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David Runciman

January 25, 2023

David Walter Runciman, 4th Viscount Runciman of Doxford, FBA (born 1 March 1967) is an English academic who teaches politics and history at Cambridge University, where he is Professor of Politics. From October 2014 to October 2018 he was also Head of the Department of Politics and International Studies.[1]

Family and early life

Runciman was born in St John's Wood, North London, England, and grew up there. His father, Garry Runciman, Viscount Runciman, was a political sociologist and academic and his mother, Ruth Runciman, is former chair of the UK Mental Health Commission, a founder of the Prison Reform Trust and former chair of the National Aids Trust. His father, mother, and paternal grandfather and great-grandfather all attended Cambridge.[2] He was educated at Eton College, an all-boys public school in Berkshire, where he won the Newcastle Scholarship. He went on to study at Trinity College, Cambridge.[3]

Runciman is the great-nephew of the historian Sir Steven Runciman. He inherited his family's viscountcy on the death of his father in 2020.[4] From 1997 to 2021 he was married to the food writer Bee Wilson with whom he has three children.[2][5] Since 2021 he has been married to psychotherapist Helen Runciman (née Lyon-Dalberg-Acton), daughter of Edward Acton.

Career

Runciman began writing for the London Review of Books in 1996 and has written dozens of book reviews and articles on contemporary politics since, for the LRB and a number of other publications.[6]

Runciman has published eight books. An adaptation of his PhD thesis was published in 1997 as Pluralism and the Personality of the State. The Politics of Good Intentions: History, Fear and Hypocrisy in the New World Order (2006) evaluates contemporary and historical crisis in international politics after 9/11 while Political Hypocrisy (2008) explores the political uses of hypocrisy from a historical perspective.[7] The Confidence Trap: A History of Democracy in Crisis from World War I to the Present (2013) lays out his theory of the threat of democratic overconfidence.[8] Profile Books published his books Politics: Ideas in Profile and How Democracy Ends in 2014 and 2018, respectively. In 2021 he published "Confronting Leviathan: A History of Ideas" looking at some of the most important thinkers and ideas in modern politics.

In October 2014, he was appointed head of the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge. Runciman gave his inaugural lecture on 24 February 2015 on Political Theory and Real Politics in the Age of the Internet.[9] He was preceded in this position by Andrew Gamble and Geoffrey Hawthorn.

One of Runciman's most influential works is Politics: Ideas in Profile. This book explores what politics is, why do we need it and where, in these troubling times, is it heading. Taking the reader across topics such as the gap between rich and poor to the impact of social media on our political climate, it is a useful resource for anyone who is interested in learning about how politics shapes the world. With reference to Machiavelli, Hobbes and Weber, Runciman answers the questions that many ask themselves when discussing politics; such as how there can be such disparity between the wealthiest nations and the least developed.

From 2016 to 2022, Runciman hosted a podcast called Talking Politics with Professor Helen Thompson. The podcast convened a panel of academics from the University of Cambridge and elsewhere to speak about current affairs and politics. It ended in March 2022 after over 300 episodes and 26 million downloads.[10] Runciman also hosted a spin-off podcast named Talking Politics: History of Ideas. This podcast focused on key thinkers and ideologies from throughout history.

In July 2018, Runciman was elected Fellow of the British Academy (FBA).[11]

In July 2021, he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL).[12]

Runciman was PhD supervisor to Tara Westover, the author of Educated.[13]

How Democracy Ends

Published by Profile Books in 2018, 'How Democracy Ends' takes a look at the political landscape of the West, showing us how to spot the signs that democracy may be under threat. Set out in four major sections:

1. Looking at the role of Coups in ending democracy, looking at both modern and ancient Greece in the process.

2. How major world-shattering catastrophes could kill off democracy, be that nuclear war or the Climate Crisis.

3. He takes a look at our rapidly changing society, specifically technologically and how the advent of Artificial Intelligence could soon be a problem.

4. Lastly he takes a look into the future, whether democracy will actually end and if it does, could it be replaced by something better?

