exploring the challenges liberal democracies face in the 21st century.
The project’s results will be showcased by researchers from the Central European University as well as partner institutions across the AUTHLIB Consortium including the University of Oxford, Sciences Po, Scuola Normale Superiore, Charles University, SWPS University, the University of Vienna, and the Transatlantic Foundation/The German Marshall Fund of the United States.
The conference will also feature distinguished speakers including Michael Ignatieff (Professor and Former President and Rector of CEU), as well as Marlene Wind (University of Copenhagen), Mieke Verloo (Radboud University), and Staffan I. Lindberg (University of Gothenburg).
REGISTER HERE
This event takes place in the framework of the “AUTHLIB – Neo-authoritarianisms in Europe and the Liberal Democratic Response” project.
