Richard Stengel: The Rule of Law versus the Law of Rulers

Drawing on his career in journalism, diplomacy and public life, Stengel (1977, English) described what he called a ‘democratic recession’ and a ‘contagion of illiberalism.’ Democracies, he argued, often weaken from within: not through armed force, but at the ballot box, when citizens elect leaders who erode or dispense with democratic institutions. 

In his lecture, entitled ‘The Rule of Law versus the Law of Rulers’, Stengel warned of the rise of ‘soft fascism’ across the globe and reflected on how nations – including the United States – face growing challenges of nationalism, racism and xenophobia. He urged the audience to defend democracy’s “superpowers”: the right to vote and the right to protest. Quoting Thomas Paine, he reminded listeners that ‘voting is the primary right by which we protect our other rights.’ Voting, he urged, ‘should be as easy and ubiquitous as online banking,’ and we must resist efforts to make it more difficult. 

Following his lecture, Stengel joined Emmy Award-winning journalist Ali Velshi for a discussion and audience Q&A. Velshi, host of Velshi on MSNBC, offered an optimistic counterpoint, stressing that while democracy in the United States faces challenges, its institutions remain resilient and capable of renewal. At the same time, he cautioned that many of the institutions once assumed to be bulwarks against autocracy have proved fragile, relying less on laws than on the ‘good behaviour and people’. ‘We thought we had remarkable institutions that hold up to these threats to democracy,’ he reflected, ‘and what we’re learning is, some of them do and some of them don’t.’

Stengel agreed, noting that many supposed cornerstones of the American Republic are in fact norms rather than laws. He suggested that a more deliberate legal framework is required to protect democracy, urging Democrats to consider developing their own counterpart to the Republicans’ Project 2025 as a way of safeguarding essential freedoms. 

The event drew a lively audience of Christ Church alumni, members of the wider University of Oxford community, and the public. As the final instalment of Christ Church’s anniversary lecture series, the event served as both a reflection on pressing global challenges and a celebration of the College’s enduring intellectual and civic contributions over five centuries. 

The full New York lecture can be viewed below, and an article Richard Stengel has adapted from his talk can now be read on the TIME website.