Is the US still a democracy? Authoritarian populism in the Trump era
Hosted by the Ralph Miliband Programme
In-person public event (Sheikh Zayed Theatre, Cheng Kin Ku Building)
Monday 17 November 2025 6.30pm - 8pm
Less than a year into the second Trump administration, federal troops have been deployed to major cities, mass deportations are underway without due process, independent institutions are being purged, science is under attack, and Congress is abdicating its Constitutional authority over spending to an emboldened White House.
Is the US still a democracy? Where is the country heading? And what does the US experience tell us about the nature of authoritarianism in the 21st century - and how to best defend democracy?
Meet our speaker and chair
Brian Klaas (@brianklass) is Professor of Global Politics at University College London, an associate researcher at the University of Oxford, and a contributing writer for The Atlantic. Prior to becoming an academic, he co-managed a campaign for governor of Minnesota. Klaas’s research on authoritarianism, democracy, and US politics has been widely featured in international media.
Robin Archer is Associate Professor in Global Politics in the Department of Sociology at LSE.
More about this event
The Ralph Miliband programme (@RMilibandLSE) is one of the LSE's most prestigious public lecture series, receiving attention not only at the LSE but across London, the UK, and globally. The programme was set up in 1996 thanks to a generous anonymous benefaction from a former PhD student inspired by 'Ralph Miliband's contribution to social thought'. He specified that the funds be used in memory of his friend and mentor 'to advance his spirit of free social inquiry' and the diversity of thought that has always been the hallmark of LSE.
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