The Federal President's "Forum Bellevue on the Future of Democracy", part of a series of events on the future of democracy, aims to facilitate critical and open debate on current and fundamental issues affecting our society and thereby contribute to the well-being of our liberal democracy. At each event, the Federal President engages in discussion with German and international thought leaders from the worlds of science, politics, culture, business and civil society on topics such as the effects of digitalisation, the impact of demographic change and just how much inequality a democracy can tolerate.

The Forum provides a platform in which to explore controversial questions and new points of view while seeking open debate on the conditions of success and the challenges faced by liberal democracy. The series of events, which are organised in cooperation with the Bertelsmann Stiftung, was launched with a question posed by Federal President Steinmeier on September 19, 2017: "Which future will the West have?"