Reviews of the book have been received generally positively. Getting a 3.7 out of 5 stars on 'goodreads'[14] and 4.4 out of 5 stars on Amazon.[15] Andrew Rawnsley in The Guardian wrote that the book left him "feeling more positive than I thought I would be" [16]

Criticism

After a negative book review in The Guardian of Antifragility by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Taleb referred to Runciman as the "second most stupid reviewer" of his works, arguing that Runciman had missed the concept of convexity, the theme of his book. "There are 607 references to convexity", Taleb wrote.[17][18]

Selected works

  • Runciman, David (1997). Pluralism and the Personality of the State. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521551915.
  • Runciman, David (2000). "Is the State a Corporation?". Government and Opposition. 35 (1): 90–104. doi:10.1111/1477-7053.00014. S2CID 143599471.
  • Maitland, Frederic William (2003). David Runciman; Magnus Ryan (eds.). Maitland: State, Trust and Corporation; Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521526302.
  • Runciman, David (2009). The Politics of Good Intentions: History, Fear and Hypocrisy in the New World Order. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9781400827121.
  • Runciman, David (2010). Political Hypocrisy: The Mask of Power, from Hobbes to Orwell and Beyond. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691148151.
  • Brito Vieira, Monica; Runciman, David (2013). Representation. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780745658292.
  • Runciman, David (2014). Politics: Ideas in Profile. Profile Books. ISBN 9781782831358.
  • Runciman, David (2015). The Confidence Trap: A History of Democracy in Crisis from World War I to the Present. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9781400866076.
  • Runciman, David (2018). How Democracy Ends. Profile Books. ISBN 9781541616783.
  • Runciman, David (2019). Where Power Stops. Profile Books. ISBN 9781788163330.
  • Runciman, David (2020). "Don't be a Kerensky!". London Review of Books. Vol. 42, no. 23. pp. 13–16, 18.

References

  1. ^ "David Runciman". Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS), University of Cambridge. 26 September 2013. from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b Shook, Karen (5 December 2013). "The Confidence Trap: A History of Democracy in Crisis from World War I to the Present, by David Runciman". Times Higher Education. from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  3. ^ O'Reilly, Judith (1 September 2008). "David Cameron's reading list made me the dinner guest from Hell". The Times. from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  4. ^ Crick, Michael (9 January 2008). "Happy families". BBC Newsnight blog. from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  5. ^ Kramer, Jane (18 March 2013). "A Fork of One's Own: A history of culinary revolution". The New Yorker. from the original on 12 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  6. ^ "David Runciman". London Review of Books. from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  7. ^ Dunne, Tim (17 July 2008). "Political Hypocrisy: The Mask of Power, from Hobbes to Orwell and Beyond". Times Higher Education. from the original on 7 November 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  8. ^ Bogdanor, Vernon (14 November 2013). "The Confidence Trap by David Runciman: Are we too complacent about democracy?". New Statesman. from the original on 13 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  9. ^ "Professor David Runciman". Politics and International Studies (POLIS). University of Cambridge. 26 September 2013. from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  10. ^ https://www.talkingpoliticspodcast.com
  11. ^ "Record number of academics elected to British Academy | British Academy". British Academy. from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  12. ^ "RSL announces 44 new Fellows and Honorary Fellows". Royal Society of Literature. 6 July 2021. from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  13. ^ Freeman, Hadley (15 February 2018). "Tara Westover on Turning Her Off-the-Grid Life Into a Remarkable Memoir". Vogue. from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  14. ^ "How Democracy Ends". from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  15. ^ How Democracy Ends: Amazon.co.uk: Runciman, David: 9781781259740: Books. ASIN 1781259747.
  16. ^ "How Democracy Ends review – is people politics doomed?". TheGuardian.com. 20 May 2018. from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  17. ^ Runciman, David (21 November 2012). "Antifragile: How to Live in a World We Don't Understand by Nassim Nicholas Taleb – review". The Guardian. London. from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  18. ^ "Response by Taleb". from the original on 27 November 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2014.

