David Brian Robertson

Department of Political Science, University of Missouri-St. Louis
One University Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri 63121-4499
Phone, 314-516-5836; Fax, 314-516-7236;
e-mail: DaveRobertson@umsl.edu; Twitter: @daverobertsonMO

Education / Professional Employment / Areas of Specialization / Books / Articles and Chapters / Shorter Publications / Awards / Public Talks / Media Service / Grants & Consulting / Conference Papers & Participation / Teaching Experience / Doctoral Dissertations Directed

Educational Background

• B.A., University of Wisconsin, Madison, December, 1975
• Ph.D., Political Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, August 1981

Professional Employment

• 1998-2001, 2015 -,  Chair, Political Science Department, UM - St. Louis
• 2015-present, Professor, Public Policy Administration (courtesy appointment)
• 2008-present, University of Missouri Curators Teaching Professor, UM -- St. Louis
• 2001-2008, Professor, UM -- St. Louis
• 1989-2001, Associate Professor, UM -- St. Louis
• 1983-1989, Assistant Professor, University of Missouri -- St. Louis
• 1981-1983, Assistant Professor, University of Texas -- San Antonio

Areas of Specialization

• American Institutions and Politics, Political History, American Social and Economic Policy, Political Economy, U.S. Constitution, Environmental History, Policy & Politics, Labor Politics, Policy Analysis, Missouri Politics

Publications

Books

• Federalism and the Making of America, Routledge, 2nd ed. 2017, 1st ed. 2011. Chosen as one of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2012
• The Original Compromise: What the Constitution’s Framers Were Thinking. Oxford University Press, 2013.
  Talk on the Constitution at the U.S. National Archives: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/38975343; St. Louis On the Air discussion: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/we-people-umsl-professor-s-new-book-highlights-what-framers-were-really-thinking 
• Perspectives on American Government: Readings in American Government and Institutional Change (co-edited with Calvin Jillson), Routledge; first edition, 2009; second edition, 2014
• The Constitution and America's Destiny, Cambridge University Press, 2005.
• Capital, Labor, and State: The Battle for American Labor Markets from the Civil War to the New Deal, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2000
• Loss of Confidence: Public Policy in the 1970s (editor), Penn State University Press, 1998 (also a special issue of the Journal of Policy History, 10:1).
• The Development of American Public Policy: The Structure of Policy Restraint. Scott, Foresman / Little, Brown, 1989 (co-authored with Dennis R. Judd).

Book, Article and Chapter Projects

• “The Progressive Era,” 8000 word chapter for The Oxford Handbook of U.S. Social Policy, ed. Daniel Béland, Christopher Howard, and Kimberly Morgan (Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2012)
• “The Battleground of American Federalism,” 8000 word chapter for New Directions in American Politics, ed. Ray La Raja (Routledge, forthcoming c. 2012)
• “Federalism and American Political Development,” 8000 word chapter for The Oxford Handbook of American Political Development, ed. Robert Lieberman, Suzanne Mettler, and Richard Valelly (Oxford University Press, forthcoming)
• Book manuscript project, "The Environment and American Political Development"

