Joint Author-Meets-Critics: Unjust Authority and Intelligent Democracy

Jonathan Benson (University of Manchester), Robert Jubb (University of Reading)

You are warmly invited to a joint Author-Meets-Critics event featuring two major new works in political and democratic theory, both published by Oxford University Press.

Robert Jubb (University of Reading) presents Unjust Authority, which offers a realist account of political legitimacy grounded in the practical benefits of liberal democratic rule. In contrast to moralist theories that require impossibly high normative standards, Jubb argues that the authority of democratic institutions arises from their ability to provide protection, stability, and prosperity through impersonal rule and regulated political competition—even in societies that remain unjust. The book reassesses legitimacy, resistance, and institutional critique.

Jonathan Benson (University of Manchester) presents Intelligent Democracy: Answering the New Democratic Scepticism, which defends democracy against claims of ignorance and irrationality. Benson argues that democracy functions as an intelligent system capable of producing knowledge, coordinating experimentation, and serving the common good. Drawing on political science, philosophy, and economics, he outlines how an institutionally diverse system of elections, deliberation, and sortition can produce decisions superior to both elite and market-based alternatives.

Confirmed Discussants:

Shai Agmon (University of Oxford / University College London)

Edmund Tweedy Flanigan (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich)

Zeynep Pamuk (University of Oxford)

Mark Pennington (King’s College London)

This event offers a fantastic opportunity for in-depth engagement with two new contributions to debates on democratic legitimacy and authority.

All are welcome. Please register in advance: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/joint-author-meets-critics-unjust-authority-and-intelligent-democracy-tickets-1357090537329?aff=oddtdtcreator

Date: Friday, 20 June 2025

Time: 12:45 – 17:30
Venue: Elizabeth Fry Suite at Friends House, 173–177 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