May 11
My next book, Why Great States Fail, is now forthcoming from McGill-Queen’s University Press. We are aiming for publication in 2027. The book is based on my March 2026 Corry Lecture for the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University.
My book The Adaptable Country has been selected as a finalist for the Writers’ Trust 2025 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. Details here. The jury citation says: “It is popular to claim Canada is broken. Public frustration builds as governments seem reluctant or unable to effectively address the everyday problems Canadians face. Alasdair Roberts expertly suggests the problem is that our institutions lack a plan to adapt to the changes the future is bringing. His evidence includes the short-term focus of politicians; no regular, constructive federal-provincial engagement on policy issues; and a public service drowning in rules and layers of bureaucracy that stymies action. In a cogently argued, tightly focused, very accessible 141 pages, The Adaptable Country outlines how Canada can fix what is broken. It’s a timely guide for rebuilding trust and efficacy in Canada’s institutions and should be required reading for all Canadians, particularly those presently sitting in parliament and provincial legislatures.”
The Adaptable Country is reviewed by George Anderson in the May issue of Literary Review of Canada. Anderson writes: “This is a timely book, especially given Canada’s need to deal with the brutal reality of Donald Trump, whose animus toward us, including talk of annexation, is creating a fundamental crisis for our federal and provincial leaders . . . While Canadians continue to have an enviable place in the world, we face growing uncertainty. Most dramatically, even our close relationship with the United States can no longer be taken for granted. There is a pressing need to develop new capacity for crisis management and for in‑depth reflection on our longer-term challenges. The Adaptable Country helps make the case for action.” Read the full review.
The Walrus, a Canadian public affairs magazine, has run a long excerpt from my book The Adaptable Country. Read the excerpt here.
I’ll visit the Institute for the Study of Canada at McGill University on November 4 to talk about my book, The Adaptable Country. Register for the event here.
On September 16, I visited the Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri to talk about my book The Adaptable Country.
And on September 17, I gave a lecture about the book at Missouri Southern State University, as one of their Canada Semester events. You can watch the lecture on YouTube:
In the May/June 2024 issue of Foreign Affairs, Shivshankar Menon of Ashoka University reviews my book Superstates, published by Polity in 2023. Menon writes: “[Roberts] offers an insightful account of superstates’ internal governance and a thoughtful exploration of their similarities in diversity, fragility, leadership structures, and ideology.” Read the full review.
Nov 28
My book The Adaptable Country: How Canada Can Survive the Twenty-First Century, is now available from McGill-Queen’s University Press, in the Canadian Essentials series edited by Professor Daniel Béland. The cover design is by David Drummond.
Order on Amazon (United States)
Order on Amazon (Canada)
Download frontmatter and preface here.
From the publisher: Adaptability is the overlooked key to Canada’s survival in turbulent times. Shifting geopolitics, regional conflicts, climate change, and technology shocks: these are just some of the factors that will make the twenty-first century dangerous for Canada. Adaptability, the capacity to anticipate and manage dangers, is essential for the country to survive and thrive. But Canada is not as adaptable as it once was.
Read more
I enjoyed speaking with Anotida Chikumbu about my book, Superstates: Empires of the Twenty-First Century. Watch the twenty-minute conversation on YouTube.
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.
Alasdair S. Roberts 
