Liberal democracies are increasingly finding themselves in crisis on the international stage: whilst on paper they are all democracies, in practice their forms of government differ from Western models – which are still regarded as ‘ideals’ today – due to differences in cultural and religious values. There is no consensus on common guidelines as to what it actually means to be a democracy.

How far can the concept of democracy be stretched before it snaps? Can revitalising opportunities for political participation and political competition help to bridge international differences? The interdisciplinary workshop ‘Paths to Polyarchy? Cultural Grammars and Institutional Evolution in a Global Comparative Perspective’ addresses precisely this issue and focuses on an alternative solution to the crisis of democracies: the concept of polyarchy. This will be discussed with academics from various academic disciplines.