Theorizing political judgement in an era of growing autocratization

A key feature of the rise of populism, polarization and autocratic politics in the last twenty years has been the decline in public trust in traditional democracies, from faith in elected officials to the legitimacy of elections results, to the decline of reasoned debate in an inclusive public sphere. At the same time as many democratic institutions and spaces are under attack, pressing global challenges from the climate crisis, to the increased risk of global pandemics, to the threat of regional wars in the Ukraine and Middle East upscaling to World War Three, demand renewed collective efforts and novel problem-solving at international and national levels. In short, the demand for wise political decision-making is growing as the conditions for it appear to be under threat.
This panel engages with these challenges, focusing on theorizing a form of political judgment appropriate for challenging times, in particular identifying how political judgement can be supported in democratic institutions and politics in a time of polarization and autocratic tendencies. The contributions of the panel engage with the idea of political judgement as a concept, as a practice theoretically at the international level, at the national political level, and across the public spheres, but also from the perspective of educators and ordinary citizens. What is democratic political wisdom? Who is best placed to make good judgments at the international level? How can we reconstruct democracy to produce better decisions? What can be done to empower citizens to navigate a context of misinformation, disinformation and growing extremism to make better political choices?