Today's Fight for Open Society

Join us for this conversation between Mark Malloch-Brown, President of the Open Society Foundations and Minouche Shafik, Director of LSE.

For decades, democracy and human-rights advocates have assumed that a growing number of governments were embracing democracy, freedom and the international law. Yet today, 38 percent of the world’s population live in countries which are not free – the highest proportion in a quarter of a century. As the enemies of open society further accelerate their attacks, and Ukraine becomes the frontline in a systems-breaking clash between democracy and authoritarianism, where do we turn next in today’s fight for open society?

Meet our speaker and chair

Mark MallochBrown (@malloch_brown) is President of the Open Society Foundations, the world’s largest private funder of independent groups working for justice, democratic governance, and human rights. He has worked to advance human rights, justice, and development for more than four decades, serving in a variety of roles including as the head of the United Nations Development Programme, as UN Deputy Secretary General under Kofi Annan, and as a British government minister, as well as at a range of other international institutions, civil society groups and businesses.

Minouche Shafik is Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science. Prior to this, she was Deputy Governor of the Bank of England. She is an alumna of LSE. Her new book, What We Owe Each Other: A New Social Contract, is out now. She is co-chair of the Economy 2030 Inquiry commission.

More about this event

The (@LSEPublicPolicy) is an international community where ideas and practice meet. Our approach creates professionals with the ability to analyse, understand and resolve the challenges of contemporary governance.

This event forms part of , a series imagining what the world could look like after the crisis, and how we get there.

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LSE holds a wide range of events, covering many of the most controversial issues of the day, and speakers at our events may express views that cause offence. The views expressed by speakers at LSE events do not reflect the position or views of the London School of Economics and Political Science.