Anthony Barnett

Notable work and positions

openDemocracy - Co-founder and founding Editor-in-Chief (2001-2007); Honorary President
Charter 88 - First Director (1988-1995)
New Left Review - Editorial Committee member (1965-1983)

Biography

Anthony Barnett is an English writer and campaigner who co-founded the news and commentary website openDemocracy in 2001. Born in November 1942 and raised in Edgware, he studied at Cambridge University and completed an MA in sociology at Leicester University (1965-1967), where he worked with sociologist Norbert Elias. He served on the editorial committee of New Left Review from 1965 to 1983 and helped create and coordinate the weekly publication 7 Days from 1971 to 1972; his papers from this period are held in the British Library. He was the first director of Charter 88, the movement for constitutional reform in the United Kingdom including a written constitution, from 1988 to 1995. In 2001, with Paul Hilder, Susie Richards and David Hayes, he founded openDemocracy, serving as its editor and then founding editor-in-chief until 2007; he remained a member of its board from 1999 to 2023 and continues to contribute to the site as its honorary president. With Henry Porter, he co-directed the Convention on Modern Liberty in 2008-2009, described as the largest civil liberties gathering ever held in the UK. He is the author of several books, including Iron Britannia (1982), The Lure of Greatness: England's Brexit and America's Trump (2017), and Taking Control!: Humanity and America after Trump and the Pandemic (2022). He holds honorary doctorates from The Open University (2013) and Goldsmiths, University of London (2019).

Career highlights

• Founding of openDemocracy 2001 · Co-founded and served as founding editor-in-chief of the global public-interest journalism website until 2007.
• Charter 88 1988-1995 · Served as the first director of the UK constitutional reform movement.
• Honorary doctorates · Awarded by The Open University (2013) and Goldsmiths, University of London (2019).