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Is democracy doomed? The global fight for our future

1,163,792 views | Timothy Snyder • TED Membership

If you think democracy is some kind of inevitable, default setting for the world, then you aren't going to have it for very long, says historian and author Timothy Snyder. From World War I to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Snyder dives into the structures that uplift and tear down political systems, offering a historical perspective on the current state of democracy around the world as well as the patterns of thought that lead to tyranny. Learn more about a new approach to democracy that could help create and protect a future of freedom. (This conversation, hosted by TED current affairs curator Whitney Pennington Rodgers, was part of an exclusive TED Membership event. Visit ted.com/membership to become a TED Member.)

If you think democracy is some kind of inevitable, default setting for the world, then you aren't going to have it for very long, says historian and author Timothy Snyder. From World War I to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Snyder dives into the structures that uplift and tear down political systems, offering a historical perspective on the current state of democracy around the world as well as the patterns of thought that lead to tyranny. Learn more about a new approach to democracy that could help create and protect a future of freedom. (This conversation, hosted by TED current affairs curator Whitney Pennington Rodgers, was part of an exclusive TED Membership event. Visit ted.com/membership to become a TED Member.)

Subscribe to Timothy's newsletter, Thinking about..., on Substack.

If you wish to support the pursuit of truth and the future of democracy in Ukraine, consider a donation to Documenting Ukraine, which directly supports reporters, scholars, artists and others who are doing the indispensable and sometimes dangerous work of creating a record of this war.

About the speaker

Timothy Snyder

Historian, author

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Timothy Snyder helps us forecast the future by understanding the past.

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Subscribe to Timothy's newsletter, Thinking about..., on Substack.

If you wish to support the pursuit of truth and the future of democracy in Ukraine, consider a donation to Documenting Ukraine, which directly supports reporters, scholars, artists and others who are doing the indispensable and sometimes dangerous work of creating a record of this war.