The aim of the lecture series is to both explore the current state of the start of contemporary European democratic theory and explore its future. Rather than starting from a neat definition of European democratic theory, however, the basic presupposition of this project is that neither the existence nor the central characteristics of European democratic theory can be taken for granted. Instead, the lecture series and edited book interrogate two fundamental questions about European democratic theory: Does Europe and its political theoretical tradition have a specific contribution to make for theorizing democracy in the 21st century? If so, what are the central characteristics of that approach?