This panel discussion will explore how populist media and historical narratives are creating a crisis of self-belief in Western liberal democracies.

Liberal democracies and institutions are under pressures not seen in the West since the 1930s. Alongside direct challenges to the political order by radical populist politicians, liberalism’s soft power is being weakened by virulent populist media, politicised and skewed historical narratives and attacks on liberal western values.

In this far-reaching discussion, three experts will examine these powerful challenges to democracy and the liberal order. Topics will include the role of populist journalism and social media, how populist historical narratives distort our relationship with the past and our subsequent understanding of reality, and the West’s loss of self-belief in its liberal values.

Christopher Coker is Director of LSE IDEAS. He was Professor of International Relations at LSE, retiring in 2019.

John Lloyd is a Contributing editor to the Financial Times and a co-founder of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. His book, "Should Auld Acquaintance be Forgot: the Great Mistake of Scottish Nationalism" was published in April 2020 by Polity.

Janne Haaland Matlary is a Professor of International Politics at the University of Oslo, specialising in energy policy, security policy, strategy, and political risk. She served as State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway from 1997 to 2000. 

Richard Ralph is former UK Ambassador to Romania.

Event hashtags: #RatiuDialogues

LSE IDEAS (@lseideas) is LSE's foreign policy think tank. We connect academic knowledge of diplomacy and strategy with the people who use it.