Lectures | Alasdair S. Roberts

Apr 27

Technocrats or populists: Who gained influence during the financial crisis?

These notes were prepared for a talk at Victoria University of Wellington on May 14. Many scholars of public administration characterize the three decades between 1978 and 2008 as a period when we reconsidered the best way to organize public services. In fact, the stakes were higher than that. The essential question was an old one: in a democratic system, should power be put in the hands of technocrats, or citizens and their elected representatives? There was certainly a powerful global movement for democratization during that period. But there was an equally powerful, and ultimately more successful, movement for the shift of power into the hands of technocrats. Read more

Feb 28

Talks in Wellington and Melbourne: Keeping government secrets in the information age

I’ll be giving two talks for the Australia and New Zealand School of Government in May. The title is Keeping government secrets in the information age. The first talk is in Wellington, New Zealand on May 16: details here. And the second talk is in Melbourne, Australia on May 21: details here.

Jul 4

Talk on AFGD at EU Council Secretariat on July 8

I’ll be giving a talk on America’s First Great Depression at the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union in Brussels on July 8. The current issue of Consilium, the internal staff magazine of the Council of the European Union, has a short article relating to the talk.

Dec 5

Talks in Delhi, Medinipur December 11 and 14

I’ll be giving a talk on the right to information at the Centre for Policy Research’s Accountability Initiative in Delhi on Tuesday December 11. Details here. I’ll also be giving a lecture in the Department of Anthropology at Vidyasagar University in Medinpur on December 14. Details here.

Read a December 16 story in Kolkata’s Statesman about my lecture at Vidyasagar University.

Nov 16

Talk at Conference of International Ombudsman Institute

I spoke on the opening panel of the Tenth World Conference of the International Ombudsman Institute in Wellington, New Zealand on November 14, 2012. The topic was Transparency in Troubled Times. Read a media release about the talk. Photo: fellow panelist Helen Clark, UNDP administrator, and Dame Beverley Wakem, Chief Ombudsman of New Zealand and IOI President.

Aug 10

Talk at Harvard Book Store on September 14

I’ll be giving a talk about America’s First Great Depression at Harvard Book Store in Cambridge MA on September 14. Details here.

Apr 11

Talk at Central Translation Bureau, Beijing

I gave a talk on April 10 at the Central Compilation and Translation Bureau in Beijing, along with John McMillan, Information Commissioner of Australia. The talk was organized by the Bureau in partnership with the Carter Center in Atlanta.

Apr 5

Lecture on transparency in Beijing, April 8

I’ll be giving a public lecture in Beijing on April 8 with John McMillan, Information Commissioner of Australia. The lecture is organized by Tsinghua University Law School in conjunction with the Carter Center. We’ll also participate in an all-day forum at the law school on April 9.

Feb 15

Talk to HKS Mason Fellows

I enjoyed talking with Mason Fellows at Harvard Kennedy School this evening. The discussion was mainly about my forthcoming book, America’s First Great Depression, although I also talked a bit about Logic of Discipline. Thanks to Professor Matt Andrews for the invitation.

Dec 30

Speaking at IOI world conference

I’ll be one of the speakers at the 10th World Conference of the International Ombudsman Institute in Wellington, NZ in November. Working title for the talk: Transparency in Troubled Times.

Professor of Public Policy, University of Massachusetts Amherst

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