David Runciman

Cambridge University

David Runciman is professor of political thought at Cambridge University and a fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge.

A native of the UK, Runciman writes for the London Review of Books and was previously a columnist for The Guardian.

Runciman is the author of The Politics of Good Intentions: History, Fear and Hypocrisy in the New World Order; Political Hypocrisy: The Mask of Power, from Hobbes to Orwell and Beyond; and The Confidence Trap: A History of Democracy in Crisis from World War I to the Present.

Featured Work

The Confidence Trap: A History of Democracy in Crisis from World War I to the Present

DEC 18, 2013 Podcast

The Confidence Trap: A History of Democracy in Crisis from World War I to the Present

Democracy is petty, trivial, and short-termist, says David Runciman. But having survived world wars and financial shocks over the last 100 years, it's also the most ...