It is with great pleasure that I present to you the new December edition of idea, the alumni magazine of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. Through stories, interviews and essays by our alumni, students and scholars, we contribute to pushing the boundaries of what we can do, think and hope.

We live in a time when technological developments have been advancing at great speed, while events in the world sometimes seem to throw us back into the past. Especially in times when differences seem to be increasingly emphasised, the university – and our faculty in particular – has the task of pushing boundaries and seeking connection.

Scholars in the fields of social sciences and humanities, religion and theology offer interpretation of complex issues related to war and peace, climate, elections and cabinet formation, AI developments and more.

Martyn Rady, emeritus professor of Central European History at University College London, describes the history of Central Europe in his book The Habsburgs. This book is not only a history of the Habsburgs and of Europe, but also an ode to a way of life, to cultural similarities and differences between the peoples and regions that lived under Habsburg rule.