In the spring of 2025, in response to the re-election of Donald J. Trump as 47th president of the USA, a group of historians working in the United States, Germany and Europe held a series of virtual conversations on the past, present and future of democracy. The aim was to share and discuss historical expertise in light of an extraordinary moment in time. The series was organized by the four editors of this collection and co-hosted by The New School in New York, Bielefeld University, the American Historical Association and the Max Weber Foundation. In six thematic panels, scholars working on issues related to the rise and demise of democratic orders in history gathered from mid-April to mid-June 2025 to provide concise inputs (5 minutes) meant to preserve a critical public sphere and enrich it with profound, conceptionally and empirically grounded insights from their respective fields and to reflect jointly on the current state of democracy in the United States (and beyond) in consideration of this knowledge. Furthermore, the series was to foster exchange of personal and professional experiences since the 2024 election, to weigh potential response strategies, to strengthen existing ties and to forge new ones.
