We’re not sure if the cure, the populist outsider, will work and make life better. but we are willing to experiment as the old certainties of representative politics wither.
Populism celebrates laypeople without offering them any real autonomy or integrity.
Geoff Livingston/flickr
Pundits have been keen to link post-truth to post-modernists, post-positivists or any other ‘postie’. They should turn their energy to forming a real popular front against Trump’s faux populism.
Graffiti on a wall in Sana'a, Yemen, denounces US drone strikes that have killed scores of civilians.
Khaled Abdullah/Reuters
The ancient Greek historian Herodotus once observed that Persian rulers indulged the habit of getting drunk when making important decisions. When sober and sensible next morning, their custom was to reconsider…
Donald Trump descends the escalator at Trump Tower to announce he will run for president.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Labour reformers toyed with the image of democratic participation without realising what it would actually lead to – a democratic debate. But the next step is not to backpedal against democracy.
Insulting Barack Obama made the headlines, but Rodrigo Duterte’s remarks referred to a long and dark history of US interference in the Philippines.
Narendra Shresthma, Mast Irham/EPA
The people of the Philippines and their president know all too well the hypocrisy of being lectured by the United States about violence, human rights and democracy.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage was an architect of Britain’s seismic decision to leave the European Union.
Chatham House/flickr
The populist appeal of simplistic answers to complex solutions is a challenge for political leaders.There are times when expertise and experience must prevail over the popular mood of the moment.
Democracy can only work if students realise the importance of active citizenship, but citizenship education has lost its way under David Cameron’s government.
Number 10/flickr
UK schools introduced citizenship education in 2002, but early gains have been reversed. The state of democracy and the Brexit vote suggest the need for informed citizens has never been greater.
Iran’s nuclear deal promises an era of economic and, by extension, political collaboration with the West.
Reuters/Umit Bektas
In both domestic and international politics, Iran’s ruling clergy is enjoying a much more secure position than previously.
Outgoing Greenpeace executive director Kumi Naidoo sees the struggles against political repression, poverty and climate change as intrinsically interconnected.
flickr/World Economic Forum
The emergence of ageing left-winger Jeremy Corbyn as the unlikely frontrunner in the Labour Party leadership contest signals that many British voters reject what politics has become.
In a hyper-democracy the headlines are always hot.
Steven Ritzer/flickr
The out-of-the-blue move to a living wage in the UK exemplifies the ditching of methodical public policy processes for manipulative hype and spin, the ‘hyper-democracy’ that brings politics into disrepute.
Hands up in the 15M movement in Madrid.
Ana Rey/flickr
Candidates from Spain’s ‘15M’ movement – born of mass protests in 2011 – have responded in various ways to the dilemma that being elected creates for those wishing to overturn the ‘old politics’.
Young Ed always had something over his brother.
EPA
Nick Rowley worked at Number 10, Ed at Number 11. It was here he showed his true potential for leadership.
Chee Soon Juan, pictured campaigning for Singapore’s 2011 general elections, hopes to build on that success in the next election, which is widely expected to be held early, possibly even this year.
Wikimedia Commons/Dexterleezh
The Lee dynasty and their People’s Action Party have ruled Singapore since 1959, but their grip on power has weakened. Opposition leader Chee Soon Juan talks about about his long fight for change.
The Indonesian public is demanding President Joko Widodo act decisively to save the country’s anti-corruption agency (KPK) from being undermined by the police.
AAP/Dani Daniar
Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is often hailed as an example of a successful anti-corruption agency. KPK’s workload is enormous as Southeast Asia’s biggest economy continues to be…
“Who do you trust?” has become a common mantra in Australian politics. Our political leaders should do much more to stop the answer being “no one”.
AAP Image/Julian Smith
A fundamental lack of trust is at the heart of Australian politicians’ extremely poor reputation. It is the main reason why people’s opinions about their elected representatives have mutated from healthy…