DPIR’s Professor Ben Ansell’s first BBC Reith Lecture on ‘Our Democratic Future’ airs
The first lecture of the 73rd series of BBC Radio 4's Reith Lectures – presented by DPIR’s Ben Ansell, Professor in Comparative Democratic Institutions – was aired on BBC Radio 4 this morning and is now available to watch online.
The compelling lecture, titled ‘The Future of Democracy’ is the first in a series – ‘Our Democratic Future’ – that will consider how to build political systems that work for all and are robust enough to face the wide-ranging challenges of the 21st century.
The Reith Lectures started in 1948 and involve significant international thinkers speaking on a variety of subjects for the corporation. The first lecture in Professor Ansell’s series was recorded at Radio Theatre, London on 30 October.
Inspired by his book Why Politics Fails, each of Professor Ansell’s lectures focus on a specific theme related to the challenges that ‘liberal democracies’ across the globe are facing.
We had some time with Professor Ansell before his first lecture to ask him some questions of our own – on everything from the future of politics at Oxford to his experience in the UK treasury.
The lectures are starting to be broadcast, and you can listen to the first lecture on BBC Sounds. The second lecture – ‘The Future of Security', recorded in Sunderland – will be aired at 9am on Wednesday 6 December.
