This video presents an extraordinary intellectual experience with this powerful lecture delivered by Pratap Bhanu Mehta — Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research and Lawrence S. Rockefeller Distinguished Professor, Princeton University. Recorded by me (Samim Asgor Ali, the owner of this YouTube Channel) on Monday, 1st December at 3:30 PM in the SSS-1 Committee Room, JNU, under the banner of the JNU Lecture Series, this talk titled “Reflections on Global Political Thought” dives deep into some of the most urgent questions shaping our world today — The global crisis of ideas reshaping modern political landscapes, how shifting political imaginations influence democracy and governance, the profound dilemmas of contemporary political theory, why global political thought must reinvent itself for a radically changing world.
Tag: Pratap Bhanu Mehta
Has Indian democracy entered a one-party era? Pratap Bhanu Mehta explains|SpeakEasy-Episode 2
In the second episode of Frontline’s SpeakEasy, independent journalist Amit Baruah speaks with political scientist Pratap Bhanu Mehta about the future of Indian democracy and the global turn towards strongman politics. Mehta examines whether India is drifting toward one-party dominance, why Hindutva has become the ideological centre of gravity, and how political fragmentation, weakened institutions, and a fading opposition have reshaped the democratic landscape. He warns that India’s constitutional norms are being stretched to “infinite elasticity”, that authoritarian trends are deepening, and that the ruling elite may no longer find it easy to relinquish power if pushed into opposition. From the collapse of AAP’s political promise to the Congress’s leadership crisis, from institutional capture to the dangers of partisan citizenship, Mehta draws parallels between India and other democracies sliding toward executive overreach—including the United States and France.