October 02, 2025
Why is trust in democracy so low?
Iain Walker, executive director of the newDemocracy Foundation, argues that the incentives of modern elections, which reward demonization and five-second public opinion, make it difficult to solve complex problems. The fix: create spaces for public judgment where citizens have time, access to information, and a mandate to deliberate.
“The way to win elections is to manipulate public opinion … but when you have a chance to think, public judgment, it’s very different.”
Excerpt from a Global Stage livestream at UN HQ on the International Day of Democracy.
Watch more of GZERO Media’s Global Stage series, sponsored by Microsoft, from the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly here: gzeromedia.com/globalstage
More For You
A photograph posted by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account shows him sitting next to CIA Director John Ratcliffe as they watch the U.S. military operation in Venezuela from Trump's Mar a Lago resort, in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026.
@realDonaldTrump/Handout via REUTERS
Most Popular
- YouTube
In this "ask ian," Ian Bremmer analyzes Trump’s recent meeting with Zelensky and how close (or far) Russia and Ukraine are from a peace deal.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa attends the military parade of the Syrian army in Umayyad Square in central Damascus to mark the one-year anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime, on Dec. 8, 2025.
Mohammed Al-Rifai/dpa via Reuters Connect
A year ago this month, Syria’s brutal dictatorship collapsed. There are signs of recovery, but sectarian violence threatens to undermine the optimism.
© 2025 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group media company.