In this Summer Edition of The Burning Archive, Jeff Rich reviews the major events of 2021 against the theme of political decay. But should the The Burning Archive replace the idea of political decay with political disorder? 2021 has tested the limits of the (liberal) democratic political orders of many countries around the world. Experts and populists have clashed... we are still waiting on a verdict. It has been a bad year for two pillars of democratic political orders - science and the mass media. What trouble lies ahead for 2022? Is there a rough beast slouching toward Bethlehem?
