SCRIPTS Cluster of Excellence receives second round of funding

The Hertie School is proud to announce that the Cluster of Excellence SCRIPTS “Contestations of the Liberal Script” has been selected for a second round of funding under the Excellence Strategy of the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft – DFG). The second phase of funding, to last for seven years, ensures that SCRIPTS will continue its vital interdisciplinary research into the challenges facing liberal democracy, with a new focus on democratic resilience. 

SCRIPTS is an eight-member consortium including the Hertie School and several Berlin-based institutions. It is hosted by Freie Universität Berlin and directed by Prof. Dr Tanja Börzel of this university. Launched in 2019, the cluster examines what is driving contestations to the liberal model of politics and economics, and the consequences this has for global challenges of the 21st century. SCRIPTS 2.0, the second phase of the project beginning in January 2026, will delve deeper into why some liberal democracies demonstrate greater resilience in the face of polarisation, and how they adapt and endure in the face of those pressures.

Renewed funding testifies to interdisciplinary team’s efforts

Mark Hallerberg, Dean of Research and Faculty and Professor of Public Management and Political Economy at the Hertie School, serves as Co-Deputy Director of SCRIPTS. Reflecting on the renewed funding, he says:

“The continuation of SCRIPTS under the DFG’s Excellence Strategy testifies to the collaborative efforts of our interdisciplinary team, which works with our Berlin partners. At the Hertie School, we are committed to contributing to both scholarly debates and public discourse on liberal democracy and its resilience in today’s complex global landscape. We look forward to exploring these topics further within SCRIPTS.” 

Also contributing to SCRIPTS at the Hertie School are Professor of International and Cyber Security Anita Gohdes and Assistant Professor of Economics Arianna Ornaghi, both of whom serve as Principal Investigators in the cluster.

Germany’s Excellence Strategy aims to strengthen top-level research in the country

The Excellence Strategy, jointly implemented by Germany’s federal and state governments, aims to strengthen top-level research at the country’s universities. In this second round of competition, 70 Clusters of Excellence were selected for funding from a total of 98 proposals, with 45 being renewals and 25 new clusters. The selected clusters will receive annual funding totalling approximately €539 million, with the funding period running for seven years. 

With this renewed support, SCRIPTS is poised to continue its critical work in exploring the dynamics of liberal democracy and its contestations, contributing valuable insights to academia and policymaking alike.

For more information about SCRIPTS and its research initiatives, visit our webpage.