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The Sidney Seminars foreground contemporary, leading-edge scholarship in questions of constitutional resilience.
The Sidney Seminars are named in honour of political thinker and revolutionary Algernon Sidney (1623–1683). An advocate of rule-of-law principles, Sidney strongly opposed monarchical absolutism and any arbitrary power. As a member of the Rump Parliament in 1653, he defied Oliver Cromwell, refusing to leave when Cromwell stormed Parliament with his army. Sidney’s most enduring legacy lies in his seminal work Discourses Concerning Government. There, he challenged the divine right of kings and championed popular sovereignty – the right of the people to choose their government and to take power away from that government if it failed to meet the purpose for which it was constituted. Excerpts from Discourses were eventually used as evidence to support Sidney’s execution for treason in 1683. Years after his death, the text continued to influence the thinking of many, including the American revolutionaries, and it remains a foundational text on constitutional principles today.
The Sidney Seminars are not just a tribute to Sidney’s intellectual legacy – they are also deeply connected to the GCDC’s origins. Our inaugural retreat was held at Penshurst Place, Sidney’s ancestral home, where we had the rare privilege of examining first editions of his Discourses. In that setting, surrounded by the history of a man who profoundly shaped core principles relevant to the rule of law and democracy, the foundations of the GCDC took shape.
In an era where democracy is increasingly under strain, Sidney’s call to vigilance against tyranny and arbitrary power remains as relevant as ever. The Sidney Seminars will serve as a forum for critical discussions relating to constitutional resilience, the rule of law, and democratic governance around the world.
Sidney Seminar Schedule
- Spring/Summer 2025
2 July 2025: Aziz Huq (University of Chicago): 'Real Regime Change?'
15 May 2025: Gabrielle Appleby (UNSW Sydney) and Megan Davis AC (UNSW Sydney): 'The First Nations Voice Proposal and Australian Democracy'
1 May 2025: Micaela Alterio (Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México): 'The Transformation of Mexican Constitutional Justice'
13 March 2025: Margit Cohn (Hebrew University | Faculty of Law): 'The Theory and Practice of Democratic Backsliding: Israel (and the US)'. Read a summary of the event on our Latest News page. Watch the seminar on the UCL YouTube channel.