Liberalism for the 21st Century: A Conference by the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism

The publisher of The UnPopulist is convening the biggest conclave of global liberals in living memory next month

The worldwide liberal-democratic movement, having vanquished socialism and communism in the 20th century, is now confronting new ideological challenges from various forms of illiberal nationalism and populist authoritarianism in the 21st century. These ideologies have diverse, often conflicting, goals but are united around a shared rejection of liberalism. In relatively short order, they have gained enormous political traction around the world, resulting in a wave of global democratic backsliding. They are mobilizing majoritarian grievances to question liberalism’s commitment to ordered liberty, toleration, pluralism and equality under the rule of law.

The world’s population living under autocratic regimes has risen from 48% in 2013 to over 70% now. Even long-established liberal democracies that regard their institutions with complacency, as a settled fact of history, are coming under the sway of these ideas as the rise of the illiberal far-right in Western countries, including the United States, demonstrates.

If allowed to prevail, these ideologies would undo the unprecedented political stability, peace and prosperity that Enlightenment liberalism has delivered over the last 250 years. There is no more urgent task than to defeat them—not through coercion, but through persuasion in the marketplace of ideas.

For this reason, true liberals, who understand the enormous stakes in this battle, need to set aside their existing policy disagreements and come together in a renewed defense of core liberal democratic values (limited government, openness, pluralism, toleration and human rights) and institutions (checks-and-balances, separation of powers, executive restraint and representative governance). They need to jettison the old and stale left/right divisions and forge a new liberal/illiberal alignment. They need to offer a revitalized intellectual defense of liberalism that points out how life can be—to repurpose the phrase of Thomas Hobbes—“solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” for people living under illiberal states. And, above all, they need to show how liberalism is the only governing system that can generate workable solutions with broad buy-in for the very problems that now lead people to reject it.

To this end, the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism (ISMA), publisher of the The UnPopulist, has organized its first annual, “Liberalism for the 21st Century” conference in Washington, D.C. from July 11th to 12th. Scheduled for the week of the National Conservative convention that extends a platform to illiberal ideologies and authoritarian figures, we will assemble leading liberals from across the political spectrum and around the world.

We will kick off with a keynote address by Russian journalist, dissident and political scientist Yevgenia Albats and close with one by political theorist Francis Fukuyama. Over the course of a day-and-a-half, we’ll also feature panel discussions with major thinkers in the liberal tradition including Anne Applebaum, Azar Nafisi, David Miliband, Danielle Allen, Jonathan Rauch, Jacob Levy, David French, Matthew Yglesias, and Pratap Bhanu Mehta, among many, many others. We will not only respond to the critics of liberalism but argue how liberalism isn’t merely a Western invention; it’s a universally applicable idea. We will also discuss electoral reforms that can strengthen the democratic foundation of liberal societies while seeking proper liberal responses to issues such as climate change, economic inequality and social justice that don’t themselves collapse into illiberalism.

ISMA’s media partner for the conference is Vox. The event will be open to the public and you can view the schedule and register here. However, capacity is extremely limited, so you’ll need to act fast—and ask your fellow liberals to do the same.

This is going to be the biggest and the most important conclave of liberals held within living memory. You won’t want to miss it.

Thanks for supporting The UnPopulist and its mission. See you in July.

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