Alasdair Roberts

A line graph titled "Most Americans Think the Country's Divisions Cannot Be Overcome, Poll Says." It shows 64% of respondents saying that America's political system is too politically divided to solve the nation's problems, and 33% saying the system can still address the nation's problems.

Americans have less faith in the ability of the country’s political system to solve problems than they had five years ago, with a large majority now believing that the U.S. is incapable of overcoming its deep divisions, according to a poll by The New York Times and Siena University. nyti.ms/476StrS

The organizers of a proposed section on #HumanRights within the American Society for Public Administration are looking for expressions of interest -- 300 names are needed to make the proposal go (as I understand it). If you are interested, fill out this survey.

pace.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

How Does This Look to the Neighbors? International Insights on America with Governance Scholars Alasdair Roberts and Andrew Podger - Management Matters with James-Christian Blockwood This week's episode of Management Matters features an external view on what's happening in American governance, and the quest to learn more about how international observers are thinking about America...

I joined Professor Andrew Podger for a discussion on the Management Matters podcast, hosted by James-Christian Blockwood, president of the US National Academy of Public Administration

www.buzzsprout.com/1073332/epis...

We are so honoured to be on this list! Congrats and good luck to all the shortlisted authors and publishers. @alasdairroberts.bsky.social

Be part of shaping ASPA’s potential new Administration and Human Rights Section—take the quick survey today

pace.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

It is 20 years since Conor Gearty gave the Hamlyn Lectures on Can Human Rights Survive?
As a mark of respect following the dreadful news of his, Cambridge University Press & Assessment has made these lectures Open Access for the remainder of the year. You can find them here:
lnkd.in/e5Xrt2G5

We're missing a vision for Canada

I spoke with Shaye Ganam of QR770AM Calgary this morning about yesterday's op-ed in @theglobeandmail.com

open.spotify.com/episode/6zf2...

Text reads The temptation and danger of centralisation, Professor Alasdair Roberts, University of Massachusetts Amherst, EGPA 2025 conference, Blog series. Includes a photo of Alasdair Roberts at the conference and the University of Glasgow and Centre for Public Policy logos

New blog from @alasdairroberts.bsky.social, part of our #EGPA2025 series.

📝 Prof. Alasdair Roberts writes about the temptation of centralisation in times of crisis, warning however that it "may be a formula for fragility, not resilience."

Read 🔗 www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/...

I wrote this short piece for the @uofglasgow.bsky.social Centre for Public Policy blog, to accompany my comments in a plenary session at the EGPA conference on August 28.

www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/...

Opinion: We’re missing a vision for Canada We are living in a different world, and we need to talk about what that means for all of us

My op-ed in today's @theglobeandmail.com, based on my book from @mcgillqueensup.bsky.social

www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

Opinion: We’re missing a vision for Canada We are living in a different world, and we need to talk about what that means for all of us

"Canada today is suffering from the vision thing. This is not a criticism of any one person. It is a criticism of an entire political system that is incapable of generating a vision of where we are trying to go as a country."

By @alasdairroberts.bsky.social

www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

I'm looking forward to giving a presentation by Zoom to public policy faculty at the American University in Cairo next Wednesday, September 17. Zoom link here if you are interested.

The crisis of design in American government The American political system confronts two distinct crises. The first is the crisis of the moment, stemming from President Trump’s controversial actions since January 2025. The second is the deepe...

The Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration @apjournalpa.bsky.social has embedded the short explainer video for my article, "The Crisis of Design in American Government," in the article abstract itself -- a neat innovation:

www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/...

A photo of Alasdair Robert’s speaking

A photo of Anand Menon speaking

…after Prof Kuhlmann’s opening remarks and highlighting multiple challenges we’re hearing from Prof @anandmenon.bsky.social on Brexit - where are we now, how is it impacting us now?

And Prof @alasdairroberts.bsky.social on the geopolitical situation that’s emerging and how it might impact the EU.

Through several American state-level freedom-of-information laws, I have obtained documents that explain where this anonymous complaint originated. I plan to write about this at a later date. I'm still waiting for responses to some FOI requests, which make take a bit of time.

