Alasdair S. Roberts

Jan 29

Assessing the state of American democracy

I’ve written a column for The Conversation, “What those mourning the fragility of American democracy get wrong.” Also in Spanish.

Jan 14

Article in Wilson Quarterly: The Hundred Day Mistake

I’ve just published an article in Wilson Quarterly, “The Hundred Day Mistake.” Read it here. Lede: “Is an FDR-style legislative blitz the best way forward in our present crisis?” The article is also referenced in the New York Times. Previous articles in Wilson Quarterly include “The WikiLeaks Illusion” (2010) and “The Nation-State: Not Dead Yet” (2015).

Dec 28

Talk at SNU Graduate School of Public Administration

I will give a talk to graduate students in the Graduate School of Public Administration at Seoul National University on January 7, 2021. The topic is: “Strategies for governing: The challenge for democracies.” Powerpoint for the talk here.

Dec 22

Comment in Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration

I’ve written a short comment for Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration, “How to bridge East and West.” Manuscript here. Abstract: Today, the field of public administration has two problems that can be fixed with one solution. The first problem is fixation on a limited set of “middle-level” topics in public administration. The second problem is a bias toward scholarship generated within a very small number of Western democracies. We can fix both problems by adopting an approach to scholarship that focuses on the macro-level of public administration — that is, on questions of grand strategy and statebuilding.

Dec 21

Comment on Trump and administrative reform

A short paper that I’ve co-written with Don Moynihan is now forthcoming in Public Administration Review: “Dysfunction by design: Trumpism as administrative doctrine.” Read the MS here. Read on the PAR website.

Nov 18

Presentation at Copenhagen Business School

On October 29, I spoke with Professor Carsten Greve about “pandemic, paradigm change, and the implications for public management,” as part of his course on “Leading reform” for the Master of Public Governance program at Copenhagen Business School.
Watch the presentation here.