Paul Nolte is Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Freie Universität Berlin, specializing in modern Germany, transatlantic history, and the history and theory of democracy. He is the author of “Was ist Demokratie? Geschichte und Gegenwart“ (published in 2012 with C.H. Beck, in German), and numerous other books and articles. He has been commenting political and social affairs in the media for more than two decades. He also is chief and managing editor of “Geschichte und Gesellschaft”, a major peer-reviewed journal with an emphasis in social and cultural history.