What are the differences between American and British politics?
Earlier this week, I spent almost four hours in discussion – much of it recorded – with an American academic visiting London: Professor Gerald Sussman. He is the author of six books and is currently researching for a seventh.
As he explained in an introductory e-mail:
“I’m a professor of international politics at Portland State University in the USA. My research and writing has focused on electoral politics, communications, media, and interest groups. Your website has been a source of many nuggets of useful information.
As part of a new book project comparing UK and US electoral systems, I’ll be meeting with journalists, academics, activists, politicians, and political professionals in London to discuss ideas about the British campaign process, how it’s been transformed and influenced by economic and cultural forces.
I would very much like to talk with you on this subject, especially on how you see the electoral process having changed over time.”
We had a fascinating discussion in which Gerry asked me lots of questions about British politics and we shared our perspectives on the current political scene in the United States. Throughout the interview, I drew regularly on information in my essay on “Contrasts Between The American And British Political Systems” which is one of the most visited of the 200 or so sections on my web site.
May 18th, 2016 at 11:13 am
Good to hear your web site is resulting in such interesting outcomes for you.
May 18th, 2016 at 7:24 pm
Amazing thing this Internet. Without it, I would never have been in contact with you!