Fill 2019: The Future Of Democracy

(This is a past event and is no longer running)

Voters around the world seem more and more attracted by strongmen. The number of democratic governments in the world is in decline. Even when democracy is formally preserved, one can’t escape the feeling that it is being increasingly twisted and eroded. Is that feeling true? And why do so many of our fellow citizens seem indifferent to the troubles of contemporary democracy? In this unmissable panel discussion, two leading political commentators discuss whether we all are destined to a world of authoritarian regimes, or whether there is a future for democracy.

Ece Temelkuran is a Turkish journalist and political commentator. In 2012 she was fired from Habertürk after writing articles critical of the Turkish government. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian and Le Monde Diplomatique, and her books have been translated into more than ten languages. Her latest books include Turkey: the insane and the melancholy, and How to lose a country: the 7 steps from democracy to dictatorship.

Andrea Mammone is a historian at Royal Holloway, University of London. He has published extensively on the far right, Italy, and transnational phenomena. He authored Transnational Neofascism in France and Italy  (Cambridge University Press) and Il falso mito dei Borbone (Mondadori, forthcoming). He has also written for the CNN, Al Jazeera, Foreign Affairs, The Guardian, New York Times, Washington Post, The Independent, HuffPost, and Corriere della Sera.

This event will be in English and partly in Italian with English translation provided.

Chair: Marco Magini is an London-based writer and political commentator.