An incisive examination of free speech's global decline and a framework for preserving expression in democratic societies.

The Future of Free Speech confronts a stark truth: the right to speak freely is under siege. Once celebrated as a cornerstone of democratic societies, free expression is now met with growing suspicion and retaliation across the globe. Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff present a panoramic view of how we arrived at this pivotal moment.

The authors examine a century in which speech rights expanded dramaticallyincluding postwar democratic revolutions and the sweeping protections of the First Amendmentonly to find those rights unraveling in the face of new political, technological, and cultural pressures. This book examines the backlash against free speech from all sides: governments criminalizing dissent in the name of national security; lawmakers and activists demanding tighter controls on misinformation, hate speech, and offensive content; and AI systems removing speech at a scale and speed that dwarfs historical forms of censorship. At the same time, faith in free speech itself is waning, even in the very societies that once championed it.

The Future of Free Speech argues for a reinvigorated, global commitment to open dialogue.

The book is published by Johns Hopkins University Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.