Thursday, October 26 at 2:00 pm
Is Western Democracy in Danger?
Do the populist and nationalist uprisings that led to Donald Trump and Brexit signal Western democracy’s certain decline? Or can recent events be seen as part of a healthy and regenerative antidote to policies that have challenged liberal institutions and marginalized the middle class? Some predict that a resilient liberal world order will rally to triumph over fear, xenophobia and fractured political parties – others say that support for autocratic alternatives is on the rise.
The Debaters:
Bernard-Henri Lévy is a philosopher, activist, and filmmaker. His most recent book, The Genius of Judaism, was published in January 2017 by Random House. His New York Times best-sellers include American Vertigo, Barbarism with a Human Face, and Who Killed Daniel Pearl? His writing has appeared in a wide range of publications throughout Europe and the United States. His films include the documentaries Bosna!, The Oath of Tobruk, Peshmerga, and The Battle of Mosul. Lévy is co-founder of the antiracist group SOS Racisme. He has served on diplomatic missions for the French government.
Yascha Mounk is a lecturer on government at Harvard University and a senior fellow at New America. A columnist at Slate and the host of The Good Fight podcast, he is an expert on the rise of populism and the crisis of liberal democracy. His next book, The People versus Democracy: Why Our Freedom is in Danger and How to Save It, will be published by Harvard University Press in January 2018 and translated into six languages.
Clive Crook is a Bloomberg View columnist and writes editorials on economics, finance and politics. Prior to this, he served as a senior editor at The Atlantic, and as the chief Washington commentator for Financial Times. He worked for more than 20 years at The Economist, as economics correspondent, Washington correspondent, economics editor, and deputy editor. In that last role he guided the magazine’s editorial line across its interests in business, politics, and international relations. He previously served as an official in the British finance ministry and the Government Economic Service.
Kori Schake is a distinguished research fellow at the Hoover Institution. She is the editor, with Jim Mattis, of the book Warriors and Citizens: American Views of Our Military and teaches Thinking About War at Stanford University. She is a contributing editor at the Atlantic, and also writes for War on the Rocks and Foreign Policy. Schake has served in various policy roles including at the White House, Department of Defense, and the State Department. During the 2008 presidential election, she was senior policy advisor on the McCain-Palin campaign.
To listen to the audio of Is Western Democracy in Danger?” on Intelligence Squared online, please click HERE.