In recent years, the rise of authoritarian and populist tendencies within democracies onceconsidered stable has become a matter of deep concern. Despite the urgency of thisdevelopment, systematic knowledge of the underlying causes and the mechanisms capable ofcountering this development remains fragmented and incomplete. This points to a pressing needfor reflection on what enables democracy to function and endure. The conference takes this challenge as its starting point. It seeks to identify the social,institutional, and normative foundations that sustain democratic governance and to explore howthese can be strengthened. Relevant questions arise in particular within the following thematicareas: Democratic capabilities and the enabling of civil society; modes of participation; thenecessities of social inclusion; social cohesion and collective building; education and theorganization of knowledge; trust and commitment; as well as modern mechanisms ofdemocracy protection. By addressing these dimensions, the conference aims to deepen the understanding of howdemocracies can be made resilient – not only through legal and institutional safeguards, butalso through civic empowerment, social solidarity, and new modes of participation. It invitescontributions that explore the theoretical premises and the practical instruments that foster thevitality of democratic life, bridging insights from political science, sociology, law, philosophy,and related disciplines to chart new pathways for the renewal of democracy. Thisinterdisciplinary dialogue seeks to move beyond isolated analyses toward a holisticunderstanding of the enabling conditions of democracy.

In association with the Udo Keller Stiftung Forum Humanum and the TRA 4 – Individuals,Institutions and Societies, the International Centre for Philosophy (IZPH) of the University ofBonn is offering up to 5 Forum Humanum fellowships to qualified doctoral and mastersstudents from any department in the social sciences or humanities at the University of Bonn toparticipate at two events of the Institute for Philosophy and the New Humanities (IPNH) in2026: an event to be held at the University of Kyōto (Kyōto April 20-24) and an event to beheld at the New School for Social Research (New York City, Sep. 21-25).Since its inception in 2020, the IPNH has been committed to reformulating some of the mostbasic questions of the humanities in light of the ongoing transformation brought about byartificial intelligence. The so-called “AI revolution” has altered not only our social, political,and technological environments but also the very conceptual frameworks through which thehumanities have historically understood the human being, nature, reason, and the world.At the IPNH, we are convinced that the humanities can no longer merely comment on thesetransformations from the outside. Instead, they must take an active role in shaping new modesof understanding — combining historical-hermeneutic methods with advancedepistemological, ontological, and aesthetic theorizing. The aim is to create a new conceptualvocabulary capable of addressing the questions AI raises for selfhood, agency, interpretation,and the conditions of meaning.

Annemarie Schimmel’s life and work has built bridges between East and West, between Islam and Christianity and has inspired researchers of religion around the globe. On the occasion of her 100th birthday, the Annemarie Schimmel Fellowship was established to give international PhD students and young scholars the opportunity for a stay at the International Center for Comparative Theology and Social Issues (CTSI) at Bonn University to pursue research in the field of Comparative Theology. The Fellowship will support the CTSI’s goal of providing a space for exchange and bridge-building between various religious traditions.

In association with the Udo Keller Stiftung Forum Humanum and the TRA Individuals, Institutions and Societies, the International Centre for Philosophy (IZPH) of the University of Bonn is offering 6 Forum Humanum fellowships to qualified doctoral and masters students from any department in the social sciences or humanities at the University of Bonn to participate at two events of the Institute for Philosophy and the New Humanities (IPNH) this autumn: an event to be held at the New School for Social Research (New York City, Sep. 1-5) and at an event to be held at the Kyōto Institute of Philosophy (KIP) (Kyōto, Sep. 22-26). Researchers within the TRA Individuals and Societies investigate how institutions mediate complex relationships between individuals and society and thereby develop a new view of micro-phenomena (development of personality, agency, individualization) as well as macro-phenomena (world society, globalization). Sharing this research objective, the Institute for Philosophy and the New Humanities is founded on the premise that genuine knowledge acquisition, truth and objectivity are not the exclusive preserve of any single discipline or method. The concepts we deploy to understand and evaluate human cultural and scientific achievements also have to be placed within their broader social, political and intellectual context and therefore have to be approached from a truly interdisciplinary perspective. The Institute thus aims to bring together researchers from a variety of disciplines and draw on the resources of the social sciences, philosophy, and the humanities more generally, in order to pursue a collaborative understanding of the nature and goals of the humanistic and social scientific disciplines and to grapple with the challenges they face in light of the increasing prevalence of intellectual models imported from other disciplines. 

