Original version

BBC Radio 4 LW

The Reith Lectures

Podcasts

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Significant international thinkers deliver the BBC's flagship annual lecture series.

BBC Radio 4 FM

The Reith Lectures: Cyril Radcliffe - Power and the State: Power and the State 2

1951: Cyril Radcliffe - Power and the State

11/11/1951

Power and the State 2

Cyril Radcliffe - Power and the State

BBC Radio 4 - The Reith Lectures, Cyril Radcliffe - Power and the State, Power and the State 2

Lord Radcliffe considers the development of ideas about the state in the Middle Ages. 

Lord Radcliffe considers the Middle Ages' notions of statehood, and examines the influence of St Augustine on concepts of justice and government in the Western world.

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 second lecture, also entitled 'Power and the State', Lord Radcliffe considers how early ideas about statehood developed. He explores the feudal structure of power in the Middle Ages, and examines how St Augustine's writings on the division between life on earth and the afterlife caused a conflict between the state and the Church. 

The Reith Lectures: Cyril Radcliffe - Power and the State

BBC Radio 4

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

The lawyer Lord Radcliffe examines the features of democratic society.

The British lawyer Lord Radcliffe examines the features of democratic society, and considers the problematic notions of power and authority in a series of seven Reith lectures.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Reith Lectures

Cyril Radcliffe - Power and the State

Power and the State 2

Genres

Brand

Series

BBC Radio 4 LW

About BBC Radio 4