Comparative Politics – Federalism and Devolution

About this Course

About the Course

In this course, Dr Andrew Blick (King’s College London) explores the similarities and differences between federalism in the United States and devolution in the United Kingdom. In the first module, we summarise the key characteristics of US federalism, before moving on in the second module to summarise the characteristics and historical context of devolution in the UK. In the third module, we explore the extent to which devolution in the UK can be compared to a federal system, such as that we see in the US, highlighting the similarities between the two. In the fourth module, we explore the limitations on such comparisons, highlighting the ways in which UK devolution and US federalism can be seen as substantially different.

About the Lecturer

Professor Andrew Blick has extensive experience working for think tanks in the UK Parliament and as an administrative assistant at No.10 Downing Street. He has advised democratic reform groups working in countries including Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and Ukraine; and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance in Stockholm. From 2010-15 he was research fellow to the first ever parliamentary inquiry into the possibility of introducing a written constitution for the UK, carried out by the House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee. In 2021 he began participation in an AHRC-funded project assessing the history of democracy from ancient times to the contemporary era, through considering written primary sources. He recently published ‘Electrified Democracy: the Internet and the United Kingdom Parliament in history’.