Masha Gessen: Lessons from America

As Donald J Trump embarks on his second term – and Australia prepares for its own tumultuous election – journalist Masha Gessen unpacks the state of democracy in an increasingly volatile world.  

Masha Gessen has spent years reporting on global politics, the rise of autocracy and the conflicts that have shaped and reshaped our world. In the wake of the US election, Gessen delves into the hopes and fears that led Americans to turn to Trump once again and what Australia’s electorate and punditry should bear in mind during our own democratic journey. 

How will the volatility of a second Trump presidency affect the domestic landscape? How will a mounting sense of anger and declining social cohesion influence and shape our own political outcomes? And what can be done to strengthen democracy in an age facing a resurgence of the far right and authoritarian leaders?  

Gessen weighs in on these questions and more at a special edition of our Fifth Estate series with host Sally Warhaft live at The Wheeler Centre.