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What is the future for democracy? In conversation with Jonathan Sumption

What is the future for democracy? In conversation with Jonathan Sumption

Nick Spencer speaks with former senior judge Lord Jonathan Sumption. 10/06/2025

 

The UK has one of highest levels of dissatisfaction with democracy in the world, though other Western countries aren’t far behind. Hopes that the rest of the world would naturally follow the West and democratise have all but evaporated. 

How serious is this decline in democratic sympathy? What lies behind it? What are the deep foundations on which democracy rests? And what, if anything, can be done about it? 

This week, Nick Spencer talks with Jonathan Sumption about his book ‘The Challenges of Democracy: And The Rule of Law’. 

Tune in to the episode here.


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Nick Spencer

Nick Spencer

Nick is Senior Fellow at Theos. He is the author of The Landscapes of Science and Religion (OUP, 2025), Playing God: Science, Religion and the Future of Humanity (2024), and Magisteria: the entangled histories of science and religion (Oneworld, 2023). Nick is host of the podcast Reading Our Times.

Watch, listen to or read more from Nick Spencer

Posted 10 June 2025

Democracy, Podcast, Reading Our Times

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