Demagogues, Dictators and Despots: How Democracy is being Strangled by Stealth The James Walston Memorial Lecture American University Rome 3rd May, 2018 Matt Qvortrup Professor of Political Theory Nothing appears more surprising to those, who consider human affairs with a philosophical eye, than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few David Hume ‘Of the First Principles of Government’, Essays: Moral, Political Literary, Liberty Fund, 1994 pp.32-36, at 32) It is a great honour to deliver the first James Walston Memorial lecture. James was an inspiring, immensely erudite scholar – but also a kind and generous man. His knowledge of Italian politics and history was unsurpassed even among the natives of this ancient and wonderful land. He was the go-to-person for the likes of The Economist when they needed the latest up-dates on Italy. He is sorely missed. For James, political science was always more than try theory and statistics. For him, politics was always a discipline rooted in culture, in history and even in literature. I recall him talking to me about James Joyce’s Ulysses as a key to understanding nationalism. I was sceptical. I know now he was right It is humbling to give a lecture in the honour of James, and to do so in his spirit. On such an occasion, one would – perhaps – have expected an upbeat assessment of the world. James, after all, was a jovial man who knew how to crack a joke. And, yet, he was also a serious man. He was someone who – without crying wolf – could point out the malaise of current Italian politics; a scholar could simultaneously play the role of Cassandra and Jeremiah; who could foretell the future (like the Greek Princess) and warn against the impending doom (like the Old Testament Prophet). It is in this spirit that I will talk about the gravest crisis facing the world today; the risk and danger that democracy will wither away.
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