Traditional democrats and liberals must resist appeasement and confront the bullies

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Western leaders were again confronted with Donald Trump’s “imperial” disregard for diplomatic norms. His remarks about Nato allied territory of Greenland becoming his own raised fresh concerns about his respect for international law and the cohesion of Nato. 

Yet this shift in political culture cannot be explained by Trump alone. Across Europe, liberal democratic norms have been eroded over the past 15 years. In Hungary, Viktor Orban has governed since 2010 while dismantling institutional checks and balances. Poland followed a comparable path between 2015 and 2023, marked by sustained efforts to weaken judicial independence and sideline liberal safeguards, before a recent electoral reversal. Italy is now led by a nationalist right-wing coalition, while Sweden, long viewed as a liberal exception, has since 2022 depended on far-right parliamentary support for its centre-right government. Turkey has moved towards more illiberal governance, with growing pressure on the judiciary, media and dissent. 

Elsewhere, the change has been less about outright rule and more about influence. In France, Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, nationalist and anti-immigration parties have moved from the margins into the political mainstream, reshaping debates on migration, civil liberties and national identity. 

Even in the UK, often held up as a model democracy, there are signs of drift. Prime Minister Keir Starmer leads a centre-left Labour government backing proposals to weaken centuries-old jury power, particularly important in politically charged trials in England and Wales. This is despite strong opposition from legal professionals, civil-liberties groups and the main bars. Separately, Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, has urged the UK to review its use of counter-terror laws following mass arrests linked to protests over Gaza. Since the controversial proscription of Palestine Action, some 2,500 ordinary people, mostly elderly, have been arrested under terrorism acts. 

But how did we get here? Is the march of the ultra-right now unstoppable? 

Over the past 15 years, tens of millions of people have been forced to flee their homes as a result of war, much of it linked to Western military interventions and geopolitical interference, particularly in resource-rich regions such as the Middle East. 

These conflicts have produced waves of desperate migrants seeking safety in Europe and North America. The resulting social strain has hardened attitudes among settled populations, creating fertile ground for politicians who unscrupulously blame newcomers for all economic and social problems.  

In this climate, populist leaders have shown a readiness to abandon international law, universal liberal values and democratic restraint, principles long held up as the moral foundations of Western civilisation. 

Outside Europe and north America, in countries where immigration is a lesser problem, governance is no more liberal. 

In Russia, Vladimir Putin has framed the invasion of Ukraine not as tragedy, but as entitlement, recasting “imperial” ambition as necessity. This narrative normalises mass violence and erases the rights of an independent state and its people. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been indicted in Israel on corruption charges, and leading human rights bodies including Amnesty International and a UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory have concluded that Israel’s conduct in Gaza meets the legal definition of genocide under international law. Yet many Western governments continue to treat Netanyahu as an ally, and in doing so fail to uphold universal human values and international law. 

In Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei presides over a theocratic system that suppresses dissent and women’s rights through violence. Here too, power is exercised through oppressive ideology and fear rather than democratic consent. 

China represents a technologically sophisticated form of authoritarianism, combining mass surveillance, the suppression of dissent and systematic human rights abuses. The Chinese state treats political control as a higher priority than individual freedom or international norms. 

Which brings us to the most uncomfortable question of all. 

What has happened to the humanitarian liberalism that once formed the moral core value of all major political parties in the West and elsewhere? 

Happily, it is still alive, but sadly only in pockets. There are some examples: 

In Britain, figures such as Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party show that there remains space for politics that refuses to slide rightwards under pressure, defending protest, civil liberties and human dignity without apology, even in a hostile climate. 

When New Zealand faced one of the worst terrorist attacks in its history in March 2019, then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern responded not with fear or collective blame, but with empathy, restraint and decisive reform. After the Christchurch mosque attacks, she centred the victims, refused to amplify the perpetrator, and acted swiftly to tighten gun laws. The state did not weaken as a result. It strengthened. 

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf led Liberia out of civil war by prioritising democratic institutions, women’s rights and the rule of law over personal power. Her presidency showed that liberal, human-centred leadership can stabilise even the most fragile post-conflict states. 

And in the United States, the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York provides proof that humane, principled politics can win major executive power in one of the world’s most influential cities against the politics of fear. While his opponents leaned heavily on the familiar language of law, order and risk, Mamdani deliberately rejected fear-based campaigning, choosing instead to argue that justice, inclusion and security are not competing values. He won. 

These inspirational leaders are not identical and do not share a single ideology. What binds them is a shared faith in honesty, human dignity and the courage to lead with compassion. Their example shows that democracy thrives when it is nurtured with purpose and resolve. 

So yes, we are increasingly surrounded by bully nations, yet the advance of the unprincipled right is not inevitable. Traditional democrats and liberals must resist appeasement and confront authoritarianism directly, the only language bullies understand. A new generation of leadership can still defeat the politics of fear, provided it is willing to fight to defend human dignity and democratic values without hesitation.