Liberal democracy is facing mounting pressure in an international environment increasingly shaped by geopolitical rivalry, great power dominance, and a growing prioritisation of security over individual rights. The rise of far right and illiberal movements, the intensification of disruptive politics in the United States, and the global appeal of authoritarian governance models signal a broader erosion of democratic norms. As states respond to war, technological competition and migration with emergency powers, surveillance, and securitised policies, core democratic principles such as pluralism, institutional restraint, and civil liberties risk being reframed as vulnerabilities rather than strengths. Can European liberal democracies adapt to a geopolitically competitive world without sacrificing its foundational values? How do security- driven policies reshape the balance between freedom and control within democratic systems? Is the global rise of authoritarianism a temporary reaction to crisis, or a long-term structural shift in world politics?

Opening

ChristophGrabenwarter, Professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and President of the Austrian Constitutional Court

Discussion

Wolfgang Schüssel, President of the Austrian Society for Foreign Policy and the United Nations and former Federal Chancellor of Austria, Vienna

François Heisbourg, Senior Adviser on Europe at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), London

Judy Dempsey, Non-resident Senior Fellow and Editor in Chief, Strategic Europe, Carnegie Europe

Daniel Hegedüs, Deputy Director of the Institut für Europäische Politik (IEP), Berlin

Moderation

Dietmar Schweisgut,Secretary General of the Austro-French Centre for Rapprochement in Europe