Illiberalism rules the day.

We have not yet seen the 'end of history', or the so-called dominance of the liberal political and economic order, as Fukuyama had famously predicted. Instead, there has been a resurgence of autocratic, populist and majoritarian tendencies around the world.

Illiberalism manifests itself in quite different ways. In the case of Israel, for instance, we have seen the internal apartheid coexist a system of parliamentary democracy for decades. Prime Minister Modi has been extolling the virtues of Indian governance, going as far as to call his country 'the mother of democracy'. However, the Modi-led BJP government has perfected the art of using Hindu majoritarianism as the means to deflect the frustration felt by ordinary citizens due to the lack of benefits of a 'shining India' trickling down to them. Hindutva ideology may provide a sense of solace or even pride to India's religious majority, but the ensuing ultranationalism has made the lives of the country's ethnic and religious minorities unbearable.

In the US, President Trump is hoping to make a comeback riding the wave of lingering internal polarisation as well. Meanwhile, the Democratic leadership has become so centrist that they do not offer any credible alternative to the far-right politics of Trump or other Republican contenders. Britain too has been seeing the rise of discontent and growing xenophobia under the bungling leadership of the Conservatives, led presently by a very rich person of South Asian origin, who readily endorses the anti-immigrant stance of his party.

Ultranationalism, and the far right, have also made great strides in apparent European bastions of multiculturalism, including France and Germany. In eastern European countries, such as Hungary, populist leader Orban has likened liberalism to a 'virus' and clamped down hard on proponents of globalisation.

The expansionist aspirations of Putin, and his desire to dispel western encroachment within Russia's sphere of influence, underlie his decision to invade Ukraine, which has triggered a lingering and dangerous conflict with global repercussions.

The Muslim world has seen its own fair share of illiberal governance. Besides the lingering chaos in states which suffered from US-led post-9/11 interventions, such as Afghanistan, Libya and Iraq, the Gulf...