External links

  • University of Cambridge profile page
  • Works by or about David Runciman at Internet Archive
  • David Runciman at IMDb

January 25, 2023
david, runciman, this, article, uses, bare, urls, which, uninformative, vulnerable, link, please, consider, converting, them, full, citations, ensure, article, remains, verifiable, maintains, consistent, citation, style, several, templates, tools, available, a. This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as Reflinks documentation reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message David Walter Runciman 4th Viscount Runciman of Doxford FBA born 1 March 1967 is an English academic who teaches politics and history at Cambridge University where he is Professor of Politics From October 2014 to October 2018 he was also Head of the Department of Politics and International Studies 1 Contents 1 Family and early life 2 Career 3 How Democracy Ends 4 Criticism 5 Selected works 6 References 7 External linksFamily and early life EditRunciman was born in St John s Wood North London England and grew up there His father Garry Runciman Viscount Runciman was a political sociologist and academic and his mother Ruth Runciman is former chair of the UK Mental Health Commission a founder of the Prison Reform Trust and former chair of the National Aids Trust His father mother and paternal grandfather and great grandfather all attended Cambridge 2 He was educated at Eton College an all boys public school in Berkshire where he won the Newcastle Scholarship He went on to study at Trinity College Cambridge 3 Runciman is the great nephew of the historian Sir Steven Runciman He inherited his family s viscountcy on the death of his father in 2020 4 From 1997 to 2021 he was married to the food writer Bee Wilson with whom he has three children 2 5 Since 2021 he has been married to psychotherapist Helen Runciman nee Lyon Dalberg Acton daughter of Edward Acton Career EditRunciman began writing for the London Review of Books in 1996 and has written dozens of book reviews and articles on contemporary politics since for the LRB and a number of other publications 6 Runciman has published eight books An adaptation of his PhD thesis was published in 1997 as Pluralism and the Personality of the State The Politics of Good Intentions History Fear and Hypocrisy in the New World Order 2006 evaluates contemporary and historical crisis in international politics after 9 11 while Political Hypocrisy 2008 explores the political uses of hypocrisy from a historical perspective 7 The Confidence Trap A History of Democracy in Crisis from World War I to the Present 2013 lays out his theory of the threat of democratic overconfidence 8 Profile Books published his books Politics Ideas in Profile and How Democracy Ends in 2014 and 2018 respectively In 2021 he published Confronting Leviathan A History of Ideas looking at some of the most important thinkers and ideas in modern politics In October 2014 he was appointed head of the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge Runciman gave his inaugural lecture on 24 February 2015 on Political Theory and Real Politics in the Age of the Internet 9 He was preceded in this position by Andrew Gamble and Geoffrey Hawthorn One of Runciman s most influential works is Politics Ideas in Profile This book explores what politics is why do we need it and where in these troubling times is it heading Taking the reader across topics such as the gap between rich and poor to the impact of social media on our political climate it is a useful resource for anyone who is interested in learning about how politics shapes the world With reference to Machiavelli Hobbes and Weber Runciman answers the questions that many ask themselves when discussing politics such as how there can be such disparity between the wealthiest nations and the least developed From 2016 to 2022 Runciman hosted a podcast called Talking Politics with Professor Helen Thompson The podcast convened a panel of academics from the University of Cambridge and elsewhere to speak about current affairs and politics It ended in March 2022 after over 300 episodes and 26 million downloads 10 Runciman also hosted a spin off podcast named Talking Politics History of Ideas This podcast focused on key thinkers and ideologies from throughout history In July 2018 Runciman was elected Fellow of the British Academy FBA 11 In July 2021 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature FRSL 12 Runciman was PhD supervisor to Tara Westover the author of Educated 13 How Democracy Ends EditPublished by Profile Books in 2018 How Democracy Ends takes a look at the political landscape of the West showing us how to spot the signs that democracy may be under threat Set out in four major sections 1 Looking at the role of Coups in ending democracy looking at both modern and ancient Greece in the process 2 How major world shattering catastrophes could kill off democracy be that nuclear war or the Climate Crisis 3 He takes a look at our rapidly changing society specifically technologically and how the advent of Artificial Intelligence could soon be a problem 4 Lastly