Global unrest is at record highs today, up to four times greater than any time since the 1950s.  Nationalism, xenophobia, identity politics, and populism all figure prominently now in conversations around the entire world. These confound the world's search for geopolitical security.  By their disrupting economic performance, societies everywhere are potentially falling into a vicious circle of ever-escalating internal tension.  What are the critical points in that chain that policymakers need to understand to break this cycle of disruption?  Where does economic failure fit in society's ill-temper?  How much is economic inequality the problem, how does inequality connect with the loss of social cohesion?

How can we improve social cohesion through applying scientific evidence to better inform policy?  In earlier times inequality was arguably even higher.  What was the basic social bargain then that nonetheless gave everyone a stake in social betterment?  Have modern societies irrevocably broken that implicit covenant? How do we repair this worldwide fall in social trust?

Prof Danny Quah, Dean and Li Ka Shing Professor in Economics, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy joins Assoc Prof Leong Ching, Vice Provost (Student Life) and Associate Professor, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy for an in-depth conversation.