Grant Duncan

It’s been more than three years since the dual shocks of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump. Those surprising events made people wonder what the heck was going on with democracy.

Since the 2016 Brexit referendum, British politics has looked like a train wreck in slow motion, but visible only through dense fog. The snap election held on Thursday, however, has now given the Conservatives an outright majority. Prime Minister Boris Johnson should ‘‘get Brexit done’’, as he promised, for Britain to leave the EU on January 31. Then they will need to negotiate a trade agreement with the EU.

Trump has upset all norms of political conduct and is now caught in an impeachment process.

He asked Ukraine’s president, as a ‘‘favour’’, to look for some dirt on his political rival. This compromised US national interests. The articles of impeachment allege that ‘‘President Trump has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as president’’.’

The Republican-dominated upper house, the Senate, probably won’t remove him from office, however. If not, American voters will decide his fate.

These two world-leading democracies have been severely stress-tested. They are enduring intense political divisions, volatility and distrust.

New Zealand is due for a general election next year, and trust in politicians is not high here either. Ahead of the 2017 election, 51 per cent of respondents in the Stuff/ Massey online survey agreed with the statement ‘New Zealand’s political leaders are out of touch with the people’; 47 per cent disagreed with the statement ‘Our political leaders care about the things that

How can we prevent deep division and distrust of the kind seen in the UK and America?

Associate Professor Grant Duncan lectures in political studies at the Albany campus of Massey University.