Alasdair S. Roberts

Jan 10

5th and 6th global conferences on transparency research

The 5^th Global Conference on Transparency Research: University of Limerick, Ireland, June 19 to June 21, 2017

The 6^th Global Conference on Transparency Research, The Schools of Administration and Law at the FGV in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Late June 2018

The Standing Executive Committee of the Global Conference on Transparency Research—consisting of: A.J. (Albert) Meijer (Utrecht University), Suzanne Piotrowski (Rutgers University), Alasdair Roberts (University of Missouri), Jean-Patrick Villeneuve (University of Lugano)—is very pleased to announce the 5^th and 6th Global Conferences on Transparency Research at the University of Limerick, Ireland (June 2017) and The Schools of Administration and Law at the FGV in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (June 2018) respectively. Read more

Dec 9

Brint Milward visits with Governance & Public Affairs class

IMG_0668[1] Professor Brint Milward of the University of Arizona visited with PhD students in my Governance and Public Affairs class this morning. Professor Milward discussed his work on dark networks as well as his working paper on the neglect of the state in public management research.

Nov 1

Article on fiscal rules and austerity now published

My article, “No Simple Fix: Fiscal Rules and the Politics of Austerity,” has now been published by the Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies.

Oct 2

Public Governance Fellowship at Truman School of Public Affairs

The Truman School of Public Affairs is offering a Doctoral Fellowship in Public Governance. The successful applicant would work with me on research relating to the processes by which governing institutions evolve to meet changing social and economic conditions. In other words, the development of the administrative state. The Public Governance Fellowship includes full tuition reimbursement for coursework and a stipend of $17,500 per year. The full announcement is here.

Oct 1

Don Kettl visits with Governance and Public Affairs class

Professor Don Kettl of the University of Maryland visited with students in my PhD course on Governance and Public Affairs this morning. We had a great conversation, focusing mainly on Professor Kettl’s book The Next Government of the United States.

Sep 21

Talk on “Four Crises of Democracy” at Truman School

I’ll be discussing my book project Four Crises of Democracy at the Truman School on Friday September 25. Details here. The book is under contract with Oxford University Press.

Aug 19

“Nation-state” article on Foreign Policy Association must-read list

My article for the Wilson Quarterly, The Nation-State: Not Dead Yet, is on the Foreign Policy Association’s must-read list for August 7-14.

Jul 20

Article discusses Logic of Discipline

A new article by Matthew Flinders and Matt Wood in the journal New Political Science discusses my 2010 book The Logic of Discipline. “Roberts’s major study of the proliferation of technocratic governance shows that, paradoxically, hyperdepoliticization has occurred at the same time as hyper-democracy.” Read the article.

Jul 12

International conference of the Korean Association for Public Administration

I’ll be participating in the international conference of the Korean Association for Public Administration at Sangmyung University on July 16-18. Program here. I will be on a opening plenary panel on global trends in public administration on July 16, as well as a session with Professor Evan Berman of Victoria University of Wellington on “institutions and leadership” on July 17. I will also give a presentation at the Graduate School of Public Administration at Seoul National University on July 15.

Jun 18

Book chapter: How American democracy learns from crisis

I’ve just published a chapter in a new report from the ISEPR Foundation that was published this month to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Trilateral Commission’s 1975 report, The Crisis of Democracy. “The conclusion that democratic systems are intrinsically unstable is not justified. . . [M]oments of crisis are only one part of a larger process by which democracies learn and adapt to new challenges.” Download in English and Russian.