Kate Aronoff: Women Winning Office

The existential threat of catastrophic climate change is the greatest challenge facing humanity today. Surveys indicate broad public support for major policy changes exists in many countries around the world. Yet the political incentives, ideological divisions and time horizons of democratic politics also pose obstacles. Politicians remain wary of imposing short-term costs on their constituents, despite the destructive long-term ramifications of the status quo. Segments of the electorate in many democracies, in an age of fragmented media and social polarization, can be hostile towards political authority and scientific expertise. And the preferences and sympathies of many citizens may not extend beyond the borders of their nation-states, undermining multilateral cooperation and global justice.

Can our democracies confront the unfolding global climate disaster before we reach an irreversible tipping point? Are the normal self-correcting mechanisms of modern democratic governance sufficient to introduce necessary systemic changes in time? Or will the slow grind of building democratic majorities, amid the myriad checks and balances that protect vested interests, eventually demand more autocratic solutions?

The distinguished journalist and author Kate Aronoff explores these questions in conversation with Sanjay Ruparelia.