Professor Meg Russell Inaugural Lecture

Politics, Academia and the Real World

This lecture will reflect on politics from the 'inside' and from the 'outside', and the relationships between the two. In contemporary academia 'impact' has become a buzzword, with academics increasingly encouraged to engage with the real world. But if political scientists do so, will anybody listen? Drawing on her own research journey in British and comparative politics, particularly with relation to parliament, Professor Russell argues that closer engagement between political practitioners and academics is highly desirable - but also challenging - in the quest by both groups to comprehend, and shape, the world beyond.