Articles and Chapters

• "Historical Institutionalism, Political Development, and the Study of American Bureaucracy,” in Robert Durant, ed., The Oxford Handbook of American Bureaucracy (Oxford University Press, 2010), pp. 25-51
• "'Inventions of Prudence': The Development of the American Policy Process," in Daniel Tichenor and Richard Harris, eds., A History of the U.S. Political System: Ideas, Interests, and Institutions (ABC-CLIO,  2009), pp. 304-318
• "A Pivotal Politician and Constitutional Design," in American Political Science Review 100:2 (May, 2006), pp. 303-308.
• "Madison's Opponents and Constitutional Design," in American Political Science Review 99:2 (May, 2005), pp. 225-243.
• "Bellwether Politics in in Missouri," in The Forum, September 2004.
• "American Federalism and the Politics of Regulation," in Evolving Federalisms: The Intergovernmental Balance of Power in America and Europe (Campbell Public Affairs Institute, the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, 2003)
• “Constituting a National Interest: Madison Against the States' Autonomy,” in Samuel Kernell, ed., James Madison: The Theory and Practice of Republican Government (Stanford University Press, 2003), pp. 184-216.
• “The 1976 Election," in Ballard C. Campbell and William Shade, eds., American Presidential Campaigns and Elections  (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2003), pp. 923-933.
• "The American Model of Labor Market Policy;" in John Stephens and Evelyn Huber, eds., Models of Capitalism, (Penn State University Press, 2002), pp. 413-438.
• "Voluntarism against the Open Shop: Labor and Business Strategies in the Battle for American Labor Markets," Studies in American Political Development 13 (Spring, 1999): 146-185.
• "Introduction: Loss of Confidence and Policy Change in the 1970s," in Robertson, ed., Loss of Confidence, pp. 1-18.
• "Politics and the Past: History, Behavioralism, and the Return to Institutionalism in American Political Science," in Eric Monkkonen, ed., Engaging the Past: The Uses of History Across the Social Sciences (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1994), pp. 113-153.
• "Public Policy and the States," in Stuart Nagel, ed., Encyclopedia of Policy Studies, Second ed. New York and Basel: Marcel Dekker, 1994, pp. 221-247.
• "The Return to History and the New Institutionalism in Political Science," Social Science History 17:1 (Spring, 1993), pp. 1-36.
• "The Politics of Policy Borrowing," in Something Borrowed, Something Learned, edited by David Finegold, Laurel McFarland, and William Richardson. Washington: Brookings Institution, 1993. Also in Oxford Studies in Comparative Education, 2:2 (1992), pp. 25-49. Coauthored with Jerold L. Waltman.
• "Political Conflict and Lesson-Drawing," Journal of Public Policy, 11:1 (1991), pp. 55-78.
• "The Hidden Governments," chapter in Daniel Hellinger and Dennis R. Judd, The Democratic Facade. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole; First ed., 1990, pp. 178-199; Second ed., 1993, pp. 221-248.
• "The Covert Presidency," in John C. Shea, ed., Arguments in American Politics. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole, 1990, pp. 195-207.
• "Planned Incapacity to Succeed? Policymaking Structure and Policy Failure" Policy Studies Review 8:2 (Winter, 1989), pp. 241-263.
• "The Bias of American Federalism: Political Structure and the Development of America's Exceptional Welfare State in the Progressive Era," Journal of Policy History 1:3 (July, 1989), pp. 261-291.
• "Policy Entrepreneurs and Policy Divergence: John R. Commons and William Beveridge," Social Service Review 62:3 (September, 1988), pp. 504-531.
• "Governing and Jobs: America's Business-Centered Labor Market Policy." Polity 20:3 (Spring, 1988), pp. 426-456.
• "Urban Revitalization in the United States: Prisoner of the Federal System." In Michael Parkinson and Dennis R. Judd (eds.), Regenerating the Cities: The U.K. Crisis and the U.S. Experience. Manchester, United Kingdom: Manchester University Press, 1988, pp. 9-26; Boston: Scott, Foresman/Little, Brown, 1988). Coauthored; Dennis R. Judd, lead author.
• "Mrs. Thatcher's Employment Prescription: An Active Neo-Liberal Labor Market Policy." Journal of Public Policy 6:3 (August, 1987), pp. 275-296.
• "Labor Market Surgery, Labor Market Abandonment: The Thatcher and Reagan Unemployment Remedies." In Jerold L. Waltman and Donley T. Studlar (eds.), Political Economy: Public Policies in the United States and Britain. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 1987, pp 69-97.
• "Program Implementation versus Program Design: Which Accounts for Policy 'Failure'?" Policy Studies Review 3:3-4 (May, 1984), pp. 391-405.

Shorter Publications

• Essay on “Labor’s Role in Politics,” in American Business, Economic, and Labor History, ed. Melvyn Dubofsky (Oxford University Press, 2012).
• Essays on “Labor’s Role in Politics” and “The National Labor Relations Board,” for The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Political and Legal History, ed. Donald T. Critchlow and Philip R. VanderMeer (Oxford University Press, 2012).
• Essays on "The Executive Branch" and "The Environmental Movement" for Encyclopedia of United States Political History, Volume 6: 1946-1975 (CQ Press, 2010)
• “What Killed Missouri’s Bellwether Status?”, St. Louis Beacon, November 8, 2008 (http://www.stlbeacon.org/issues_politics/election_analysis/what_killed_missouri_s_bellwether_status)
• "Do Nomination Battles Harm Presidential Candidates?", St. Louis Beacon, May 9, 2008 (http://www.stlbeacon.org/issues_politics/elections/do_nomination_battles_harm_presidential_candidates)
• “Why Missouri is a Must-Win State,” St. Louis Platform, April 2, 2008 (http://stlplatform.org/content/view/150/122/)
• Essays on “Anti-Federalist/Federalist Ratification Debate” and “The Great Compromise” in the Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States, editor in chief David S. Tanenhaus (Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson / Gale, forthcoming 2008).
• Essay on “Cross of Gold” for the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2^nd ed., editor in chief William A. Darity (Farmington Hills, MI: Macmillan Reference, 2007)
• Essay on “Government” in the Encyclopedia of the New American Nation, editor-in-chief Paul Finkelman, 3 vols. (Farmington, MI: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005)
• Essay on “Employment and Training,” in Poverty in the United States: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, and Policy, ed. Gwendolyn Mink and Alice O’Connor, 2 vols. (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2004), Volume 1, pp. 282-285.
• "Politics and History's Lessons," Polity, 32:3 (Spring, 2000), pp. 437-442.
• "The Lessons of History in the Lessons of History," Review essay, Polity, 32:1 (Fall, 1999), pp. 145-152.
• "The 'Unintended Consequences' of Public Policy Intentionality: A Conceptual Minefield," Policy History Newsletter 3:1 (Summer, 1997), pp. 5-9. Coauthored with Donald T. Critchlow.
• "Jobs and the Environment," in Robert Paehlke, ed.,The Encyclopedia of Conservation and Environmentalism (New York: Garland Publishing, 1995), pp. 380-381.
• "John R. Commons," "United States Employment Service," "Robert F. Wagner," and "The Wagner-Peyser Act." In James S. Olson (ed.) Historical Dictionary of the New Deal: From Inauguration to Preparation for War. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press, 1985, pp. 93-4, 509-10, 519-23.

