How "America" Dies (or Doesn't): Democratic Backsliding in the US
Published: 30 September 2026
Professor David Barker (American University, Washington, D.C.) examined the challenges facing modern democracy, from declining public trust and growing polarisation to weakening civic norms, and discussed what recovery could look like beyond the Trump era.
Perhaps the most dramatic—and alarming—example of democratic backsliding is occurring in the United States.
Eroding trust, crippling polarisation, crumbling civil liberties, and corroding social capital are diminishing electoral competition, empowering executive overreach (including internationally), erasing civic norms and inciting political violence. In this lecture, Professor David Barker (American University, Washington, D.C.) dissected these trends and diagnosed the prospects for recovery on the post-Trump horizon.
First published: 30 September 2026