News Revolutions Are Back: the Politics and International Relations Society Welcomes Professor George Lawson 19.01.2026

The Politics and International Relations Society was delighted to welcome Professor George Lawson from the Australian National University to speak on the topic: ‘Revolutions are Back!’.

A small group of Lower Sixth Politics students had lunch with Professor Lawson, with wide-ranging conversation touching on comparisons between the 2016 Brexit referendum and the 2023 ‘The Voice’ referendum in Australia and differing understandings of sovereignty.

Professor Lawson then spoke to a larger audience about the causes and nature of revolutions and why these have seen a resurgence in recent years, also involving plenty of discussion with students during his presentation. Eleanor, Lower Sixth, commented on how much she enjoyed the university seminar-style nature of the session, exploring how revolutions have changed over the last 100 years, whilst Sophia enjoyed considering the wider concept of revolution and making comparisons and connections between different revolutions. The talk was followed by a lively Q&A session exploring the role of leaders in revolutions and definitions of revolutions – amongst other fascinating issues.

Thank you very much to Professor Lawson for a very stimulating discussion and to Amalie, Upper Sixth, for her help organising the event.