Panelists speak at an event hosted by the Brookings Doha Center.
Past Event
The Information Revolution: Democracy and Legitimacy in the 21st Century
May 21, 2012
2011 was a year of mass upheaval. In the Arab world, a succession of autocrats were toppled by broad popular uprisings calling for greater prosperity, inclusion, and dignity, in a movement that has shaken the foundations of states across the region. Further afield, the prolonged aftermath of economic crisis has brought a disenfranchised “99 percent” into the streets of cities across the globe. In parts of Europe, governments forced to impose programs of austerity are facing regular crises of authority, caught between the demands of their EU financiers and those of their unwilling publics. Placing these developments in the broader context of an information revolution that has seen a decentralization of knowledge – and the means to deploy it – David Miliband and Wadah Khanfar discussed their implications for the future of democracy and legitimacy in the 21st century.