Apr 27
Tom Stevenson reviews Superstates in the May 4, 2023 issue of the London Review of Books. “Empires are supposed to be a thing of the past, yet in some ways the empires we knew are still with us. The largest states in the world have the scale of empires but, Roberts suggests, they are a new breed . . . Roberts is sceptical that his four superstates will all exist in their present form in a hundred years’ time.” Read the review.
Strategies for Governing: Reinventing Public Administration for a Dangerous Century has received the 2021 book award from the Section on Public Administration Research of the American Society for Public Administration. The Committee’s statement: “This book challenges researchers and practitioners in the field to contemplate how we can ‘recover the fundamentals of government,’ and addresses the urgent and fundamental issues we are facing today. The book takes a thoughtful interdisciplinary approach, drawing on public administration history and theory, administrative process development in political science, fragile states research in international relations, and institutional design, presenting an expansive view of the capacities and new directions for public administration as a field of research, teaching, and practice. The nomination letter by ASPA Past President Chester Newland notes this distinctive quality of the book and emphasizes that in light of the ‘currently urgent realities of the field, the analysis is certain to be a lasting contribution.'” More comments and reviews on the book here.
On June 22, I will deliver the 2023 Jocelyne Bourgon Visiting Scholar lecture at the Canada School of Public Service. More information here.
Superstates: Empires of the Twenty-First Century is profiled by Politics Today. “With a groundbreaking twist in thinking about the art and methods of statecraft, Roberts considers the decisions leaders must make to devise and redevise strategies for governance at such a grand scale.” Read the review here.
I will deliver the keynote address at the National Conference on Resilient Institutions hosted by the Institute for Research on Public Policy in Ottawa on June 13, 2023. More details about the lecture here.
On April 5, 2023, I participated in the ASPA SICA Ferrel Heady roundtable on the “future of comparative public administration.” More information, and watch the roundtable here.
Professor Jonathan Boston reviews Superstates in International Review of Public Administration: “Superstates is engaging, lucid, judicious, well documented, and highly accessible. For those interested in, or troubled by, the abiding dilemmas of contemporary government and governing, whether as researchers, students, and practitioners, Superstates will serve as an invaluable resource. Not only does it provide authoritative empirical analyses, but it also offers discerning ethical counsel and practical wisdom. While readers may not agree with all the author’s arguments, they are bound to find his discussion elegant, shrewd, provocative, and insightful.” Read the review.
I will give the valedictory address for the Conference on Public Policy Research organized by the Delhi School of Public Policy and Governance on March 15.
The American Association of Geographers has put Superstates on its quarterly list of recommended reading.
And also on the Spring reading list from Battleground.
I spoke with Professor Colin Talbot about my new book Superstates. Listen here.
On January 20, I participated in a discussion about governance paradigms and public sector innovation hosted by the Canada School of Public Service. Watch the discussion here.
Alasdair S. Roberts 