Awards and Honors

• Edward J. Maguire Teaching Award, October 2017
• Maxwell C. Weiner Distinguished Professor of Humanities, Missouri Science and Technology University, Spring 2016
• Federalism and the Making of America (Routledge, 2011) chosen as one of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2012
• Fulbright Specialist in American Studies, Colombia, August , 2010; worked with and presented lectures at La Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá), La Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Bogotá), and La Universidad del Norte (Barranquilla).
• University of Missouri Curators' Teaching Professorship, awarded 2008.
• Mary Parker Follett Award for Best Article in Politics and History, 2005, presented by the Politics and History Section of the American Political Science Association (for “Madison’s Opponents and Constitutional Design”)
• Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2002
• Emerson Electric Company Excellence in Teaching Award, 2002
• Governor's Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2001
• Contributor a chapter on "Public Policy and the States" to Stuart Nagel, ed., Encyclopedia of Policy Studies, Second ed. (New York and Basel: Marcel Dekker, 1994) which won the Policy Studies Organization's Aaron Wildvasky Award for the best book in policy studies.
• Policy Studies Organization's Jeffrey L. Pressman Award for the best article published in Policy Studies Review, 1989.
• Policy Studies Organization's Jeffrey L. Pressman Award for the best article published in Policy Studies Review, 1985-1985.
• Katherine C. Greenough Award for best doctoral dissertation submitted to the Political Science Department, Indiana University, 1981. Co-winner.
• Outstanding Teaching Award for Associate Instructors, Department of Political Science, Indiana University, 1980-1981.

Selected Professional Service and Editorial Positions

• Founding Member, Scholars Strategy Network
• Chair, Publications Committee, American Political Science Association, 2006-2008.
• Associate Editor, Journal of Policy History, 1991-
• Editor, CLIO, Newsletter of the Politics and History Section of the American Political Science Association, 1994-2014
• International Panel of Editorial Advisors and Consultants for the International Encyclopedia of Political Science, CQ Press, to be published in 2008
• Editorial Consultant on Environmental Policy, Encyclopedia of Issues in U.S. Public Policy, Gale/Thomson (project suspended)

• Founding member, American Politics and History Initiative, May 2000

Media Service

• Political analyst, KSDK-TV, 2000-present; Political commentary in over 500 appearances on international, national and St. Louis media, including BBC television and radio, Radio-France, PBS News Hour, C-Span, MSNBC, and local affiliates of NBC, CBS, and PBS television and radio.

• Quoted in The New York Times, the Economist, the Guardian, the London Times, Le Figaro, Le Monde, The New Republic, CQ Weekly Report, Time.com, Newsweek, the Christian Science Monitor, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, Newsday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Kansas City Star, the Columbia Tribune, and other papers.

Selected Public Talks

• Talk on “The Political Landscape, 2013” for the Lifelong Learning Institute, Washington University (9/24/13, 11:00-12:00 pm)

• Talk on “The Original Compromise: What the Constitution’s Framers were Really Thinking,” U.S. National Archives, Washington, DC, 9/19/13 (12:00-1:30) http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/38975343

• Talk on “Federalism” for visitors from the Moscow School of Political Studies, UMSL (5/16/13, 9:15-10:15)

• Talk on The Politics of Climate Change, Sierra Club of Eastern Missouri, Litzinger School, Ladue (2/28/13)

• Talk on 2012 election results, Creve Coeur Township Democratic Club, Thornhill Library, 11/13/12 (7:30 – 9)

• Talk and discussion panelist, “Who Will Win?: Predicting the Election,” School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies, Arizona State University, Tempe (11/1/12)

• Panelist, Missouri Bar- Higher Education Channel (HEC) Constitution Day panel on presidential power, Whitehaven (9/16/11)

