In conversation with Rory Stewart

The age of populism began in 2015. Starting with the election of Narendra Modi in India, Brexit in the UK, Trump in the US and Bolsonaro in Brazil all followed as part of a new form of politics, pitching an imagined ‘people’ against an ‘elite’ and exploiting the new potential of social media and growing resentment to inflame polarization. Politics became even more vicious and divisive while the pragmatic centre ground disappeared.
Across the world, the number of democracies began to shrink, the number of violent conflicts and refugees increased, as did civilian deaths in conflict. And, in 2022, the Russian invasion of Ukraine brought a new authoritarian inflection to the age of populism.
Key questions discussed during this event include:
How do we respond to these threats to democracy?
What hope is there for the centre ground?
What part can hope, reality and truth play in the future of democratic politics and the global order?