Past Present Future Live Special: Is This How Democracy Ends? w/Lyse Doucet, Chris Clark & Thant Myint-U
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Mar 18, 2026 
Thant Myint-U, diplomat and writer on global governance; Chris Clark, historian offering long‑view context; Lyse Doucet, veteran BBC foreign reporter from the Middle East. They debate Iran’s protests and leaderless movements. They probe whether post‑1945 world order is fraying, consider external military action and US political risks, and weigh global challenges like China, AI and climate.
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Free People In An Unfree State
- Protests in Iran show a disconnect: a free people living under an unfree state, repeatedly rising without cohesive leadership.
- Lyse Doucet observed raw emotion and leaderlessness that protected activists but left movements unable to convert unrest into regime change.
Postwar Order Is About Peace And Anti-Empire
- The post-1945 global order rests on two commitments: a world without war and an end to empire, not merely a 1990s 'liberal order'.
- Thant Myint-U argues current conflicts signal a rupture with that longer postwar settlement.
Bombing Doesn't Produce Democracies
- Bombing rarely produces democracy; coercive interventions often strengthen regimes or create unintended solidarity.
- Chris Clark cited WWII bombing boosting late Nazi support as a caution against expecting democratization via air strikes.