What does Tocqueville’s Democracy in America tell us about the future of liberal democracy, at a time when America’s own democracy seems in crisis? Our first public event of 2026-27 features someone most qualified to address this urgent question. Alan S. Kahan (Ph.D, Chicago, 1987, prof. emeritus at Université de Paris-Saclay) is a Senior Member emeritus of the Institut Universitaire de France, and PEP visiting professor in the Dept of Government for F26. He has written numerous works of intellectual history, and has translated Tocqueville’s Old Regime and the Revolution in France. His latest book is Freedom from Fear: An Incomplete History of Liberalism, named a “best book of 2023” by the Financial Times.