Erica Benner is a political philosopher and historian of ideas. Born in Tokyo, she grew up in Japan and the UK and has taught at Oxford, Yale, and the LSE. Her biography of Machiavelli Be Like the Fox (2017) was shortlisted for the Elizabeth Longford Prize and selected as BBC Book of the Week. Her latest book, Adventures in Democracy: The Turbulent World of People Power (Allen Lane 2024), is a Financial Times pick for What to Read in 2024.