On 9 September 2019, Grigorij Mesežnikov delievered a speech at the Institute for Human Sciences for (Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen, IWM) in the framework of the Europe's Futures program (https://www.iwm.at/research/projects/europes-futures/). 

The program is a joint initiative of IWM and the ERSTE Foundation under the leadership of Ivan Vejvoda, a leading European public intellectual and activist. The program aims to research the risks and challenges contemporary Europe and the liberal democratic system are faced with. 

In September 2019 - June 2020, IVO President will be a Europe’s Futures Fellow at IWM with an individual project titled Illiberal Regression of Democracy as an Opportunity for Political Extremism. In his speech, G. Meseznikov pointed out that in addition to the politics of ethnic nationalism and the impact of social problems (social deprivation), the distortions in governance, in the functioning of democratic institutions and in the rule of law act as important factor for the growth of extremist forces.