Crossing the Atlantic

I've just returned from a stimulating conference in Plymouth. It began on Independence Day, in the city where the Pilgrim Fathers last left the British Isles as they headed for America.

The conference was organised by the Transatlantic Studies Association - and it was their 15th Annual Conference. The Association brings together many disciplines - so we had a wide menu of workshops - which ranged from literature to history, through International Relations and on to politics. There were also keynote lectures each day. We began with a roundtable involving representatives from sister organisations (I took part on behalf of the American Politics Group). I found the whole conference incredibly stimulating. The conference programme is available here. Recent events - the Brexit vote - dominated discussions and conversations around the conference, as did the upcoming elections in the USA. Delegates came from across Europe and from Canada and the USA.

We also had a dinner at the National Marine Aquarium - which had a fantastic backdrop with fish swimming around as we ate and listened.

Details of the Transatlantic Studies Association can be found at http://www.transatlanticstudies.com

Final Day of Conference (Belated)

It's been a very busy few hours (well 50 hours +) since the APG conference finished.

The first session was a panel on "The Discipline of Politics in America: Origins, Problems and Prospects" - an excellent title, since we covered history of the discipline of political science (and associated disciplines), philosophy and thoughts on where the subject may develop in the future. Louisa Hotson traced the development of various lines of thought, with an emphasis on Chicago - and took us through hopes and disappointment. Nathan Pinkonski discussed Leo Strauss. Stephen Welch looked at the positivist basis of American political science.

The final session included John Berg on the politics of coal - tracing the various reasons why this subject has been so important in American politics (as it has been in British). Ron Mendel discussed the Occupy Movements of 2012, while the final paper by Richard Johnson, of the University of Oxford - "Deracialisation: Re-examination of a political strategy" was of such quality that he was awarded the postgraduate prize for best paper.

It was an act of genius for the founders of the APG annual conferences to arrange them for the first days of the new year. This was my fourth conference - and each has set the new year off to an excellent start. They have been interesting and thought provoking. As an added bonus - the APG involves a really nice group of people. Fun and stimulating!

From Glory to Gridlock

Andrew Rudalevige presented his keynote address to the American Politics Group at its conference opening at the Midland Hotel, Manchester. A typically fascinating presentation from Professor Rudalevige which contained good and bad news. The good news is that Obama's presidency has actually achieved a lot - but the bad feeling about worsening gridlock is justified. Looking ahead - is there a way out? Partisan is actually becoming more marked - as some fine graphs demonstrated.

Many of us have been brought up (particularly in the UK) with the illusion that the US President is the most powerful man in the world. The Constitution did not provide for that - and perhaps the illusion is due less to the skill of particular presidents, than Congress' abdication of power. Well we will see as the 114th Congress convenes this week whether a legislature wholly controlled by a single party will successfully weaken the President - or whethe Obama can skilfully divide and rule a party with many internal divisions.

US politics has always been interesting - but is it about to get more interesting (and/or frustrating?). Do send me your thoughts.

A New Year

The holidays are over - and I find myself in sunny Manchester (no kidding, it's a beautiful sunny, 'refreshing' day in the city. The Annual Conference of the American Politics Group is about to begin. As ever, there are a number of interesting papers to be presented and discussed. The nice thing about APG is that it encompasses a number of disciplines - with of course politics and history being well represented - but lawyers and economists are also here. (I'm a law and political science specialist myself, with a passion for history. Economics well! as Leo said on the Wing West Wing - Economists were put on the earth to make astrologers look good).

We are staying at the Midland Hotel - which is a delight. I normally only spend time at fringe meetings here during party conferences - and this is the place where the top people stay (I go for the cheapest place I can lay my head, for the few hours we get to rest during party conference). Thankfully we got an affordable deal! I'll be posting during the conference - I'm just off to registration & to meet old friends; At 6pm Professor Andrew Rudalevige is giving the keynote address on "The Obama Presidency and Congress: From Glory to Deadlock" - then we have the Conference Dinner.

APG - The American Politics Group

The APG (see http://washminster.blogspot.com/2014/01/apg-conference.html and http://washminster.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/american-politics-group.html) now has a new website.

It's worth checking out. There are links to a number of blogs run by leading members of the APG; Links to other sites of interest to academics and students of the USA (from history to politics to culture - and beyond!); Details of forthcoming events and Information about the group.

APG is a Political Studies Association sub-group and the major professional organization for researchers and lecturers in the UK whose work concentrates on the government and politics of the USA. If you are working in this field - whether as a lecturer, researcher or student (or if you are interested in American Politics) it is worth joining.

The new website can be found at http://www.american-politics-group-uk.net/

APG Conference

I have returned from an excellent conference held in Oxford. The American Politics Group has its annual conference early in January each year. Last year we met in Leicester; and in 2012 in Manchester. (Previous posts here, here, and here.)

This year's conference theme was " The 50th Anniversary of Lyndon B Johnson's 'Great Society'". Professor Richard Blackett got the conference to a great start on Sunday with a lecture on "The Long Struggle". It give a fascinating insight to the 19th Century struggles for racial equality.

