Michael Davis (author)


Michael Davis is a British political writer and the author of Life after Democracy, a short book published in 2014 about reversing the global rise of violence and making citizens' opinions count.

Background & early life

Michael Davis was born in July 1946 in England. He graduated from Magdalene College, Cambridge University in 1968 with a master's degree in Natural Sciences. He then led the Cambridge Vampire Bat Rabies Project, a Cambridge University approved research programme in Salta, Argentina in 1968-69. The project was funded by the World Health Organization and the Argentine Government.

International relations & public service

From 1976 to 1978, he served as a Consultant to the World Health Organization's Extended Program of Immunisation. In his capacity, he advised and assisted the Health Services in Brasil, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Uganda, Philippines and Malaysia
From 1980 to 1982, he created and led The Soviet Alternative, an initiative to moderate the arms race by using market & financial mechanisms.
From 1982 to 1984, he co-founded and was the director of the Council for Arms Control, a coalition of leaders in politics, armed forces, universities and the church. During his tenure, he promoted multilateral arms reductions at a time when others were campaigning for unilateral disarmament. In June 1982, he was the accredited representative and speaker for The Council for Arms Control at the United Nations Special Session on Disarmament at the UN General Assembly.
The Council for Arms Control was registered with The Charity Commission, London in 1981.
In 1984, he became the director of the Institute for Negotiation and Conciliation, registered with The Charity Commission, London. Trustees included Sir Peter Blaker and General Sir Hugh Beach.
From 1983 to 1988, he founded and was the director of The Foundation for International Conciliation, based in Geneva, Switzerland. In his role, he led confidential negotiations with political leaders in many parts of the world to resolve conflicts and political crises. The Foundation was registered in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland in 1984. Foundation board members included Ambassador Olivier Long and Ambassador Félix Schnyder.
In 2002, he founded and developed the "Out of Conflict" initiative. He established political neutrality for its operations by relocating in Switzerland.
In 2014, Michael Davis published Life After Democracy in English, French, Arabic & Chinese and developed the Live Forum TV concept.
In September 2014, the Live Forum Foundation was established and officially registered in Geneva to encourage the use of Live Forum TV, one of the tools introduced in Life After Democracy as a neutral and independent public service.

Business career

From 1969 to 2005, Michael Davis founded and served on the Board of Directors of 15 companies in electronics, telecoms, television and video communications – all of which supported his public service commitments.
The first company designed, developed and installed systems to support the elderly and disabled.
The next companies won cable television and telecoms franchises in competition with some of the world’s largest TV and telecoms companies.
Later, he founded a company to preserve buildings of historic and architectural importance and to develop new properties in areas where it was important to protect the architectural heritage. In 1999, he won a national award with this project, the 'What House' award for the best house.