Democracy's dark side to be discussed at UQ

One of the world's leading political thinkers, Professor John Keane, will hold a free public lecture on the history and future of democratic rule at UQ next week.

On Thursday, November 20, Professor Keane will present "The Secret History of Postwar Democracy", which argues many countries have morphed into monitored societies which have systems in place to contest and regulate people power.

Organiser Dr David Pritchard from UQ's Cultural Studies Project said Professor Keane's theories allowed us to re-think the way democratic governance worked.

"The lecture raises questions about the causes of this new historical form of democracy, its advantages and disadvantages, and why it has fundamental implications for how we think and practice democracy in the coming decades," Dr Pritchard said.

Professor Keane currently holds a Chair of Politics at the Centre of the Study of Democracy at Westminster University (London), and is a Research Professor at the Berlin Centre for Social-Science Inquiry and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Among his 17 books and edited collections are The Media and Democracy, Civil Society: Old Images, New Visions and Violence and Democracy. His latest book, The Life and Death of Democracy, is the first comprehensive survey of democratic ideas and institutions for over a century.

"Professor Keane's bold claim is that, from roughly the mid-twentieth century, our world has been living through an historic sea change, one that is taking us from the old world of representative democracy towards a form of monitory democracy," Dr Pritchard said.

During his visit to UQ, Professor Keane will also present a further seminar "Does Democracy Have a Violent Heart?" at 3.15pm on November 20, and will also take part in a Cultural History workshop on November 21.

"The Secret History of Postwar Democracy" will take place on November 20 from 5.30pm – 7pm at the Abel Smith Lecture Theatre (Building 23), St Lucia. To RSVP, please contact tara.young@uq.edu.au or call 07 3365 3072.

Media: Dr David Pritchard (0401 955 160, 07 3365 3338, d.pritchard@uq.edu.au), Wendy Burford at UQ Arts (07 3346 7898, w.burford@uq.edu.au) or Cameron Pegg at UQ Communications (07 3365 2049, c.pegg@uq.edu.au)