As Humanities and Social Science scholars, we are very concerned about the level of discourse related to the global political realities of the twenty-first century. People feel that our government institutions are not serving them. They feel that all political parties are corrupt, and many people do not want to vote for any of them. There is a sense that the ideals of human rights that were born of the American and French Revolutions are no longer enough to ensure the continued functioning of humanity. The problems of globalization, inequality, and climate change increasingly challenge us. In conversations with academics, politicians, and policy experts, Podcoexplores these global political problems from a local perspective.

The old way of doing things is not serving our people. There is a distinction between what the voters want and what our leaders are doing. Voters increasingly wonder who is benefiting from some of the decisions that are being made both locally and globally. Coinciding with this, we have seen the rise of extremism and the far right in countries such as Hungary, Poland, and Turkey. There is also concern about Brexit and Trumpism, as the far right are poised to make gains in countries such as Canada and France.

We can organize our government in a way that works for us. It is our government. We need to ensure that it is more functional than it has been to deal with modern political realities. As such, we have to make democratic reform a priority, not only in Newfoundland and Labrador, but in many jurisdictions across the world. However, our province is an excellent microcosm for examining this crisis in governance.

Hosted by:Professor of Political Science, Lucian Ashworth Retired Professor of Political Science, Stephen Tomblin M.Phil. (Humanities) Historian, Lori Lee Oates