Conversation on QR770 Calgary
On October 4 I talked with Rob Breakenridge of QRCalgary 770AM about The Adaptable Country. You can here the interview here: it starts at 34 minutes 30 seconds.
Oct 6
Talk at University of Calgary School of Public Policy
I’ll visit the University of Calgary School of Public Policy on October 8 to talk about my book The Adaptable Country. Details to follow.
PolicyForward panel discussion, Calgary
On October 7, I joined a PolicyForward panel discussion on the future of democracy in Canada, organized by the Max Bell Foundation. The discussion was chaired by Paul Wells. Details here. Listen to my opening comments on the state of democracy here.
Politics & Rights Review publishes excerpt on realism
Politics & Rights Review has published an excerpt from my new book, The Adaptable Country. Read the excerpt here. Also available in French and Spanish.
Talks at University of Missouri and Missouri Southern State University
On September 16, I visited the Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri to talk about my book The Adaptable Country.
And on September 17, I gave a lecture about the book at Missouri Southern State University, as one of their Canada Semester events. You can watch the lecture on YouTube:
Working paper on the strategic state
I’ve written a working paper, “The strategic state: Making it work in multilevel democracies,” with Ian Elliott of the University of Glasgow. The paper is on SSRN.
Comments on “The Adaptable Country”
“In a world of disruptive, interconnected crises, Roberts provides us with a warning: Canada is on the edge of an adaptability trap. Our institutions, and the people who work in them, must have the nimbleness and flexibility to sustain our democracy in the treacherous years ahead.” – Anne McLellan, Former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
“While too many people in Canadian politics are focussed only on winning, Alasdair Roberts has produced a pithy guide to making Canada succeed, with an emphasis on planning, coordination, and an informed citizenry.” – Paul Wells, award-winning journalist and author of The Longer I’m Prime Minister
“Providing essential insight into Canada’s unique governance model, Alasdair Roberts urges us to face the challenges to our democratic institutions. The Adaptable Country is a must-read, opening a conversation about how the federal establishment can better work for the next generation.” – Senator Peter Harder
“A hyper-relevant call to action, as Canadians feel increasingly unsettled about our collective stability and resilience. Roberts seeks to shake us out of our complacency and think strategically about a challenging future for which we’re likely ill-prepared.” – Jennifer Ditchburn, President & CEO, Institute for Research on Public Policy
“A lively read, The Adaptable Country explores how governance has evolved in Canada. More approachable and broader in scope than much academic work in Canadian governance/public administration, it draws on key anecdotes to engage and inform a wide general readership.” – Emmett Macfarlane, coauthor of Legislating under the Charter
“The Adaptable Country offers a unique view of government and governing in Canada. Roberts examines public administration, political party, civil society, and political culture issues to assess which of these components of the system has been diminished or is currently not up to the task.” – Brooke Jeffrey, author of Road to Redemption
Pre-order on Amazon (United States).
Pre-order on Amazon (Canada)
Chapter on “universalization of fragility”
I’ve written a short paper, “The universalization of fragility,” for the international seminar on future trends for the public sector, Instituut voor de Overheid, KU Leuven, February 8-9, 2024. Read the paper here.
The paper will be published in Futures for the Public Sector (Leuven University Press, 2025).
Abstract: “State fragility has been regarded as a problem found only in the developing world. In the twenty-first century, however, it will become a characteristic of states in the Global North as well. Everywhere, leaders and citizens will be preoccupied with basic problems of state cohesion and control. Fears about the decay of political stability and public order may undermine faith in democracy and encourage a shift to authoritarianism. To survive, democratic systems must improve their adaptability and resist the temptation to centralize authority in the face of crisis. Public administration scholars must also revise ideas and methods to remain relevant in this century. New ways of thinking about the field of public administration are required. Unfortunately, it is not clear that scholarly institutions have the motivation to make the necessary changes. So, academia itself faces a problem of adaptability as well.”
Review of “Superstates” in Foreign Affairs
In the May/June 2024 issue of Foreign Affairs, Shivshankar Menon of Ashoka University reviews my book Superstates, published by Polity in 2023. Menon writes: “[Roberts] offers an insightful account of superstates’ internal governance and a thoughtful exploration of their similarities in diversity, fragility, leadership structures, and ideology.” Read the full review.
Short history of CAIRS/ATI database
Globe and Mail journalist Tom Cardoso recalls the Canadian government’s CAIRS database, which compiled Access to Information Act requests, in this blog post. As Tom mentions, I created a publicly accessible version of the database at Queen’s University in 2000.
Alasdair S. Roberts 
