Political scientist Yascha Mounk spoke about threats to liberal democracy in the Whig Hall Senate Chamber on Thursday. At the event, titled “Freedom in Danger,” he discussed the rise of populism worldwide, U.S.-Ukraine relations under Donald Trump, identity politics, and institutional neutrality. The talk was sparsely attended, with only about 10 students in the Chamber.
In his opening address, Mounk discussed the implications of Trump’s re-election.
“In 2016, [Trump] was really seen as the spokesperson of aging rule of white Americans … The 2024 election shows that that [thinking] was a mistake,” he said.
After Mounk’s address, Aidan Davis ’26, the director of Whig-Clio programming and the event’s moderator, asked about the surge in support for the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Germany’s elections. In light of the AfD’s progressive radicalization, Mounk said that their rise in popularity was “concerning” but that it’s “very unlikely that they’re going to be part of the government.”
In response to another question about Trump calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator, Mounk sparked laughter in the room. “In Trump’s vocabulary, ‘dictator’ is a compliment,” he said.
Mounk went on to say that he thinks Trump views international relations as a poker game, in which negotiations cannot end with all parties being better off. According to Mounk, this outlook, in addition to Trump’s lack of interest in countries outside America’s “sphere of influence,” may lead to waning U.S. support for Ukraine.
Mounk went on to speak against social media regulation, citing a dangerous double-standard of censorship.
“Three years ago, it might be fair to say Twitter and Facebook are going to censor stuff that progressives don’t like. Well, now suddenly they change political alliances, and it’s rather different,” he said.
Mounk also expressed worry at ethnic and other demographic divisions. He described people “doubling down on their identity,” instead of learning to respect each other. He said that “an institution like Princeton should adopt and preserve practices that actually encourage people to [have dialogue].”
In the context of fostering freedom of speech, Mounk also praised the practice of institutional neutrality.
“If the President of the University says ‘our values are these,’ that has an inherent killing effect for anyone who disagrees within the university community,” he said.
Earlier this academic year, University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 said that the University would not consider adopting institutional neutrality. Eisgruber has instead preferred the formulation of “institutional restraint,” the idea that universities can take positions when their core values are implicated or under threat.
Mounk is currently a Professor of the Practice at Johns Hopkins University. He was previously a prominent freelance contributor to The Atlantic, which cut ties with him in February 2024 after writer Celeste Marcus accused him of raping her. Mounk denied the allegation at the time.
In an interview, Mounk told the ‘Prince,’ “I am aware of the allegation, and it is categorically untrue.”
Sam Kligman ’26, the president of the Whig-Cliosophic society, told the ‘Prince’ that “Whig-Clio follows a very strict speaker code. We recognize that there is an allegation, but we are also cognizant of the fact that Yascha Mounk retains his professorship at the institution in which he is a professor. There is no civil or criminal complaint at this time.”
The allegation was not raised in the open Q&A.
Noah Barkan ’28, an attendee, said that the talk was “a really interesting insight into the international landscape, and also where we go from here.”
Maya Mukherjee is a News contributor and the head Podcast editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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