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The current rise of right wing populist leaders in democracies around the world, from Donald Trump to Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, has led to a debate on the fuzziness of these new regimes that are eroding liberalism by incorporating totalitarian features. Some argue that the term ‘fascist’ would be useful in understanding the nature of politics in these countries, while others warn against an inflationary use of the term. We close the second season of the podcast by asking Professor Jason Stanley (Yale University) whether the term ‘fascism’ helps us understand what is happening in the US and how this ideology is seeping into democracies the world over.

There is considerable political mobilization and legal contention around Reproductive rights in many democracies around the world. In the US, a rollback of these rights has been underway over the past decades. The Supreme Court is likely to (re)consider its landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. In contrast, activists have made progress on reproductive rights elsewhere in the world. Only a few months ago, Argentina legalised abortions up to the 14th week of pregnancy. In this episode, we’re joined by Katha Pollitt (feminist writer and activist) and Tamara Tenenbaum (University of Buenos Aires and also an activist) to compare and contrast the experience in their societies. They discuss what the current struggles, setbacks and victories mean for the future of reproductive rights around the world.

Disclaimer: this episode contains explicit language

Power is a crucial, if essentially contested, concept. Its nature and exercise in democratic politics are not always easily grasped. Understanding who holds power, how it is used, and the relationship between those who govern and those who are governed, is critical in any political system. Professor Steven Lukes (formerly NYU) helps us figure out how to map power in politics and explains when and how it is visible.

Digital technologies have changed and are changing our world. But the euphoria about these technologies improving not only connectivity but access for all along with creating a global public sphere have given way to caution about their impact. With the increasing monopolization of digital infrastructure and accumulation of power by a few giant Big Tech companies, there is also increasing concern over its impact on our freedoms, as well as the ways in which it shapes how we live our lives and perceive the world. In this episode, Evgeny Morozov (founder of the content recommendation website The Syllabus) helps us understand how we can structure digital spaces more democratically while harvesting the transformational potential of these technologies.

The pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong is facing its most severe crisis today. The Chinese government has been tightening its grip over the island slowly but surely to stifle political protest, impose restrictions on freedom of press, and hamper free and fair elections. Activists have been fighting for civil liberties and democratic rights, e.g. from the Umbrella Revolution of 2014 to the huge anti-extradition law demonstrations in 2020. Jean-Pierre Cabestan (Hong Kong Baptist University) explores the events leading up to the backlash against civic activism, the current state of democracy in Hong Kong and its future prospects.

Since the recording of this episode, the Apple Daily News has been forced to close. It was the last print news outlet openly critical of the Chinese government.

Over the series, our focus has often been on the serious challenges that democracies face all over the world today. We have also highlighted how they can and are degenerating and morphing into authoritarianism. But this episode flips the perspective to understand how we can foster and nurture democratic spaces and practices in our societies. Professor Till Van Rahden (Université de Montréal) discusses why we should move beyond an institutional view of democracy as a system of government. We explore with him how democracy is a fragile way of life that needs constant care and how it can be protected.