John Keane

Professor John Keane is a leading academic at the University of Sydney, affiliated with the College of Arts and Social Sciences and the Department of Politics. Educated at the University of Toronto (PhD, MA) and University of Adelaide (BA Hons), his career spans institutions like the University of Westminster and Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (WZB). He founded the Centre for the Study of Democracy and contributes globally to media discourse.

Research Interests focus on democracy's evolution, globalization, civil society, media decadence, fear in politics, failed transitions to democracy, language theory, secularism, European citizenship, social movements, violence, and the dismantling of Soviet regimes. His work bridges historical and contemporary analyses, examining democratic institutions' vulnerabilities to demagoguery and technological change.

Publications (15 most recent) span Political Science, International Relations, and Technology, with a thematic emphasis on Authoritarianism, Democracy and Technology, and Global Governance. Notable works include The New Despotism (2020) and China's Galaxy Empire (2024), analyzing 21st-century political and economic power dynamics.

Grants include the 2017 Crisis of Post-Truth Discourse and 2013 Democracy at the End of the World (Antarctica), reflecting his interdisciplinary approach to democracy's challenges.