Books | Alasdair S. Roberts

Feb 10

Talk about “Four Crises” at Truman Library

I enjoyed talking about Four Crises of American Democracy at the Truman Library in Independence MO yesterday. Slides from the talk here. Thanks to the Library staff for their hospitality!

Jan 2

Talk on “Four Crises” at Truman Library Institute

democracyincrisis-postcard-rev3-11_page_1 I will talk about my book, Four Crises of American Democracy, at the Truman Library Institute in Independence, MO on February 9 at 6:30pm. More details here.

Nov 28

“The End of Protest” now in paperback

The End of Protest: How Free-Market Capitalism Learned to Control Dissent has just been published in paperback by Cornell University Press. Purchase on Amazon. The cover design is by Istvan Banyai.

Nov 11

“The End of Protest” discussed in St. Louis Post-Dispatch

My 2013 book “The End of Protest” is discussed in an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about post-election protests. Read the article.

Nov 1

Cover design for new book from Polity Books

This is the cover design for a short book that I am writing for Polity Books, as part of their new Democratic Futures series.

Oct 10

Reviews for “Four Crises of American Democracy”

Early reviews for Four Crises of American Democracy, from the Oxford University Press website:

“Already among our foremost observers of global capitalism, economic policymaking, and the information age, Alasdair Roberts in his latest book expertly details four periods of crisis of American democracy across the past hundred-plus years. The reassuring news: the parlous state of our current national politics has ample historical precedent-and the republic survives. The better news: each crisis period contained the seeds of democratic renewal, providing genuine hope for our own future. Roberts’s clarion voice is one that deserves a full hearing from U.S. officialdom and citizenry alike.”- Rogan Kersh, Provost and Professor of Politics & International Affairs, Wake Forest University

“In this sharp and insightful analysis, Roberts takes dead aim at a central puzzle of our time: is American democracy so sick that it risks sliding deeply into chaos, even oblivion? The book takes measured stock of the challenges democracy faces. But even more important, Roberts finds that democracy has faced big crises before and has found within itself what it takes to conquer them. The result is an exceptionally clear-eyed look at the issues we face and how we can solve them. It’s must reading-especially for those trapped in despair about our system of government.”-Donald F. Kettl, Professor of Public Policy, University of Maryland

Sep 15

New Left Review discusses “End of Protest”

nlr100cover In the current issue of New Left Review, Malcolm Bull discusses my 2013 book, The End of Protest. Go to the article. Bull writes: “There have been places, notably neo-liberal core countries like the USA and UK, where political protests have been small, sporadic and ineffectual. . . . In The End of Protest, Alasdair Roberts attributes this change to the growing intolerance of public unrest in market societies, and the effectiveness of policies of repression (legal changes with strengthened police forces to enforce them) and containment (the manipulation of urban space, enhanced surveillance and kettling), combined with economic appeasement (fiscal stimulus and quantitative easing) carried out by technocrats at central banks rather than the government itself. The result has been the atrophy of traditional forms of mass organization and the failure of new forms of networked protest to take their place.” The End of Protest will be available in paperback from Cornell University Press in November.

Sep 7

“Collapse of Fortress Bush” now on Kindle

My 2008 book The Collapse of Fortress Bush, published by New York University Press, is now available on Kindle. Details here. Kirkus Reviews called the book “A trenchant analysis of the last eight years of American political history. . . . A work of rare insight that fills gaps glaringly evident in most public discourse.” Choice said: “Roberts’ sound judgment and expertise in the field of public administration make this an excellent primer on governance in the Bush years.”