I've added an addendum for those of you interested in how the COPE complaint process works -- or rather, doesn't. Although Taylor & Francis is a member of COPE, COPE will not accept a complaint about T&F's non-compliance with its conflict-of-interest rules, because the journal is not a COPE member.

@alasdairroberts.bsky.social Parts of this talk on why academic publishing is so broken chime with your concerns about anglosphere domination of public administration research.

Re-posting this not just because it says nice things, but because the EU is an interesting comparison.

(@alasdairroberts.bsky.social has made the same comparison, but I leapt at the G7 comp because of Carney's recent comments.)

bsky.app/profile/jbro...

ANALYSIS | Are first ministers' meetings cool again? | CBC News When Mark Carney sits down with the premiers on Tuesday, it will be the third time in four months that he and the premiers have met face-to-face. That is, by recent standards, an unusual amount of tim...

New from me: Are first ministers' meetings cool again?

With links to the wise analysis of @alasdairroberts.bsky.social, @jaredwesley.ca, @jbroschek.bsky.social and Jenn Wallner.

www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Someone wanted my NASPAA article removed from publication. What happened when I published an article critical of the accrediting organization NASPAA? A five-month investigation into the integrity of my research. Here's what it uncovered.

In January, I published an article about the accrediting organization NASPAA.

This article was under investigation for several months.

Here's my statement about that. Non-US scholars, especially in the Global South, may be interested.

alasdairroberts179720.substack.com/p/someone-wa...

ANALYSIS | Are first ministers' meetings cool again? | CBC News When Mark Carney sits down with the premiers on Tuesday, it will be the third time in four months that he and the premiers have met face-to-face. That is, by recent standards, an unusual amount of tim...

I spoke with the CBC's @aaronwherry.bsky.social about the need to revive national leaders' summits in Canada, based on my book from @mcgillqueensup.bsky.social

www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

YouTube video by Alasdair Roberts The crisis of design in American government

The editors of @apjournalpa.bsky.social asked me to make a short explainer video about my new article, "The Crisis of Design in American Government." You can watch it here. The article is open access and the link is in the YouTube notes.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eanh...

R2, I believe

My article "False globalism: Public administration in the United States in the twenty-first century," originally published in January, is now open access -- read online or download for free here:

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

YouTube video by Canada School of PS / École de la FP du Canada Facing Forward: Canada's Adaptability in a Changing World

If you haven't yet had an opportunity to read @alasdairroberts.bsky.social's new book, "The Adaptable Country: How Canada Can Survive the Twenty-First Century", this interview with Josianne Paul, Director of the Canada School of Public Service will whet your appetite! www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtpT...

In my article "The Crisis of Design in American Government," published last week, I discuss the dangers of centralization, especially when combined with Trumpian populism at the center, in an era of climate change. Full article here:

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

CIPPIC Summer Speaker Series 2025: Reforming Access to Information(Virtual) Join us July 9 for Reforming Access to Information in Canada, a panel on the state of access to information in Canada.

Access to Information (ATIA) reform discussion on Thursday: Details here

www.eventbrite.ca/e/cippic-sum...

I contributed a chapter, "Estrategias Para Gobernar: Los Fundamentos De La Administración Pública," to Debates Emergentes Sobre Administración Y Políticas Públicas, edited by Mauricio I. Dussauge-Laguna and Alberto Casas Benitez. Details here.

www.flacso.edu.mx/libro/debate...

Exploring the influence of administrative capacities on administrative burdens Abstract. This research explores administrative capacities to explain the variation in the public’s experience of administrative burdens. Through a qualita

🎉 Exciting news! My latest paper has just been published in #JPART @jpart1991.bsky.social.

Titled “Exploring the Influence of Administrative Capacities on Administrative Burdens”

Click here to learn more: academic.oup.com/jpart/articl...

The crisis of design in American government The American political system confronts two distinct crises. The first is the crisis of the moment, stemming from President Trump’s controversial actions since January 2025. The second is the deepe...

My Levine Lecture given at @au-spa.bsky.social in May is now available online, open-access, from @apjournalpa.bsky.social. You can read it here:

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....