Trump’s economic platform is a bizarre and contradictory Frankenstein’s monster which would be a disaster for America.

In a speech in Detroit last week, Donald Trump announced his economic policy platform. Brian Klaas writes that Trump’s platform is a bizarre stitching together of economic theories, which aim to appeal to both blue collar workers through protectionism and to the 1% via tax breaks and the further deregulation of Wall Street. He comments that not only are Trump’s proposals in complete conflict with one another in actually promoting economic prosperity, but they would also be a disaster if enacted in terms of lost jobs and growth

It’s distasteful – but giving a despot an easy way out can stop further bloodshed

In this exclusive extract from Brian Klaas’ new book, The Despot’s Accomplice, he argues that – however distasteful it may be to the principle of justice – offering despots a way out can prevent further bloodshed. This is because they frequently know they have nothing to lose by fighting to the death. Furthermore, research shows that countries which punish ex-leaders are more likely to fail to transition to democracy successfully

What to read in the age of Trump

We need to think about democracy – now more than ever. As Donald Trump becomes the 45th President of the United States, Democratic Audit asked Brian Klaas, Russell Dalton, Cas Mudde and Meg Russell what texts they are turning to in order to understand and learn from the Trump phenomenon. This post is a work in progress – email [email protected] or post in the comments below if you’d like to add your own recommendation

What Trump and Clinton must do to win Monday’s firstpresidential debate

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will go head to head in the first presidential election debate on Monday. Brian Klaas writes that debates matter; just one gaffe can derail a candidacy. He writes that to win, Clinton should knock Trump off script, address her email scandal head on, and showcase her steady temperament. For Trump to come out on top he must stay relaxed, soften his image, and lower expectations

The circus of the Republican convention masks an extremely divided party

This week sees the Republican National Convention take place in Cleveland, Ohio. Brian Klaas previews the convention, commenting that the ascendancy of Donald Trump means that it takes place against the backdrop of the most divided campaign in nearly 50 years. Establishment Republicans, he writes, now face a choice: either stay home, or become political contortionists and support Donald Trump

Brian Klaas on the global crisis of democracy

Department of Government MSc Conflict Studies student Anan Khatib reflects on the recent public lecture by Dr Brian Klaas, who discussed his new book ‘The Despot’s Accomplice: How the West is Aiding & Abetting the Decline of Democracy’, at LSE on Thursday 13 October

‘If something isn’t done we’ve hit democracy’s high water mark. That’s billions of people and their life chances’ – Brian Klaas

For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the world is becoming less democratic. In The Despot’s Accomplice: How the West is Aiding and Abetting the Decline of Democracy, the LSE’s Brian Klaas argues the West is helping to prop up dictators and hybrid regimes. He talks to Democratic Audit editor Ros Taylor about populism, Donald Trump, Theresa May and Russia, and argues that a trade bloc open only to democracies and democratising regimes would offer an incentive for change

Author Interview with Brian Klaas: how Can We Fix Democracy?

The end of the Cold War in the early 1990s saw democracy surge as former Soviet autocracies transitioned to democratic systems and democracy spread in Africa and Latin America. But the past decade has seen a reverse in this trend, with authoritarianism and dictatorships making a comeback around the world. In this interview with Peter Carrol on his new book, The Despot’s Accomplice: How the West is Aiding and Abetting the Decline of Democracy, Dr Brian Klaas (LSE Department of Government) argues that Western powers are partly to blame for these developments, and offers a number of solutions to halt the decline of democracy around the world

President Trump's first State of the Union: LSE experts react

On Tuesday January 30th, President Donald Trump gave his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. We asked LSE experts to give their rapid reaction to the speech. Read the State of the Union address here

Brian Klaas: 'The incentives for a Trump 2.0 will be exactly the same as the incentives for Trump'

In his first year in power, argues Brian Klaas, Donald Trump has deployed the tactics of despots and begun to corrode the institutions of US democracy. What happens next? Democratic Audit editor Ros Taylor spoke to him about his new book, The Despot's Apprentice