This chapter positions the volume within broader scholarly and societal debates on the erosion of liberal democracy and the growing dissensus surrounding its institutions, practices and ideals. This introduction first traces the trajectory from democracy’s postwar consolidation and post-1989 triumph to its contemporary crises. It highlights how multiple crises have contributed to the erosion of the core pillars of liberal democracy. Next, it frames the book’s original methodological approach underlining the importance of lived or everyday experiences born from contemporary dissensus over liberal democracy, where dissensus is understood as a conflict between different types of actors over the meaning, values, and institutions of this political ideal. It gives voice to actors who, in their daily activities, are faced with democratic backsliding, failure, erosion, decline and the resurgence of authoritarianism, both in Europe and beyond. This approach moves beyond traditional interdisciplinary exchanges between law, history and political science. It invites deeper engagement with literature and humanities to better capture the cultural and existential dimensions of current challenges. The 28 stand-alone interviews are roughly clustered, with an initial batch offering a set of wider reflections on the articulations of democracy with the market, participation, culture, media and the rule of law and the latter half going into greater detail on the democratic challenges associated with European policymaking, whether internal or external to the EU.