Autumn Lecture Series 2025: Here I stand with Michael Ignatieff

(Monday 28th October 2025)

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Michael Ignatieff is a distinguished Canadian academic, author, and former politician. Educated at the University of Toronto and Harvard, he held prominent academic positions at Cambridge, Oxford, and Harvard, specialising in human rights, international affairs, and political philosophy.

Ignatieff is a staunch defender of liberal democracy, viewing it as a fragile but essential achievement that requires constant vigilance and effort to preserve. He emphasizes the importance of the rule of law, protection of individual rights, and free and fair political competition.  He has expressed concern about the rise of populism and authoritarian tendencies that challenge the foundations of liberal democracy. He sees these movements as exploiting the inherent tensions within democracy, potentially leading to a ‘politics of enemies’ rather than a healthy competition among adversaries. 

His extensive bibliography includes influential works like Blood and Belonging and The Lesser Evil. Between 2006 and 2011 he served as an MP in the Parliament of Canada and then as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition. After leaving politics, he returned to academia, serving as President and Rector of the Central European University, where he championed academic freedom and critical thinking. He is currently a professor of history at CEU in Vienna, Austria.

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