This year's Reith Lecturer is British lawyer Lord Radcliffe. He was Director-General of the Ministry of Information during the Second World War, and is most famous for his role in Partition, the division of the British Indian Empire, His work led directly to the creation of Pakistan and India as independent nations. He examines the features of democratic society, and considers the problematic notions of power and authority in his series of seven Reith Lectures entitled 'Power and the State'.
In his fourth Reith Lecture, entitled 'The Makers of the American Constitution', Lord Radcliffe considers the formation of the American Constitution, the first modern constitution which was worked out, debated and voted on clause by clause. He argues its creation was one of the most important events in modern history. Show less