Having been stationed by the British army in Hamburg following the end of World War II, Smith completed his Economics degree at the LondonSchool of Economics upon his return to London. Following several years in the personnel management of private companies and teaching civics to day-release apprentices at Bournemouth Municipal College, Smith completed a part-time doctorate on the political system of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1964. After having been appointed to a lectureship at London North East Polytechnic , he published his first book, Politics in Western Europe, wherein a comparison of the political systems of the 19 Western European countries was presented. Due to a heightened recognition of the publication and positive reception, Smith was appointed as a senior lecturer at the LSE thereafter, and served a spell as the Head of Department for Government. Smith collaborated with Vincent Wright, Klaus Goetz and Peter Mair to establish the academic journal West European Politics in 1978. Smith also co-founded the journal German Politics and helped establish the European Political Science Research Consortium and the Association for the Study of German Politics, whose chairman he was from 1986 to 1988. He was later elected an honorary Vice-Chairman. He rejected the opinion of some colleagues that political processes can be explained through generalizations; instead, he viewed the history and culture of a country indispensable and essential in understanding political developments and changes.
The Vincent Wright and Gordon Smith Memorial Prize
The Vincent Wright Memorial Prize was established in 1999 to honour the memory of Vincent Wright. Following the untimely death of Smith in 2009, the award was renamed to the Vincent Wright and Gordon Smith Memorial Prize. Two prizes are awarded annually on the recommendation of members of the editorial advisory board for the best articles published in the journal during the preceding year.
Democracy in Western Germany. Parties and politics in the Federal Republic, 1979 ; 3. 1986
As editor, with William E. Paterson: The West German model. Perspectives on a stable state, 1981
As editor, with Herbert Döring: Party government and political culture in Western Germany, 1982
As editor: Developments in West German politics, 1989
As editor, with Peter Mair: Understanding party system change in Western Europe, 1990
As editor: Developments in German politics, 1992
Gordon Smith was, alongside Vincent Wright, editor of the journal West European Politics. Together with a group of political scientists, he participated in the founding of the journal German Politics in 1992.
Commemorative publications
Continuity and change in German politics. Beyond the politics of centrality? A Festschrift for Gordon Smith, ed. Stephen Padgett and Thomas Poguntke, 2002. A commemorative publication dedicated to Smith entailing a bibliography of Smith's publications.
