This edited volume authored by researchers from the Center for comparative socio-economic and political studies, IMEMO RAS focuses on the main trends and prospects of political and social development of Western democracies and Russia. The main topics include the surge of populism and Euroscepticism in the EU countries with special attention to the reasons of social tensions and political conflicts, and to the future outlines for politics in Europe and in the world. Several key issues of contemporary political and social developments in Russia and prospects of political transformations and conflicts in post-Soviet countries are also analyzed. A special section of the book is devoted to changes in the labour market, trends in healthcare and education policies and to the role of ethnic, religious and cultural diversity in political, economic and social transformations. The authors contemplate possible changes in existing models of social development and reflect on the outlines of our political future.