Liberalism's Embattled Present (and Possibly Hopeful Future)

A report from an important conference held in Washington D.C. earlier this month

Conference organizer Shikha Dalmia speaking at the conclusion of a panel featuring (from left) Anne Applebaum, Azar Nafisi, Henri Barkey, and Zack Beauchamp.

Chris Cillizza and I had another of our chit-chats about the latest developments in the presidential race. (As you might have heard, there’ve been a few!) You can find that conversation here.

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Just before the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, I attended a fabulous two-day conference in Washington D.C. sponsored by the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism titled “Liberalism for the 21st Century.” While there, I expected to write an enthusiastic post about it. But then the Republican nominee for president was nearly assassinated, and then the Republican convention began, and then Donald Trump announced his choice of running mate, and then he delivered a deranged speech on the closing night of the convention, and then President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed his Vice President, Kamala Harris, to take his place.

Just a couple of weeks during the summer of 2024.

Now that things seem, slightly, to be settling down, I want to loop back to that conference, which was organized by the good folks at The UnPopulist and spearheaded by my former colleague at The Week Shikha Dalmia. (Please read her opening remarks at the conference.) There was talk of the gathering being the first of many such meetings, and I hope that proves to be the case. It was an inspiring and stimulating event that brought together writers, thinkers, policymakers, and analysts ranging from the center-left to the center-right and united in their skepticism of the ascendent populist right around the world, while also taking its challenge to the liberal order every bit as seriously as it needs to be.  

How We Got Here, and How to Get Out