In the first part of the talk I give an update on the phase structure of QCD at vanishing and finite temperature and density. Specifically results are discussed for the order parameters of confinement-deconfinement and chiral phase transitions, the nature of these transitions and their interrelation, as well as the thermodynamics of QCD.

In the second part of the talk the above results are used for the computation of gluon spectral functions and transport coefficients, i.e. the viscosity over entropy ratio at finite temperature. I will also discuss the occurance of condensation phenomena and turbulent phases in the far-from-equilibrium dynamics of gauge theories at the example of an Abelian Higgs model. This model is specifically interesting as it bears a close resembles to the gauge sector of QCD within specific gauges. Moreover, the strength of the gauge coupling relative to the scalar self-interaction is a free parameter which allows the detailed study of the effects of the gauge field dynamics.