Abstract
We live in dangerous times. The optimism of the early twenty-first century has been replaced by serious new threats to democracy and the rule of law. In the United States and elsewhere authoritarianism, born of a reaction to globalization, migration, and cultural pluralism, seems to be ascendant. The promises of free trade and open borders have been displaced by calls for building walls. Moreover, we are bombarded by language reminiscent of the dark times of the last century. The press, we are told, is “the enemy of the people.” Social media has become a tool for the daily dissemination of “alternative facts” and an assault on truth.
We need to understand what has happened and why. Long taken-for-granted commitments to democracy and the rule of law now seem so fragile. We need to understand how and why political and social resentment has so activated politics in so many nations. We need to understand how we can recover our political bearings.
We are challenged to do these things while continuing to advance a humanistic understanding of law.