Over the past decade, liberalism has increasingly ceased to function as an unquestioned horizon of political life in Western democracies. Electoral shifts, cultural polarisation, and the growing appeal of illiberal actors suggest that what is at stake is not a temporary crisis or a series of political accidents, but a deeper transformation of the normative foundations of contemporary societies. Liberalism’s former cultural hegemony is eroding, and it is now openly challenged by competing political imaginaries that present themselves as more rooted, more protective, or more realistic.

This lecture examines the nature of this post-liberal moment by asking whether liberalism is simply in need of reform, whether it is being fundamentally reconfigured, or whether we are witnessing the emergence of a new ideological landscape altogether. It explores the structural conditions that have enabled illiberal ideas to gain traction, including socioeconomic inequalities, technocratic governance, cultural dislocation, and the weakening of shared narratives of progress. Particular attention will be paid to the rise of new right-wing political imaginaries in Europe and the United States, their relationship to democratic norms, and their implications for both domestic politics and the international order. Rather than treating illiberalism as a deviation or anomaly, the lecture invites a broader reflection on ideological competition in contemporary democracies and on the possible futures now opening before Western societies.

Marlene Laruelle, PhD, is Professor at Luiss University, Rome, Italy. She also serves as Director of the Illiberalism Studies Program, a transatlantic initiative based in Washington and Paris. Before joining Luiss, Marlene Laruelle was Research Professor at The George Washington University for 15 years and the Director of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) there. Trained in political theory, her research explores contemporary ideologies in Russia, Europe and the United States, as well as the transnational nature of illiberalism. She has recently edited The Oxford Handbook of Illiberalism (Oxford University Press, 2024).

This lecture will be introduced by Marie-Laure Salles, Director of the Geneva Graduate Institute.