AC Grayling pens Democracy and its Crisis for Oneworld

Oneworld is to publish Democracy and its Crisis by A C Grayling in September.

In his first acquisition as editor-at-large for non-fiction at Oneworld, Bill Swainson has bought world rights to the title from Catherine Clarke at Felicity Bryan Associates.

With the advent of authoritarian leaders and the simultaneous rise of populism in Europe and the USA, representative democracy appears to be caught between a rock and a hard place, yet it is this space that it must occupy, argues Grayling, if a civilised society that looks after all its people is to flourish.

In each of five short chapters, Grayling explores a moment in history (including Periclean Athens, the English Civil War, the American Revolution, the French Revolution and the Weimar Republic) in which the challenges we face today were first encountered, how they were overcome – or not – and with what consequences.

Grayling said: "My aim is to explain why the concept and the actuality of 'representative democracy' emerged, what its justification is, what has gone wrong with it, and how it should be fixed."

Swainson said: "I am delighted to be working once again with A C Grayling and to have been able to bring such an urgent and timely book to Oneworld."

Oneworld co-founder Novin Doostdar added: "This will be a book by one of Britain's foremost public intellectuals on one of the most urgent issues of our times. We are delighted to be welcoming A C Grayling to Oneworld."

A C Grayling has been a passionate supporter of remaining in the European Union and spoken out against Brexit on several occasions. Last month, he called for people to persistently lobby their MPs for a second referendum and said that workers should go on general strike if one is not given.

"The government published their response to yet another petition saying there is going to be absolutely no second referendum, no vote in parliament” Grayling told The Independent. “In that event, I think it would a perfectly legitimate thing to do to call for a general strike."

Democracy and Its Crisis will be published in the UK in hardback and e-book in September priced at £14.99.