Introducing: What's Wrong with Democracy?

By the end of this year, countries making up half the world’s population will have held elections. But not all of them will have been free and fair. In ‘What’s Wrong with Democracy?’ Professor Ben Ansell of Oxford University will, with the help of academics, journalists, activists and writers, figure out whether democracy is working and how best to preserve democratic freedoms, equality and rights. What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by Open Society Foundations.

The world's biggest democracy goes to the polls

The world’s biggest democracy is currently in the middle of an election that will take six weeks to play out and involve over a billion people. Ben Ansell takes a closer look at the state of democracy in India, to try to understand what’s happening elsewhere. Guests: - Dr Pavi Suryanarayan, Assistant professor at the LSE, where she specialises in the role of ethnicity when it comes to voting. - Daniel Ziblatt, author of How Democracies Die - Mitali Mukherjee, Director of the Reurers institute’s Journalism programme What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by Open Society Foundations.

The autocrat next door

In Ukraine, democracy is under attack. Ben Ansell investigates what that means for the country’s future. Is the war a death knell or a rallying cry for democracy? What is at stake and how worried should we be about the rise of autocrats?

The autocrat behind the keyboard

Another front on the war against democracy is information warfare. Ben Ansell digs into how modern day autocrats are using this. For almost a decade China has been running a media influencing campaign in Africa. Now Russia has taken it mainstream, and digital. But how effective are these disinformation campaigns? What’s the endgame? And how can we build up our defence arsenal?

The trust deficit

Over the past 20 years the British public’s trust in politicians has been tested. Ben Ansell explores how trust is playing out in the UK’s upcoming general election. How can you restore trust in democracy? And is the UK an outlier or part of a wider global movement? Guests: Sacha Hilhorst, Senior Research Fellow with Commonwealth Polly Curtis, Chief Executive of Demos Richard Wike, Director of Global attitudes Research at the Pew Research Centre

The rise of populism

With populists rising to power around the world, Ben wants to know why, and how they flourish. Could establishment politicians learn a thing or two from populists about how to communicate? Do populists offer real solutions to voters’ problems do they ever actually deliver on their promises?

Big money, big problems?

This week, Ben’s asking what happens when money meets democracy. As lobbying scandals continue to rock our institutions, Ben wants to know how we can protect our democracies from corruption. Also what role should or could the wealthy, and super-wealthy play in keeping our democracies financially healthy? Does philanthropy have a place in modern functioning democracies? Guests: Valentina Pop, Europe news editor, the Financial Times Mark Malloch-Brown, former President of the Open Society Foundations What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by the Open Society Foundations.

Truth matters

The freedom to speak truth to power is under threat. Not just in authoritarian states, but increasingly within democracies too. This week Ben asks why access to reliable information is so important for democracy. And how important is the emergence of open source investigation in getting to the truth?

The case for an independent judiciary

Democracy needs independent courts, juries and judges to function properly. But what happens when that independence is compromised? This week, as more political institutions are rocked by corruption from partisan forces, Ben wants to know how we can protect the independence of our judiciaries, and what happens when they go wrong. When democratic institutions fail, what does this do to our faith in democracy? And can a compromised judiciary ever be restored?

The polarisation problem

Democracies are made up of people with different views. But how does democracy work if we can’t agree on anything? Ben speaks to Noreena Hertz about how loneliness leads to polarisation and then to Wendy Via to find out if opposing worldviews can ever be reconciled.

Why the kids don't care

In many democracies voter turnout is lower than it’s ever been, especially among young people. Ben wants to know what we can do to get millennials and Gen Z to the polls. Do we need to rethink how we cast a vote? Why aren’t politicians more focused on winning over the next generation of voters? And how can we stop this trend so that political apathy doesn’t become political alienation?

When to take to the streets

The history of protest and democracy is long and complex, but taking to the streets has resulted in major democratic changes in the past. This week, Ben wants to know if protest still has a role to play in today’s politics. What are the barriers to protesting effectively? Is the time for peaceful protest over? And with autocracies on the rise, do citizens need a new tool to express their discontent?

The dangers of identity politics

Democratic societies are a melting pot of people from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, but when political alliances are formed around a particular identity it can lead to division and sometimes violence. In this episode Ben explores one of the most extreme examples of ethnic conflict - the Rwandan genocide - and asks whether it’s possible to have a peaceful democracy after so much bloodshed.

The devil's in the demographic

US election special: do voting blocks matter in American elections? Polling organisations often define Americans by their ethnic and racial identity. Ben wants to know if these voter “blocks” remain intact at the ballot box. Is it possible to predict how people will vote based on their identity? Or is demographic polling pointless? What’s Wrong with Democracy? US election miniseries - part one of three. Guests: Christopher Towler, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at California State University, Sacramento Kira Sanbonmatsu, Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University and Senior Scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics Mark Hugo-Lopez, Director of Race and Ethnicity Research at the Pew Research Center What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by the Open Society Foundations.

What makes a good US president?

American voters have chosen the two candidates who will vie to become the next US president. Kamala Harris and Donald Trump couldn’t be more different. This week, Ben wants to know what kind of leaders American voters are drawn to. What makes a good president? And is the US primary system of choosing candidates a good way of selecting a leader?

On the campaign trail

It often feels like America is stuck in a perpetual election campaign cycle. How much do campaigns matter? Ben speaks to three guests who have followed several US presidential campaigns from the outside, and the inside. How different does this year’s look? What’s Wrong with Democracy? US election miniseries - part three of three. Guests: John Sides, Professor at the Department of Political Science at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee Lauren Gambiano, political correspondent for Guardian US Jim Messina, former campaign manager and former White House deputy chief of staff for operations under President Barack Obama What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by the Open Society Foundations.

How corruption corrodes

Where does the boundary lie between bad behaviour and outright corruption? This week Ben wants to understand how corruption and the fight against it are destructive forces in a democracy.

When politics turns nasty

Democracy can often be knocked off course by political violence, but in some places it’s become an ingrained part of how politics is done. This week Ben wants to find out why violence and democracy can be so hard to separate, and how to stop violence taking hold of our politics in the first place. Guests: Arunima Kar, Freelance journalist based in Kolkata Amalendu Misra, Professor of International Politics at Lancaster University, and author of ‘Towards a Philosophy of Narco Violence in Mexico’ Hannah Philips, policy researcher at the University of Oxford and Civility Commission Manager at the Jo Cox Foundation What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by the Open Society Foundations.