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It is not generally appreciated that contemporary arguments for democracy are still infused with old prejudices that make little or no sense in the 21st century. Examples include the belief that democracy is a God-given ideal, or that it is intrinsically peaceful, or that it excels at fostering economic growth. Against these untenable prejudices, a new case can be made for democratising our thinking about what’s so good about democracy…
Why Democracy (ΓΙΑΤΙ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ)
“Why Democracy”, a Greek-language publication by Professor John Keane, published by Nefeli Books (Athens, 2012) More info (PDF) -> Read Relevant Articles by Greek Newspapers TA NEA and Kathimerini An introduction by Antonis Liakos, Professor at the Department of History and Archaeology, University of Athens: Ποιους κινδύνους για τη δημοκρατία συνιστά η κατάρρευση του πολιτικού [...]
How Universities Learnt A Lesson in Humility – and are all the better for it
Universities are still often known as ivory towers, other-worldly spaces of solitude where privileged elites known as academics seek refuge from the harsh realities of the world. Although pejorative, the ivory tower image, originally Biblical, still manages to charm and seduce. Think of the majestic sandstone quadrangle of the University of Sydney. Stroll through the [...]
Humility and Democracy
Democracy and ethics: an old philosophical subject that is much neglected today, not least because of widespread agreement that democracy stands for ethical pluralism. Democracy, the self-government of equals, is presumed to be incompatible with attempts to clothe citizens in one-size-fits-all Ethical Systems, such as the Nation and State, or History, Christianity, the Market, or [...]
Libya, intellectuals and democracy: an open letter to Professor David Held
John Keane asks David Held to look back over events and reconsider his reactions to a dissimulator. Was this an error of theory or of practice? Hasn’t the LSE Libya affair done damage to the scholarly credibility of research programmes in the area of democracy?
Why Democracy Related Books & Publications
The Life & Death of Democracy Violence and Democracy Whatever Happened to Democracy? Democracy & Civil Society Changing Nature of Democracy The Future of Representative Democracy
Democracy: the Rule of Nobody?
Drawn from lectures originally delivered at the Institute for Management and Planning, Teheran, 5th May 2004 and (in revised form) at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB), 14th July 2004. The Sovereign People? Among the most taken-for-granted propositions when discussing democracy is the claim that it is a special form of government by the people [...]
The Life and Death of Democracy: John Keane’s answers to ten questions
The Weekend Australian Magazine PDF
The life and death of democracy: Bridget Cotter interviews John Keane
Dr. Bridget Cotter interviews John Keane, 9 June – CSD Bulletin, Summer 2010 John Keane discusses the reception of The Life and Death of Democracy in an interview with Bridget Cotter. This interview was published in the CSD Bulletin, Summer, 2010, Double Issue Vol. 17 NOs. 1 & 2, University of Westminster Press. Download the [...]
Reflections on A.C Grayling’s Liberty in the Age of Terror
A Defence of Civil Liberties and Enlightenment Value PDF Bloomsbury, London, Berlin and New York, 2009 ; ISBN 978 1 4088 0242 7 This book review appeared in The Monthly (February 2010)
Will democracy survive?
Democracy did not emerge as an historical inevitability, John Keane tells Peter Clarke