Ian Bremmer speaks so quickly and assuredly that I almost failed to notice when, in the middle of discussing his new book on the growing crisis fuelled by the rise of populism, he admitted to feeling alienated by his own work.

“The thing that I don’t like about this book is, I’m an upbeat person,” he insists. And despite including his prescriptions in the last chapter, on how to save liberal democracy from the wave of authoritarianism sweeping the globe, he only manages a note of cautious optimism.