Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Kishore Mahbubani, Michael Ignatieff, and Marlène Laruelle debate the future of liberal democracy and the economics of authoritarianism.
Is the West wrong to hold the ideals of liberalism and democracy in such high regard?
With a free trial, you can watch the full debate NOW at iai.tv/video/the-age-of-the-illiberal-democracy?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description
The West is often defined as the home of liberal democracy, with liberalism and democracy seen as inseparable. But from the start, there has been tension between democracy as the will of the majority, and liberalism as the protection of minority rights and free speech. Now we are seeing the rise of so-called 'illiberal democracies', sceptical of checks on executive power and liberal institutions. Illiberal democracies are now the most common form of government, according to The Economist. Victor Orbán, the former President of Hungary, listed his own country along with Singapore, Russia, Turkey and China among them, with 3% higher growth on average over the last 30 years than the liberal democracies of the West.
Does illiberal democracy threaten the rise of autocratic or even fascist regimes? Is democracy meaningless if government constrains freedom of speech or seeks to influence the media and the judiciary? Or are unelected bodies such as the civil service, federal agencies, academia and the law themselves potential threats to the democratic will of the people?
#politics #america #democracy #geopolitics #china #india
Kishore Mahbubani is a Singaporean diplomat and scholar, former President of the UN Security Council, whose work examines the geopolitics of Asia's return to the global centre stage.
Michael Ignatieff is a writer, historian, and former Leader of Canada's Liberal Party whose books on nationalism and human rights established him as a central voice in post–Cold War political thought.
Marlene Laruelle is a historian, sociologist and political scientist at George Washington University, where she directs the Illiberalism Studies Programme.
The Institute of Art and Ideas features videos and articles from cutting edge thinkers discussing the ideas that are shaping the world, from metaphysics to string theory, technology to democracy, aesthetics to genetics. Subscribe today! iai.tv/subscribe?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=the-age-of-the-illiberal-democracy
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Kishore Mahbubani, Michael Ignatieff, and Marlène Laruelle debate the future of liberal democracy and the economics of authoritarianism.
Is the West wrong to hold the ideals of liberalism and democracy in such high regard?
With a free trial, you can watch the full debate NOW at iai.tv/video/the-age-of-the-illiberal-democracy?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description
The West is often defined as the home of liberal democracy, with liberalism and democracy seen as inseparable. But from the start, there has been tension between democracy as the will of the majority, and liberalism as the protection of minority rights and free speech. Now we are seeing the rise of so-called 'illiberal democracies', sceptical of checks on executive power and liberal institutions. Illiberal democracies are now the most common form of government, according to The Economist. Victor Orbán, the former President of Hungary, listed his own country along with Singapore, Russia, Turkey and China among them, with 3% higher growth on average over the last 30 years than the liberal democracies of the West.
Does illiberal democracy threaten the rise of autocratic or even fascist regimes? Is democracy meaningless if government constrains freedom of speech or seeks to influence the media and the judiciary? Or are unelected bodies such as the civil service, federal agencies, academia and the law themselves potential threats to the democratic will of the people?
#politics #america #democracy #geopolitics #china #india
Kishore Mahbubani is a Singaporean diplomat and scholar, former President of the UN Security Council, whose work examines the geopolitics of Asia's return to the global centre stage.
Michael Ignatieff is a writer, historian, and former Leader of Canada's Liberal Party whose books on nationalism and human rights established him as a central voice in post–Cold War political thought.
Marlene Laruelle is a historian, sociologist and political scientist at George Washington University, where she directs the Illiberalism Studies Programme.
The Institute of Art and Ideas features videos and articles from cutting edge thinkers discussing the ideas that are shaping the world, from metaphysics to string theory, technology to democracy, aesthetics to genetics. Subscribe today! iai.tv/subscribe?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=the-age-of-the-illiberal-democracy
For debates and talks: iai.tv
For articles: iai.tv/articles
For courses: iai.tv/iai-academy/courses
