1986 - Sir Oliver Wright - Anglo-American Relations: The Atlantic Grows Wider

In this lecture Sir Oliver Wright examined the British view of America, questioning why it was so poor. He believed that the opposition was the result of a misunderstanding of American character grounded in different historical experiences. He looked at the political differences between the two states – the American distrust of executive power led to a Constitution where power is diversified, the President as the only elected official to take decisions on the electorate’s behalf, the maze of administrative politics and the decline of the eastern establishment in the United States that had more in common with Britain. He discussed the appeal of Reagan and the problems in Iran. He called on the British to make more effort to understand the character of America, noting the potential positive contributions that state could make on the world state.