Alasdair Roberts
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alasdairroberts.bsky.social
Alasdair Roberts
@alasdairroberts.bsky.social

Professor of Public Policy, University of Massachusetts Amherst. Latest book: "The Adaptable Country." Details at www.alasdairroberts.ca.

Alasdair S. Roberts is a Canadian professor at the School of Public Policy, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and author of articles and books on public policy issues, especially relating to government secrecy and the exercise of government authority. .. more

Political science 60%
History 17%

Looking forward to this event with @evertlindquistuvic.bsky.social at @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social on Tuesday

Reposted by Alasdair Roberts

Yes, the challenge is huge, but *Team Canada* looks very disorganized. Not surprisingly, as I have been arguing for quite some time.

Tactics without strategy, and if there are signs of strategy, it is contradictory.

www.cp24.com/news/canada/...
Trade war live updates: Ford to pull tariff ads, White House says Canada playing ‘games’
Trade tensions between Canada and the U.S. have erupted after President Donald Trump abruptly called off negotiations because of an Ontario anti-tariff ad campaign.
www.cp24.com

On November 13, I'll participate in a symposium on imperial administration organized by the American Society for Legal History. I've written a note as background for my panel comments. This is very drafty and feedback is appreciated.

alasdairroberts179720.substack.com/p/four-phase...
Four American empires
The United States has always been an empire, but the form of empire has changed over time. For scholars of public administration, the task is understanding how the architecture of empire changed.
alasdairroberts179720.substack.com

I'll participate in a panel discussion at the Canadian Studies Program of @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social on November 4. Here's a note to support my comments. Feedback and corrections appreciated!

alasdairroberts179720.substack.com/p/the-us-and...
The US and Canada: Two crises of federalism
The United States is in crisis because of an outmoded federal system. As a result, Canada needs a new grand strategy. That will not be easy to achieve in Canada's more decentralized federation.
alasdairroberts179720.substack.com

Reposted by Alasdair Roberts

In the EU, all of this has been, and is, unfolding within a multilayered public discourse - at the member state and the European level. Political elites, parliaments, the media...

Whereas in Canada, to quote @alasdairroberts.bsky.social excellent op-ed from September in the Globe and Mail...

Reposted by Alasdair Roberts

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_...
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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...
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...
www.buzzsprout.com

Reposted by Alasdair Roberts

UNLOCKED | A great primer for tonight’s Politics & the Pen: Q&As with all five Shaughnessy Cohen nominees

www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/0...

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

pace.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management
The most powerful, simple and trusted way to gather experience data. Start your journey to experience management and try a free account today.
pace.qualtrics.com
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

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

open.spotify.com/episode/6zf2...
We're missing a vision for Canada
open.spotify.com

Reposted by Alasdair Roberts

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/...
The temptation and danger of centralisation
17 September 2025: Following his contribution at the European Group for Public Administration conference in August, Professor Alasdair Roberts writes about the tendency to lean towards centralisation ...
www.gla.ac.uk

Reposted by Alasdair Roberts

"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...
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
www.theglobeandmail.com

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 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/...
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...
www.tandfonline.com
…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.

Reposted by Alasdair Roberts

One story, amongst many others on why our knowledge creation system is suffering. thank you #nerdnite @retractionwatch.com @elsevierconnect.bsky.social

The answer? Publish less.
Nerd Nite ChCh: Russell J Stanford and the Enshittification of the Creation of Knowledge
YouTube video by Nerd Nite Christchurch
youtu.be

Reposted by Alasdair Roberts

Oped from faculty at Columbia University, Harvard University, and Princeton University: "We must not avert our eyes" from threats to academic freedom.

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/04/o...
Academic freedom under siege: Universities must resist political interference and reform internally - The Boston Globe
Columbia, Harvard, Princeton council chairs unite against federal overreach.
www.bostonglobe.com

Reposted by Alasdair Roberts

Great piece - it's important to centre federalism again.

I would add: To generate the benefits outlined in the article, Canada should emulate EU intergovernmental governance rather than the G7.

As a mature federation without a robust system of intergovernmental relations, we should envision....

Reposted by Alasdair Roberts

Reposted by Robert Wolfe

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...
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.
alasdairroberts179720.substack.com