• Talk on “2010 & 2012 Elections – Local and National,” Pachyderm Club, Trattoria Brianca, Frontenac (12/10/10, 12-1:30 pm)

• Talk on “The Political Landscape, 2010,” Missouri Science and Technology University, Rolla (10/19/10, 3:30-4:30)

• Talk on “The ABCs of American Politics,” in a class on Introduction to Comparative Politics, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia (8/11/10, 2-3:30)

• Talk on the 2010 elections, for the West County Republicans, Chesterfield City Hall (3/11/10), 7:30-8:45

• Keynote speech, "Environment and Politics: The Impact of the Upcoming Elections," 16th Annual Environmental Conference at the Lake, July 31, 2008, Tan-Tar-A Resort, Osage Beach, Missouri. Sponsored by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce.

• Presentation for Teaching American History Grant:  "The Impact of War on Democracy," St. Clair County Regional Office of Education, Belleville, IL (February 8, 2008)

• Talk on “The United States Constitution: What Were its Authors Thinking?” and guest speaker in political science, philosophy, and history classes at Salisbury State University, Salisbury Maryland (October 4-

Consulting and Expert Witness service

• Expert Witness on immigration and labor, U.S. v. Luis Raul Garcia-Rodriquez, U.S. Federal District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, 2003.

• Employment Policy consultant, evaluation of St. Louis County Department of Human Resources POWER program, 1990-1991.

Grants, Fellowships and Consulting

• Hagley Museum and Library, Research Grant-in-Aid, for "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Business Representation in American Policy Making," Summer, 1998.
• UM-Research Board Grant, 1997-1998
• Participant in UM-St. Louis Public Policy Research Centers proposal to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the Environmental Justice Community/University Partnership Grants Program.
• Participated in Citizenship Education Clearinghouse environmental education projects
• Employment Policy Specialist, evaluation of St. Louis County Department of Human Resources POWER program, 1990-1991.

Conference Papers and Participation

Teaching Experience

Undergraduate Courses

• Introduction to American Politics
• Introduction to Labor Studies
• Public Administration
• The Politics of Business Regulation
• Environmental Politics
• Congressional Politics
• The American Presidency
• Introduction to Public Policy
• Honors Seminar on The Constitution and American Political Development
• Honors Seminar on Federalism and American Political Development
• Comparative Public Policy
• Senior Seminar in Political Science

Graduate Seminars

• Introduction to Policy Analysis
• American Political Development
• Intergovernmental Relations
• Public Policy Administration
• Political Economy of Public Policy
• Public Policy of Conservation and Sustainable Development

Doctoral Dissertations Directed

• Eric Vorst, “Trolling Twitter,” defended December 2017 
• Angela Early, “Federal Involvement in Education Policy: An Analysis of Race to the Top,” defended December, 2016, co-chair with E. Terrence Jones
•  Anna Martirosyan, Privatization, State Militarization through War, and Durable Social Exclusion in Post-Soviet Armenia, Defended July, 2014
• Diane Brandt, “Policy Determinants and Medicaid Managed Care,” defended November 2011.
• Joseph Campbell, "Have Metropolitan Planning Organizations Improved Regional Policy Making? The Cases of Kansas City and St. Louis," defended March, 2010.
• Qiang Yan, "Political Institutions and Regional Inequality in China: 1949 to 2005," Defended December, 2009.
• Maksat Kobonbaev, “Why is Corruption Less Pervasive in the Baltic States than in Central Asia?: Institutional Explanation with Particular Focus on Estonia and Kyrgyzstan” defended May, 2008 (currently at the World Bank)
• Shellagh Thomas, “Compliance with National Air Pollution Control Policy in Metropolitan St. Louis,” defended November 2007. Co-chair with Dennis R. Judd.
• James C. Collard, "Tribal – Municipal Cooperation in Oklahoma," defended November, 2006 (currently City Manager, Stillwater, OK)
• Julie Birkenmaier, “Providing Access to Affordable Credit to the Poor: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Credit Counseling for Building Assets,” defended April, 2006 (currently Assistant Professor, Social Work, St. Louis University).
• Susan G. Mason, "Metropolitan Cooperation under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998," defended March, 2004 (currently Associate Professor, Boise State University)
• Paul Clark, "Issue Definition and Issue Fragmentation: The Policy Process and Gay Rights,”  defended May, 2003. Co-chair with Dennis R. Judd.
• Lisa Panczer, "Women's Representation in the 103rd Congress," defended November, 2001. 
• Margaret DeWeese-Boyd, "Civil Society and Popular Governance: Democracy in Hungary and the Czech Republic," defended December, 1998.  (Currently at Gordon College, Wenham, MA).
• Glenn Hachey, "Explaining State Level RCRA Enforcement," defended August, 1996.  (Currently an independent policy consultant).