Kenneth Mayer

Kenneth Mayer

2006 Fulbright Australian National University Distinguished Chair in American Political Science

Media Profile

“More than any other two industrialised democracies Australia and the United States share many common political structures. These include a written constitution, federalism, a truly bicameral national legislature, and states with equal Senate representation. Throughout both Australian and U.S. history, moreover, each country has imported ideas and practices from the other.”

Kenneth Mayer is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin and the inaugural Fulbright Australian National University Distinguished Chair in American Political Science. The Award, established by the Australian National University and the Fulbright Commission, aims to build collaborative research and focus on the study of the United States in Australia.

In August Professor Mayer will join the Australian National University in Canberra to conduct collaborative research with the School of Social Sciences. “My work will focus on two specific collaborative research programs and areas of interest, both of which take advantage of similarities between Australia and the U.S.”, explains Professor Mayer.

“The first is a comparative study of election financing and will examine how legislative behaviour responds to new methods of funding political campaigns and how political organisations adapt to new rules. An additional goal will encompass a longer time horizon and compare executive leadership by presidents and prime ministers. This project will seek to understand how political executives influence policy and how the different political environments help shape official behaviour.”

Professor Mayer is a leading American political scientist with a research background focusing on campaign finance; legislative behaviour and executive power. He received the 2002 Neustadt Award (from the American Political Science Association) for his book With the Stroke of a Pen: Executive Orders and Presidential Power. As a graduate of Yale University he has also worked with the RAND Corporation in Washington D.C. on U.S. defence acquisition reform. Professor Mayer is currently a member of the Editorial Board of the American Political Science Review and has won a number of different awards for outstanding teaching at the University of Wisconsin.

“My projects have the potential to foster long term, ongoing collaboration between American and Australian political scientists”, explained Professor Mayer. “They raise issues central to democratic representation and government accountability.”

“There are important distinctions between Australia's Westminster system and the American presidential system. Particularly from Australia's vantage point, American influence, whether political, cultural, or economic, is not always viewed as positive. But the similarities, at a minimum, offer the potential for meaningful insight into the nature of constitutional government and the comparative dynamics of representation. I am excited about this study and proud to be the inaugural Fulbright ANU Distinguished Chair.”