In Uganda, an opposition is attempting against all odds to unseat an authoritarian who has held firmly on to the reins of power for nearly 40 years.

Led by the charismatic rock-star-turned-activist Bobi Wine, it has employed non-confrontational Gandhi-like tactics in an effort to defeat the regime in the forthcoming 15 January presidential election.

We live in an age of geopolitical turmoil and distraction.

Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn

Around us is a "new normal" - war in the centre of Europe, populist politics, visceral nationalism, xenophobic reaction to immigration, trade wars, the decline of UN authority, the weakening of international law, difficulties in distinguishing fake from real news, and the emergence of an illiberal world order shaped more by the needs of autocrats than the values of democrats.

Unsurprisingly, in such an environment, people turn inwards, looking less to promote values abroad than protect their gains at home.

But there is hope. And it comes from an unlikely place - Uganda - where an opposition is attempting against all odds to unseat an authoritarian who has held firmly onto the reins of power for nearly 40 years. The opposition, led by the charismatic rock-star-turned-activist Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, better known by his stage name Bobi Wine, has resorted to nonconfrontational Gandhi-like tactics in defeating the regime in the forthcoming 15 January presidential election.

Wine recently contributed to a Playbook for Democrats, which outlines how democrats can use media and other democratic tools to unseat authoritarians like ageing Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. The former general overthrew the government of...