ISMA’s raison d’être is to defend liberal democracy against populist authoritarian attacks. As its flagship publication, The UnPopulist is editorially aligned with this mission.
Defending liberal democracy is of paramount importance because, as ISMA president Shikha Dalmia noted upon launching The UnPopulist: “liberal democracy is the only system that has managed to deliver unprecedented living standards along with individual liberty, human dignity, and peace.”
In addition to defending liberal democracy, The UnPopulist exists to oppose populist authoritarianism. Shikha explained the connection between the two in another essay: “Populism, the rule of many, and authoritarianism, the rule of one, might seem like antipoles. But they are intimately related because where populism, in the true sense, appears, so do various forms of illiberalism that if allowed to run their course result in strongman politics with its contempt for dispersed power, checks and balances, freedom of the press, and other similar constraints on one-man (or woman) rule.”
