For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the world is becoming less democratic. With Donald Trump a major contender for the White House and the Brexit referendum flying in the face of expert recommendations, the value of democracy is now being questioned. And the world’s despots are thriving. Why?

Dr. Brian Klaas will discuss his new book, explaining why we find ourselves in a global crisis of democracy -- and how the West is partly to blame. The Despot’s Accomplice draws on years of extensive interviews on the frontlines of the global struggle for democracy, from a poetry-reading, politician-kidnapping general in Madagascar to Islamist torture victims in Tunisia, Belarusian opposition activists tailed by the KGB, West African rebels, and tea-sipping members of the Thai junta. Cumulatively, their stories weave together a tale of a broken system at the root of democracy’s global retreat.

The event will be held at the Nissan Lecture Theatre at St. Antony's College and is also sponsored by the International Relations Society.