The populist surge seems inextricably linked to the logic, workings, and structural transformation of the public sphere. Hence, in order to understand and counter the current fundamental attacks on our liberal democracies and pluralist-democratic values, we need to address a number of crucial questions in this regard. For example, how does the transformation and diversification of the media affect populism as well as feasible responses? And how should political and media actors deal with populists without either playing into the narrative of the “ignored outsider” or giving them more attention than warranted by their political successes?

Against the grave background of the populist surge and rising disenchantment with democratic politics, Das Progressive Zentrum launched the project Countering Populism and Political Disaffection. The first roundtable (of a total of three) took place on Wednesday, December 7, 2016.

On Friday, July 1, we hosted a roundtable discussion on the US American Presidential Elections. We were delighted to engage in a discussion with Ken Gude (Senior Fellow with the National Security Team, Center for American Progress), Paul Nolte (Professor of Contemporary History, Free University of Berlin), and Barbara Junge (Deputy Editor, taz.die tageszeitung). The roundtable was chaired by Sudha David-Wilp (Deputy Director Berlin Office and Senior Transatlantic Fellow, The German Marshall Fund of the United States).

The recent Polish and French elections are especially topical and worrying reminders of the current rise of right-wing populist parties all over Europe. To debate this urgent European problem, Das Progressive Zentrum, with support of the German Federal Ministry of Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, organised an international roundtable, which took place on December 16, 2015 in Berlin.

The evening of the 16th of November 2015 saw the official launch of “TruLies Europe”, a joint project of the Institute for European Politics (IEP) and Das Progressive Zentrum. In the Berlin offices of the Stiftung Mercator, the project’s patron, the Minister of State for Europe in the German Federal Foreign Office, Michael Roth MdB, held a keynote address for some 100 invited guests. His speech was made in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on Paris.

On the 10th of November Claudia Chwalisz’s book “The Populist Signal” was presented and discussed in the offices of Das Progressive Zentrum. The event took place in the context of the “TruLies: The Truth about Lies about Europe” project. Claudia Chwalisz advocates that democratic innovation as the answer to growing populism.

Am 8. Mai 2015 fand ein vom Progressiven Zentrum und dem Debattenmagazin Berliner Republik organisierter Roundtable zur britischen Unterhauswahl des Tags zuvor statt. In der Parlamentarischen Gesellschaft wurde insbesondere diskutiert, was das Ergebnis für die deutsch-britischen Beziehungen und die Zukunft der EU bedeutet.