Alan Finlayson is Professor of Political and Social Theory at the University of East Anglia. His research is particularly concerned with the theory and practice of democratic politics, the study of political ideologies and also with political rhetoric. As part of a project supported by The Leverhulme Trust he has developed the website www.britishpoliticalspeech.org and is working to promote the theory, analysis and improved practice of political speech, oratory and argument in the UK.
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Published in: openDemocracyUKWho won the referendum?Brexit should be seen as a series of different responses to globalisation.
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Published in: openDemocracyUKToo many facts and not enough theories: the rhetoric of the referendum campaignBoth campaigns in Britain's European referendum are build on thin theories which utterly fail to understand each other.
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Published in: openDemocracyUKWhy is Corbyn doing better on social media?Corbyn's natural, unpolished and conversational comfort puts him well ahead of the other candidates in terms of engaging social media, if not the electorate at large.
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Published in: openDemocracyUKNo ethos: the rhetoric of 2015In trying so hard to present themselves as good, connected and in-touch, politicians end up talking about themselves and each other in a way that demonstrates just how disconnected they really are.
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Published in: openDemocracyUKPowellism, Conservatism and SyriaEnoch Powell highlighted the differences between England's vision of itself and its reality, but has this led ideology to be chosen over pragmatism in the Commons rejection of the Syria vote?
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Published in: openDemocracyUKWhat is Blue Labour? An Interview with Jonathan RutherfordIn the second of a series of interviews on Blue Labour, Jonathan Rutherford tackles some common misconceptions with the approach, explaining why the left cannot afford to ignore issues of race, national identity and the emotional need for belonging.