Social cohesion has many facets. For example, “the Council of Europe defines social cohesion as the ability of a society to ensure the well-being of all its members and to manage differences and divisions by minimising inequalities and avoiding marginalisation, and to ensure the means to achieve the well-being of all.” Social media, among others, play a special role in our society - with both integrating and fragmenting effects that need to be systematically empirically tested.At the same time, this correlates with questions about individual knowledge and skills, habits, behavioural styles and personality traits, but also about motives, goals and (educational) contexts, which can only be answered through cooperation between economics, sociology, law, psychology, theology, media studies and others.

Social cohesion has many facets. For example, “the Council of Europe defines social cohesion as the ability of a society to ensure the well-being of all its members and to manage differences and divisions by minimising inequalities and avoiding marginalisation, and to ensure the means to achieve the well-being of all.” Social media, among others, play a special role in our society - with both integrating and fragmenting effects that need to be systematically empirically tested. At the same time, this correlates with questions about individual knowledge and skills, habits, behavioural styles and personality traits, but also about motives, goals and (educational) contexts that can only be answered through cooperation between economics, sociology, law, psychology, theology, media studies and others.

Annemarie Schimmel’s life and work has built bridges between East and West, between Islam and Christianity and has inspired researchers of religion around the globe. On the occasion of her 100th birthday, the Annemarie Schimmel Fellowship was established to give international PhD students and young scholars the opportunity for a stay at the International Center for Comparative Theology and Social Issues (CTSI) at Bonn University to pursue research in the field of Comparative Theology. The Fellowship will support the CTSI’s goal of providing a space for exchange and bridge-building between various religious traditions. A) For PhD students What we offer 4-month research stay at the CTSI from April-July including working space, access to library, participation in events, and the opportunity to discuss your project with international researchers. You can use your stay to develop a full research proposal for a scholarship application or focus on a specific part of your PhD project. Participation in the networking activities of the Transdisciplinary Research Area Individuals, Institutions and Societies (TRA 4) Travel allowance depending on country of destination Financial support for visa and health insurance Housing in Bonn 600 Euros monthly scholarship to cover your daily expenses How to apply The deadline for application is 15 August each year for the Fellowship in the following year. Decisions will be made by the end of September. Please provide a 5-page proposal of your research idea in the area of Comparative Theology, including the concrete questions you would like to pursue during your stay in BonnYour CV Contact details of two members of academic staff that would write a letter of recommendation upon our request B) For Postdocs What we offer 2-month research stay at the CTSI from May-June including working space, access to library, participation in events, and the opportunity to discuss your project with international researchers Participation in the networking activities of the Transdisciplinary Research Area Individuals, Institutions and Societies (TRA 4) Travel allowance depending on country of destination Financial support for visa and health insurance Housing in Bonn 600 Euros monthly scholarship to cover your daily expenses How to apply The deadline for application is 15 August each year for the Fellowship in the following year. Decisions will be made by the end of September. Please provide a 5-page proposal of your research idea in the area of Comparative Theology, including the concrete questions you would like to pursue during your stay in BonnYour CV List of publications Please send all documents combined in one PDF-file to lwiesenh@uni-bonn.de.Find out more about the CTSIFind out more about TRA 4

The University of Bonn Transdisciplinary Research Areas (TRAs) aim to jointly support highly innovative, transdisciplinary collaborative research projects from researchers from at least two different TRAs. The funded projects should address new and relevant questions at the interface between disciplines or should aim at the development of new tools, which push the borders of existing research questions. The innovative and cross-disciplinary nature of the proposal is the most important requirement for funding. A continuation of already established projects will not be funded.