Public lecture by Prof. David Runciman, political theorist, historian
Moderator: Ivan Krastev, Chair, Centre for Liberal Strategies
4 November 2026 (Wednesday), 18:30
Event Space 2020 (next to Lumiere cinema), Bulgaria Blvd 1, Sofia 1463
In English with simultaneous translation to Bulgarian
While there has been much discussion recently about the end of democracy, we usually shy away from thinking about a world in which politics has disappeared altogether. It sounds fantastical and dystopian. Living without politics is one possible vision of our future and it is one taken very seriously by many of the people building the new technology which will shape that future. This lecture asks how politics might disappear and what we can do to prevent that from happening. Why do we need politics and why can we no longer take the continued existence of politics for granted?
David Runciman is a British political theorist, historian, and public intellectual, best known for his work on democracy and the history of political ideas. After nearly 25 years at the University of Cambridge, where he served as Professor of Politics and a fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, he transitioned from academic life to focus more fully on writing and podcasting. He is the author of influential books including How Democracy Ends, The Confidence Trap, The History of Ideas: Equality, Justice and Revolution, etc. Runciman writes regularly for the London Review of Books, The Guardian and The New York Times. His first podcast Talking Politics gained a wide audience and now he hosts Past Present Future, a bi-weekly show exploring major political and philosophical ideas.