On May 20th 2021 FDSD held a launch event for a new book by Prof Graham Smith, Chair of FDSD and Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy at the University of Westminster. In Can Democracy Safeguard the Future? Graham asks why democracies repeatedly fail to safeguard the future. He sets out ways of reshaping legislatures and argues that forms of participatory and deliberative politics should be at the centre of the democratic response to protecting the interests of future generations. Leading activists Indra Adnan, Nitasha Kaul and Jonathon Porritt responded to the book and kickstarted a lively discussion with participants
About the speakers
- Prof Graham Smith is Professor of Politics and Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD) in the School of Social Sciences, and chair of the FDSD; he is the author of the book we are launching with this event: ‘Can Democracy Safeguard the Future?‘ (Polity, 2021).
- Indra Adnan is Founder of The Alternative UK, a psycho-social therapist and international consultant on Soft Power. Her most recent bookThe Politics of Waking Up: Power and Possibility in the Fractal Age is out on Perspectiva Press, May 2021.
- Dr Nitasha Kaul is a novelist, politics & international relations academic, economist, and poet. Links to her books, articles, and public interventions on democracy, political economy, feminist and postcolonial theory, India, Kashmir, and Bhutan are at www.nitashakaul.com
- Jonathon Porritt is a ‘veteran campaigner’ and eminent writer, broadcaster and commentator on sustainable development. He is a co-founder of Forum for the Future, his most recent book is called Hope in Hell—A decade to confront the climate emergency (Simon & Schuster, 2020).
- The evening is chaired by Peter Davies, FDSD trustee, and Wales’ first Sustainable Futures Commissioner. He played a lead role in the development of the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act, particularly through leading the national conversation on the Wales we Want.
Links
Participants in the event can receive a 20% discount on “Can Democracy Safeguard the Future”, purchasing direct from Wiley’s website (Discount code: SMI21).
