The Future of Conservatism, with Stephen Harper

In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by former Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, to discuss the future of conservatism in political and socioeconomic institutions. Stephen Harper served as the prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015 as the country’s first and only prime minister from the Conservative Party of Canada. His book, “Right Here, Right Now: Politics and Leadership in the Age of Disruption,” published in 2018, directs the episode’s discussion on political disruption and how conservatism can be used as a solution for uncertainty and risk-mitigation in business and government. Stephen shares his experience as the head of Canada’s government, including during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, and his thoughts on populism and conservatism to analyze how western democracies are evolving in the face of political division and disruption. What needs to be changed in conservative politics? How should modern conservatism define trade and market policies? How should conservatism be evolved to help the broadening working and middle-class population? How does conservatism compare to populism and what is populist conservatism? How and where can we draw the line between positive, patriotism and ethnic nationalism? Thibault and his guest discuss these questions – and much more. Find Stephen on Twitter: @stephenharper Find Thibault on Twitter: @tmuzergues Visit IRI’s website at www.iri.org Further reading: Right Here, Right Now: Politics and Leadership in the Age of Disruption (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/565219/right-here-right-now-by-stephen-j-harper/)