Martin Wolf on democracy’s year of peril: 2024

Across the world, billions of citizens are being asked to cast their vote in elections taking place in more than 50 countries, making this a pivotal year for democracy. But these polls come as populist, illiberal and far-right parties are either growing in support or consolidating gains they have already made. In the first of this five-part series, the FT’s renowned economics commentator Martin Wolf tells executive opinion editor Jonathan Derbyshire why he worries about the consequences for the future of democratic institutions. Martin then speaks to Robert Kagan, a neoconservative scholar and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, about what a victory, or defeat, for Donald Trump might mean for the future of US democracy.