Research

All of my research is informed by the rational choice approach which I have found myself defending against misinformed criticism for many years.  The funny thing is, I always thought I was a critic of classical rational choice. 

Having a very short attention span I work on many different projects at the same time.  This can be very stimulating as one makes links between very disparate topics – say an idea gleaned from the philosophy of mind can be applied to project specification in urban service-delivery – it also means that sometimes returning to a project after some absence I forget what the idea of the paper I am writing is supposed to be.  I have long had an interest in the concept of power having written two books and many articles on it.  I am now editing a two-volume 650,000 Encyclopedia of Power to be published by Sage in 2010.  Everyone needs at least one millstone round their neck just to keep them honest. I am also editing a four volue collection of articles on Rational Choice Politics with Torun Dewan and Ken Shepsle to be published by Sage in 2009. I am writing a book with Samuel Berlinski and Torun Dewan Accounting for Ministers to be published by Cambridge University Press in 2010. I have an Australian Research Council (ARC) grant for three years starting 2009 study The Accountability of Australian Ministers

I now have three main research projects described under Projects, but still find myself writing articles on other ideas that crop up, or spin-offs from research in the past.  I did think once I would leave urban politics and even writing about political power behind me, but, like Michael Corleone in Godfather III, have discovered that when I try to exit from any debate, I keep getting dragged back in through invitations one cannot refuse.

My full list of publications can be called up under my CV.  More recent papers are collected under Working Papers and comments on these are very welcome.