S5-Ep8: Democracy on the Run: How Strong and Capable Leaders Can Impact

Guests: Mike Hardy, Veronika Anghel & Matt Qvortrup

According to Freedom House, over 60% of the world’s countries were democracies at the turn of the millennium. The number is now below 50%. Democratic breakdowns are not often dramatic events. Often popular government is brought down gradually, almost imperceptibly. Democracies are undermined from within, through abusing tax laws against opponents, employing libel laws to silence the press, selecting friendly judges to tilt the political balance, and while typically, political parties remain in existence and there are still elections, one day — democracy ceases to exist. Thought leaders working in a broad range of countries discuss how would-be despots, dictators, and demagogues have finessed these undermining techniques and will share leadership strategies that can be used to strengthen democracies.