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Aug 5, 2025 35 min

Democracy on the Brink

from WSJ Opinion: Free Expression Hosted by Gerard Baker, Editor at Large, The Wall Street Journal

Liberal democracy is under siege. Domestically, popular discontent with civic, cultural and political institutions is tempting voters in many democracies towards more authoritarian leadership. Globally, the axis of autocracies in Russia and China threaten to upend weaker democratic neighbors. Donald Trump’s trade policies and diplomacy are weakening alliances and undermining faith in "the west.” Is democracy in retreat? Does it matter? On this episode of Free Expression, Gerry Baker and former British prime minister Rishi Sunak discuss the state of democracy in the U.K. and the U.S, how liberal democracy can be strengthened, and how rapid technological change is affecting economics and politics. And the U.K.'s last Conservative prime minister offers his thoughts on the state of conservatism on both sides of the Atlantic.

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Democracy on the Brink

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