Many papers dealt with LBJ, but there were also papers on other areas of American politics and political history. I gave a paper on the 1974 Election at which the Democrats made sizeable gains in the wake of the Watergate Affair. While I dealt with the short term context and the details of the results - I also looked at how the policies of LBJ had set in train events which has had an effect on the election 10 years later.

There was a host of excellent papers. The trouble with conference like that, is that there is so much that it is impossible to get to hear all the papers and the following discussion. Hence I was at another session when Ursula Hackett delivered her paper, which won the Neustadt Postgraduate Paper Prize. I have subsequently read the paper - and it provides an excellent analysis of the different meanings which have been attached to LBJ's phrase.

There were for me many highlights. As a law lecturer I enjoyed the panel on law issues - which ranged from a discussion of the approach taken by Supreme Court Justice Kennedy in the recent ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act in US v Windsor (Helen Knowles); though the thwarted Bork nomination to the Supreme Court (Joe Ryan-Hume, who is doing a Ph.D. at Glasgow University and who will soon be taking up a Library of Congress research fellowship)) and the idea of the "lost constitution" in the philosophy of the Tea Party in the USA and Britain's UKIP (Jamie Fletcher).

Kevin Baron presented a very good paper on Presidential vetoes - which has prompted me to think about the issue for my own research. Patrick Andelic also gave a paper on the Watergate Babies - and I look forward to attending the conference at the Rothermere American Institute which he is organising about Watergate. Tom Packer gave a fascinating presentation about Jesse Helms and his response to the Great Society measures.

...and there was so much more! A great way to start the year!!!!

The one session in the Manchester APG conference that I didn't write about yesterday was Professor Richard Pious' keynote speech on Thursday evening. It needs a post of its own!

In an entertaining and informative tour de force lasting an hour - Professor Pious (Columbia University) looked at the influence of British politics on US politics and the reverse trade. He highlighted six main areas.

The first was the influence of Alexander Hamilton - and his emphasis on the prerogative powers that the President should enjoy. The work of Blackstone on the prerogative was heavily relied upon by Hamilton in his speeches at the Constitutional Convention. Pious pointed out that it was Hamilton's ambition to be the "Prime Minister" to Washington.

In the late 19th Century there were attempts made to graft many of the developing features of Westminster onto Congress. At this time the UK Parliament was seen by many influential Americans as more effective than the congressional system. Woodrow Wilson (as an academic, before he became President) was one of these men -and Professor Pious was able to list a number of Westminster practices which were proposed.

The third influence was the work of Lord Bryce, and his critique of the US Political class.

While many of the ideas which surfaced in the late 19th Century came to naught, the concept of "responsible government" resurface in the mid 20th Century. After WW2 APSA made an influential proposal for importing this concept. (more details here). Pious pointed out that there has been greater polarisation - particularly with the Goldwater campaign of 1964; Nixon & the Republican revolution in the 1990s - but thios has tended towards "irresonsible" rather than "responsible" government.

The fifth influence has been Beveridge's ideas on the welfare state that were imported into the US by American academics who studied in Britain. Daniel P Moynihan was cited as an example by Professor Pious.

The final influence was the much repected British academic Richard Rose (his CV is worth looking at if you are unfamiliar with him). Amongst the many things he has done, he has compared the Premiership in Britain and the American presidency.

After this study of history - Professor Pious then drew some key lessons about (1) the emphasis on prerogative powers; (2) the appearance of an informal parliamentary system when the Presidency wasn't working (he suggested Kissinger under Nixon and Weinberger under Reagan as 'Prime Ministers' who enjoyed congressional confidence) and (3) a continued lack of "the best" reaching the presidency.

There was so much there - and lot's to explore further. I hope that you will find sufficient in my review to take you further!

American Politics Group

Today in Manchester, the annual conference of the American Politics Group begins. The APG was founded in 1974 and "is the major professional organisation for the researchers and teachers in the UK whose work concentrates on the government and politics of the USA." Details of the conference can be found here.

I'm particularly looking forward to the sessions which look at the Healthcare issue, (and to an updated version of Dr Alex Waddon's paper which was initially presented at the annual colloquium  at the British Library in November) and to the session on the Tea Party movement. There's a session on development of the Right in America, upon which I have a particular interest, and some sessions on recent political history.

I will give a report after the conference and review some of the papers presented.

For me, this is going to be a year for visiting Manchester. Apart from kicking off the year with the APG, I'll be back for the Labour Party Conference in September/October. The city hosts the People's History Museum, which is both a fascinating museum and has important archives which I have used in the past - and will probably do so again this year - for my historical research into Parliament.

Diagnosing the problems

Excellent day in London. A day's conference at the British Library - organised by the American Politics Group - main theme, is the American political system - especially the Presidency and Congress working? If not, what can be done to address the issues. Then down to Westminster for the launch of the Hansard Socity's "Making Better Law". Some excellent "meat" to feast on. I'll be raising & commenting on the issues in upcoming posts. The other piece of news is that the "Cabinet Manual" draft has now been published.