It may be the least worst form of government, but faith in its leaders and its institutions is waning. From the US to the UK to Australia, democracy has also paradoxically delivered representatives who are proudly anti-democratic and openly undermine democratic institutions like electoral systems, the judiciary and a free media. So why do people see the likes of Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, and Pauline Hanson as the answer?

The Future of Democracy was recorded at the 2026 Sydney Writers Festival in partnership with the Resilient Democracy Lab at the University of New South Wales.

Speakers:

Jon SopelCo-host The News AgentsAuthor, Strangeland: How Britain Stopped Making Sense, UnPresidented: Politics, Pandemics and the Race that Trumped All Others and moreFormer editor, BBC North America

Nick Bryant (co-host)Host, Saturday Extra, ABC Radio NationalAuthor, The Forever War: America's Unending Conflict with Itself and moreFormer BBC Washington Correspondent

Rosalind DixonProfessor of Law, University of New South WalesFounder, Resilient Democracy LabAuthor, A People's Guide to the Australian Constitution