Author & Social Scientist
James Ron is an author, social scientist, and consultant whose work has taken him to Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Consulting & Journalism
James reported for the Associated Press and evaluated programs for CARE, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Swiss development agency. He also produced research papers for Canadian government agencies and published book-length reports for Human Rights Watch (HRW) on events in the Palestinian territories and Turkey. His twenty-year relationship with HRW also included documenting war crimes in Chechnya, Kosovo, and Nigeria, directing opinion polls on US public attitudes towards human rights, and editing briefing papers for the group on evaluation and research methods.
For details, please visit James Ron's LinkedIn page.
Scholarship
James authored two academic books: Frontiers and Ghettos: State Violence in Serbia and Israel, published by the University of California Press, and Taking Root: Human Rights and Public Opinion in the Global South, by Oxford University Press. He also published articles in scholarly journals such as Comparative Politics, Human Rights Quarterly, International Organization, International Security, Political Science Quarterly, World Development, World Politics, and many more.
For details, please visit James Ron's Google Scholar page.
Teaching
James taught international affairs, political science, and sociology at US universities, including Johns Hopkins and the University of Minnesota, where he held an endowed chair; at Canadian universities, including McGill, where he held a Canada Research Chair, and the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs in Ottawa; and at CIDE in Mexico City.
James is no longer affiliated with academic institutions.
Commentary
James is a regular public commentator. His writing has appeared in US publications such as the Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Foreign Policy, Lawfare, Los Angeles Times, the Nation, New York Times, and Washington Post, as well as in Canadian outlets, such as TV Ontario's The Agenda, Canada's national newspaper of record, the Globe and Mail, and city-based newspapers such as the Montreal Gazette, Ottawa Citizen, and Toronto Star. James also published the UK-based E-International Relations and Open Democracy, and the Paris-based Le Monde and International Herald Tribune. In 2013, James co-created a multilingual website for human rights commentary, Open Global Rights.
For details of these and other publications, please click here.
Volunteering
For years, James did pro bono program evaluations and other consulting for Life for a Child, an Australian charity providing insulin and related supplies to children with Type 1 diabetes in low-income countries. The organization's mission is close to his heart, as his son was diagnosed with the autoimmune condition as an infant.
For more on the Australian pediatric charity, please visit their website.
Personal Writing
James has stepped away from academia and consulting to focus on personal writing.
Recent Commentary
"As Israel Pushes for Annexation, Is There Hope for Palestinians?" Thoughts on the notion of "Palestinian ju-jitsu," in which Israeli annexation becomes a potential mechanism for Palestinian inclusion. Appeared in the UK journal E-International Relations.
"Why Didn't I Teach about the Iraq War?" Reflections on why I avoided engaging seriously as a teacher with the largest US ground invasion since Vietnam.
"International Recognition of Palestine and the Risk of a West Bank Frontier." An analysis in E-International Relations of what might happen if parts of the West Bank escaped Israeli control without a robust international security force.
"Ending your Official Relationship with Israel Isn't Easy," an essay on the link between citizenship, belonging, and accountability, published on Medium.
"A Sad Prediction Born Out by Events - Reflections Gaza," published on the University of California Press Author Blog.
"Faith Tradition, and Support for Deportation in the U.S." An analysis of US opinion data for the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at the University of Southern California.
Scholarly Databases
For more on James Ron's scholarship, please visit his Academia.edu, Google Scholar, PhilPeople, ORCID, ResearchGate, Semantic Scholar, and Social Science Research Network profiles.
medium.com/@james-ron | www.jamesron.com | www.jamesron.org | www.jamesron.net | @james_ron01
