Uploaded July 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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A club of autocratic and authoritarian leaders is coalescing, mimicking one another’s ‘best practices,’ stoking fears of the ‘other,’ and offering moral support for repressive internal practices globally. These leaders are emboldened by Donald Trump and abetted by growing divisions over basic facts. This dynamic is further compounded by established authoritarians, who take advantage of the openness, polarization, and dysfunction in democratic societies to assault truth, exacerbate division, and advance the idea that democracy does not ‘deliver’. Ambassador Power will assess these trends and discuss potential remedies for supporters of democracy worldwide.

This lecture was held at the 2018 Holberg Symposium: "Democracy and Truth" in honour of Holberg Laureate Cass Sunstein.

Biography: Samantha Power is the Anna Lindh Professor of the Practice of Global Leadership and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and the former United States Ambassador to the United Nations (2013-2017).