The Institute is led by Laszlo Bruszt, Professor of Sociology specializing in regime change and former acting President and Rector of CEU, and Renata Uitz, Professor (and former Head) of the CEU Department of Legal Studies, and former Chair (Director) of the Comparative Constitutional Law program (2007-20).

The Institute will also be guided by an interdisciplinary Advisory Board comprised of a group of leading experts on democracy. The Institute is hiring top scholars to lead research, mobilize their networks, and build intellectual influence. A fellowship program will ensure the ongoing exchange of ideas, research, and policy practice among scholars from around the globe. Partnerships with pan-European university network CIVICA, the Open Society University Network and others, as well as the Institute’s ability to host gatherings of all kinds, will ensure the Institute is global in scope.