On September 30, 2019 Grigorij Mesežnikov took part in the round table Illiberal democracy: contradiction, ideology or characteristic of our age? held in Vienna. The event was organized by the Institute for Human Sciences (Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen – IWM) as part of the Europe’s Futures program. Speakers on the discussion focused on manifestations of illiberal democracy in several European countries (Macedonia, Great Britain, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) included Katerina Kolozova (Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, Skopje), Luke Cooper (Anglia Ruskin University, UK), Niccolo Milanese (European Alternatives), Peter Krekó (Political Capital, Budapest), Leszek Jażdżewski (Liberté journal, Lodz) and IVO president. Ivan Vejvoda, head of IWM Europe’s Futures program, also took part in the discussion. 

In their contributions, the roundtable participants addressed both academic research and practical policy issues. They assessed the theoretical coherence of the concept of illiberal democracy itself, the boundary between liberal and illiberal democracy, the links between illiberal democracy and populism, autoritarianism, state capture, nationalism and majoritarianism. 

In September 2019 – June 2020 Grigorij Mesežnikov is a fellow in the IWM Europe‘s Futures program.