Wolfgang Merkel, Director of the research unit 'Democracy and Democratization', WZB Berlin Social Science Center and Professor of Political Science at Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin,,Raj Kollmorgen, Professor of Sociology and Management of Social Change, University of Applied Sciences Zittau/Gorlitz,Hans-Jurgen Wagener, Professor Emeritus, European University Viadrina Frankfurt/Oder and Rijksuniversiteit Groningen