Jun 20
Up Close, produced by University of Melbourne, has just posted an interview about my 2013 book The End of Protest. Listen to the interview here. Photo right: Interviewer Lynne Haultain and producer Eric van Bemmel.
I spoke with Radio New Zealand’s Wallace Chapman on May 25 about government secrecy. The interview was broadcast on RNZ’s Sunday Morning program. Listen to the interview on the web. Australia’s ABC Radio National also broadcast my interview with Jonathan Green on May 25. The interview, about The End of Protest, was part of Radio National’s Sunday Extra program. Listen to the interview on the web.
The following comment was published in the May 2-8 2014 issue of The New Statesman, as part of a supplement produced by the Webb Memorial Trust. Download as PDF.
It’s been three years since the magazine Adbusters sent out the tweet that triggered the Occupy movement: “On Sept. 17, flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street.” By late 2011, many Occupiers were convinced that the new movement would change the world. Some called it “one of the most significant and hopeful events of our lifetimes.” Today, however, optimism about the Occupy movement has faded away. Why did it lose steam so quickly? Read more
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
The Economic Sociology and Political Economy blog discusses my book The End of Protest: “Roberts convincingly argues that in the last three decades, the two countries that led the free-market revolution—the US and Britain—have invented new strategies for dealing with unrest over free market policies.” Read more.
On the World Bank’s CommGAP blog, Sina Odugbemi discusses The End of Protest. “It is a good, bracing and quick read. You will find plenty to both agree and argue with in it.” Read the blog post.
I’ve just recorded an interview about The End of Protest with David Levine, host of the radio interview show and podcast series Hearsay Culture. The interview will air on KZSU-FM on Wednesday, November 27 at 4pm PST / 7pm EST. The interview is also available online here.
Publishers Weekly has a story about the launch of Cornell University Press’ new Cornell Selects imprint. The End of Protest is the first title in the series.
The End of Protest is now available on Kindle. You can also watch the short video about the ebook here.
A short video about The End of Protest is now available on YouTube.
Alasdair S. Roberts 
