The much deplored political and intellectual crisis of Western Liberalism, actual democratic backsliding in a EU-country like Hungary, rising populist movements throughout Europe that question liberal orders, and Russia’s challenge to countries in European Eastern neighborhood who seem to embark a path towards Western-style liberal democracy have given increased salience to the question how stable European and neighboring democracies are, how severe the crisis of legitimacy in the European Union is and what measure can be best employed to strengthen young and established democracies in the EU and its neighborhood.