Europeans at time believe that the US is "a Western country like us", but there are profound differences that characterise that are not immediately visible.

Gaja Pellegrini-Bettoli, and American-Italian journalist, explains the mechanisms of US presidential elections drawing from her personal life experience living in the US and through exclusive expert interviews with current leading personalities from the US media, analysts, and experts following the elections such as Richard Wolffe for the Guardian, conservative Republican strategist Grover Norquist, Prof. Joshua Tucker of the Washington Post political blog ‘The Monkey Cage’ and many others. The manuscript brings the reader behind the scenes, showcasing the different sides of American society, its constitution, history, politics, and paradoxes. The US is a complex country, its contradictions emerging blatantly over the course of the pandemic and the current electoral atmosphere. While Europeans may at times believe the US is ‘a western country like us’, there are profound differences that characterise it but are not immediately visible. The manuscript shows with clarity where these differences lie and provides their historic context, allowing the reader to have a clear understanding of the US electoral system and the complexities of the system and society. The manuscript provides the reader with a snapshot of American society that goes beyond the US elections in November.

The author has lived and attended school in the US which allows her to grasp the complexities of the United States, its society, history and politics as only an American would and she is able to explain these nuances to a wide audience. She intertwines her own anecdotal references with high level exclusive interviews she held with current American analysts, political personalities and journalists who cover the US presidential elections.

Gaja Pellegrini Bettoli
is a dual national (American and Italian), she is an accredited international journalist. She covered the Middle East for five years (2013-2018). She earned a BA in Political Science in Italy and a MSc in Economic History from the London School of Economics in the UK. She has written for numerous international publications and Think Tanks. She has reported from Gaza, Israel, Algeria, Iraq and Lebanon. She was a press officer for the European Parliament and Commission in Brussels. She worked for the UN in Gaza as press officer. Gaja authored ‘Generation without Fathers. Growing-up in the war-torn Middle East’ (published in 2019). She drove in the Mongol Rally (2006), a car rally from London to Mongolia.