RAI Lecture at the Chalke Valley History Festival: "Understanding American Government"

At times America's complicated system of Federalism has seemed like a model of rational and democratic government – at others it has seemed like a recipe for obstruction and chaos. In this year's Rothermere American Institute Lecture at the Chalke Valley History Festival, Nicholas Cole will discuss the circumstances in which America's government was created, the objectives of its founders, and whether the assumptions of the eighteenth century are fit for purpose in the modern world.

Nicholas Cole is a Senior Research Fellow at Pembroke College, Oxford and specialises in political thought and democratic institutions in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The Chalke Valley History Festival was first held in 2011 and has since grown into the largest history festival in Britain, bringing a seven-day programme of talks, displays, and activities to the village of Broad Chalke, near Salisbury.

The lecture will be held in the Smith & Williamson Tent, beginning at 5pm. Tickets can be booked on the Festival website.

The Rothermere American Institute Lecture is made possible by the generosity of the Rothermere Foundation.