Explore the 2026 Program

The Future of Democracy: Fighting Authoritarianism with A.C. Grayling

Festival favourite philosopher on why democracy is something we can’t lose

A.C. Grayling
Nick Bryant
Rosalind Dixon
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Available via Livestream Day Pass

Available at select venues via Live & Local

The Future of Democracy series, hosted by Nick Bryant and Rosalind Dixon, is a collaboration between Sydney Writers’ Festival and the Resilient Democracy Lab at UNSW Sydney.

Professor of Philosophy and author A.C. Grayling outlines the fragility of democracy and the freedoms we take for granted and risk losing in For The People: Fighting Authoritarianism, Saving Democracy.

In recent years, the democratic foundations and civil liberties of Western nations that once seemed unshakeable have been shown to be remarkably fragile – vulnerable to authoritarianism, the whims of the wealthy and powerful and the erosion of civil liberties. As with previous works like Who Owns the Moon? and Discriminations, A.C. interrogates complex political realities and offers bold solutions.

Hear from a Festival favourite as he asks the critical questions of our time, followed by a discussion chaired by Nick Bryant (The Forever War) and Rosalind Dixon (The People's Guide to the Australian Constitution).
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Presented in collaboration with

Carriageworks, Bay 17
245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh, NSW, 2015