he takes a look into the future whether democracy will actually end and if it does could it be replaced by something better Reviews of the book have been received generally positively Getting a 3 7 out of 5 stars on goodreads 14 and 4 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon 15 Andrew Rawnsley in The Guardian wrote that the book left him feeling more positive than I thought I would be 16 Criticism EditAfter a negative book review in The Guardian of Antifragility by Nassim Nicholas Taleb Taleb referred to Runciman as the second most stupid reviewer of his works arguing that Runciman had missed the concept of convexity the theme of his book There are 607 references to convexity Taleb wrote 17 18 Selected works EditRunciman David 1997 Pluralism and the Personality of the State Cambridge University Press ISBN 9780521551915 Runciman David 2000 Is the State a Corporation Government and Opposition 35 1 90 104 doi 10 1111 1477 7053 00014 S2CID 143599471 Maitland Frederic William 2003 David Runciman Magnus Ryan eds Maitland State Trust and Corporation Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought Cambridge University Press ISBN 9780521526302 Runciman David 2009 The Politics of Good Intentions History Fear and Hypocrisy in the New World Order Princeton University Press ISBN 9781400827121 Runciman David 2010 Political Hypocrisy The Mask of Power from Hobbes to Orwell and Beyond Princeton University Press ISBN 9780691148151 Brito Vieira Monica Runciman David 2013 Representation John Wiley amp Sons ISBN 9780745658292 Runciman David 2014 Politics Ideas in Profile Profile Books ISBN 9781782831358 Runciman David 2015 The Confidence Trap A History of Democracy in Crisis from World War I to the Present Princeton University Press ISBN 9781400866076 Runciman David 2018 How Democracy Ends Profile Books ISBN 9781541616783 Runciman David 2019 Where Power Stops Profile Books ISBN 9781788163330 Runciman David 2020 Don t be a Kerensky London Review of Books Vol 42 no 23 pp 13 16 18 References Edit David Runciman Department of Politics and International Studies POLIS University of Cambridge 26 September 2013 Archived from the original on 25 April 2020 Retrieved 6 May 2020 a b Shook Karen 5 December 2013 The Confidence Trap A History of Democracy in Crisis from World War I to the Present by David Runciman Times Higher Education Archived from the original on 7 November 2017 Retrieved 8 July 2017 O Reilly Judith 1 September 2008 David Cameron s reading list made me the dinner guest from Hell The Times Archived from the original on 4 June 2011 Retrieved 8 February 2010 Crick Michael 9 January 2008 Happy families BBC Newsnight blog Archived from the original on 4 April 2019 Retrieved 20 December 2019 Kramer Jane 18 March 2013 A Fork of One s Own A history of culinary revolution The New Yorker Archived from the original on 12 July 2017 Retrieved 8 July 2017 David Runciman London Review of Books Archived from the original on 30 June 2017 Retrieved 8 July 2017 Dunne Tim 17 July 2008 Political Hypocrisy The Mask of Power from Hobbes to Orwell and Beyond Times Higher Education Archived from the original on 7 November 2011 Retrieved 8 February 2010 Bogdanor Vernon 14 November 2013 The Confidence Trap by David Runciman Are we too complacent about democracy New Statesman Archived from the original on 13 October 2014 Retrieved 8 October 2014 Professor David Runciman Politics and International Studies POLIS University of Cambridge 26 September 2013 Archived from the original on 8 July 2017 Retrieved 8 July 2017 https www talkingpoliticspodcast com Record number of academics elected to British Academy British Academy British Academy Archived from the original on 16 September 2018 Retrieved 22 July 2018 RSL announces 44 new Fellows and Honorary Fellows Royal Society of Literature 6 July 2021 Archived from the original on 9 July 2021 Retrieved 9 July 2021 Freeman Hadley 15 February 2018 Tara Westover on Turning Her Off the Grid Life Into a Remarkable Memoir Vogue Archived from the original on 19 February 2022 Retrieved 23 February 2022 How Democracy Ends Archived from the original on 28 October 2020 Retrieved 20 January 2021 How Democracy Ends Amazon co uk Runciman David 9781781259740 Books ASIN 1781259747 How Democracy Ends review is people politics doomed TheGuardian com 20 May 2018 Archived from the original on 9 November 2020 Retrieved 20 January 2021 Runciman David 21 November 2012 Antifragile How to Live in a World We Don t Understand by Nassim Nicholas Taleb review The Guardian London Archived from the original on 3 February 2017 Retrieved 11 December 2016 Response by Taleb Archived from the original on 27 November 2012 Retrieved 9 October 2014 External links EditUniversity of Cambridge profile page Works by or about David Runciman at Internet Archive David Runciman at IMDbPeerage of the United KingdomPreceded byGarry Runciman Viscount Runciman of Doxford2020 present Incumbent Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title David Runciman amp oldid 1125728856, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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