About the Event

Professor João Carlos Espada spoke about his new book, The Anglo-American Tradition of Liberty: A View from Europe in which he provides an overview of a varied collection of Anglo-American and European thinkers, ranging from Burke, Tocqueville, and Madison to Karl Popper, Isaiah Berlin, Leo Strauss, and Winston Churchill. Professor Espada argued that a distinctive Anglo-American tradition of liberty has been vital to the global success of liberal democracy. He also discussed how the contrasting Anglo-American and Continental traditions influence politics in Europe today.

featuring

João Carlos Espada, Institute of Political Studies, Catholic University of Portugal
President, Churchill Society of Portugal

moderated by

Marc F. Plattner, Journal of Democracy

Read Joao Carlos Espada’s remarks [PDF]

About the Speaker

João Carlos Espada is the director and founder of the Institute of Political Studies at the Catholic University of Portugal, where he also serves as professor of political studies. He earned his DPhil from the University of Oxford, and has taught at Brown, Stanford, and Georgetown Universities. From 2011 until 2014, he held the European Parliament / Bronislaw Geremek European Civilisation Chair at the College of Europe in Warsaw. He has served as political advisor to two Portuguese presidents, Mário Soares (1986–1990) and Anibal Cavaco Silva (2006–2011). Prof. Espada is the editor of the quarterly journal Nova Cidadania and a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Democracy.