‘The diminishment of meritocracy is very troubling in the long term for democracies.’

In this episode of the podcast, Manas Chawla talks to Charles Dunst about his new book ‘Defeating the Dictators: How Democracy Can Prevail in the Age of the Strongman’ and the principles for good governance for democracies. During his conversation with Manas, Charles explores the reasons behind a growing disillusionment with democratic societies and discusses the tactics deployed by autocratic leaders to consolidate their influence both domestically and overseas. He also considers what must be done to restore the public’s faith in democracy and why meritocracy is essential for the survival of democracy.

Charles is a deputy director of Research & Analytics at The Asia Group and an adjunct fellow for the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Telegraph, and Foreign Policy, among other outlets. As a foreign correspondent, he has reported from Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Israel and the Palestinian territories, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Hungary, and Romania.

To find out more about his book, which has been named a Financial Times Best Book of the Week, please see here: https://www.charlesdunst.com.