Professor Ignatieff: “The post-Ukraine world order”

During the weekend I attended the Ditchley Foundation 50th Annual Lecture. The lecture was delivered by the great intellectual Professor Michael Ignatieff who spoke on the theme: “The post-Ukraine world order.” This was a lecture that really made you think about thinking.The key message was that the competition between authoritarian capitalist regimes and liberal democracies should be a stark reminder of the importance of reinvigorating democracy at home.

Indeed there are fewer democracies today than at the beginning of this century. Another important message was that we should be wary of exaggerating Russia’s weaknesses and realize that the crisis in Ukraine is far from over.

Ignatieff begged the British audience to understand what the EU is for. Only a pluralist order can guarantee peace. He also concluded that immigration is a vote of confidence in your country.