A distinguished human rights lawyer with more experience than most of observing elections around the world says that she remains optimistic about the future of democracy

Events are shaking our belief in democracy as the bedrock of the world order. Austerity, a resurgence in nationalism and the rise of stop-at-nothing populist politicians around the globe from Italy to Brazil to the United States to Brexit Britain – all are causing a loss of faith in what had hitherto been regarded as the main pillar of successful, sane government. So how healthy is democracy right now?

Few are better qualified to offer an informed global diagnosis than Dame Audrey Glover, a distinguished British human rights lawyer and convent-educated Catholic, who for the past 15 years has led international election observation teams for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) everywhere from Albania to Mongolia. “I like to be optimistic,” she says, back in London in the Chelsea flat near the Thames that she shares with her retired diplomat-turned-historical-novelist husband, Edward. She is currently between missions, each of which can last up to seven weeks.