In what has been a year of political turmoil, violence and vitriol, The Conversation’s contributors have sought to explain the reasons behind and the consequences of key events.
From the victory of the Brexit campaign that now sees the UK preparing to start negotiations on leaving the European Union, to the election of Donald Trump as US president, it has been a sobering year for pollsters, and for those whose preferred political currency is hard facts.
But 2017 could see even more shocks to the political establishment, particularly in Europe where key elections are scheduled in both France and Germany.
In this year’s final The Anthill podcast, we’re saying goodbye to 2016 and looking ahead to some of the economic and political trends that will influence our lives over the next 12 months.
First, we take a critical look at globalisation. Many of 2016’s upheavals have been a backlash against the world’s economic system, which has clearly benefited some more than others. Kingston University economist Steve Keen explains how many of the people who voted for Trump and Brexit have been left worse off by what is dubbed globalisation.
We also ask him what this heralds for 2017 and beyond. And we discuss the future of trade deals with University of Bath international trade expert Maria Garcia. She points out the important difference between rhetoric and reality when it comes to what we can expect from Trump and European leaders.
In the second part of this episode, we’ve pulled together a panel of experts to discuss the big political events to come in 2017 – and help figure out how both our leaders and we as citizens can try to make it a better year than 2016.
Reader in European politics at the University of Westminster, Patricia Hogwood, looks ahead at the challenges facing the European Union, while Andy Price, head of politics at Sheffield Hallam University, mulls over how best to approach the next steps of the Brexit negotiations. And journalism professor at City University of London, Jane Singer, helps us, as consumers of media, work out how to better hold our leaders to account in 2017.
Thanks for listening.
The Anthill theme music is by Alex Grey for Melody Loops. A big thank you to City University London’s Department of Journalism for the use of their studios.
Click here to listen again to any of the episodes of The Anthill on themes from belief, to underdogs, fuel and darkness, or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts from.