Lunch will be provided for this event.

The divergence of perceptions of political outcomes typical of pluralist societies has developed into a Great Perceptual Divide in the U.S. and Britain, where populations now reside in alternate universes. Perceptions are driven by identity. In the United States, the perceptual gulf coincides with political partisanship, while in the United Kingdom, the perceptual divide centered around the 2016 Brexit decision. In both countries, politicians are called to account for waging war on enemies rather than for advancing policy objectives, destroying traditional political accountability.

Mitchell Smith will explore these divisions in a talk based on his book The Great Perceptual Divide: Identity and Democracy in the U.S. and Britain, which will be published in September by Bloomsbury. Smith is the director of the School of International Affairs at Penn State and a professor of international affairs. He holds an M.P.A. and a Ph.D, both from Princeton University. He has been a Fulbright Fellow in European Union Affairs and a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels, Belgium.