James Ron, PhD is a senior researcher and project manager with extensive experience in program evaluation, international affairs, transnational aid, political science, and sociology. He offers consulting services to clients in the United States and globally.
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James is known for his academic work in sociology and political science on human rights policies, international aid, governance, and international assistance to non-profit organizations. He has a wealth of experience leading complex international studies involving population-based surveys and large-scale data sets.
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James is also experienced in conducting and managing qualitative research with members of the public, victims of human rights abuse, the staff of large organizations, and political and economic elites.
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This website, www.jamesron.org, is devoted to a research blog with data-backed insights and commentary on domestic and international themes. It includes original data from James Ron’s work in political science, sociology, opinion surveys, and international affairs, as well as commentary on research and evidence from other sources and scholars.
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Academic Work
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A trained political scientist, sociologist, journalist, and war crimes investigator, James is known for his research on the interactions of states, international organizations, and non-governmental groups in contexts of armed conflict and political instability.
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James Ron’s most recent work, which straddles the subfields of international relations, political science, and sociology, drew on representative surveys with thousands of respondents in Colombia, India, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, and the United States. These polls asked ordinary people dozens of questions about their attitudes towards governments, civil and human rights, and non-profit advocacy.
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A graduate of Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley, James taught sociology, political science, and international public affairs at research-focused universities across the United States, Canada, and Mexico for over two decades. He held tenure-track and tenured positions at the University of Minnesota, Johns Hopkins University, McGill University in Montreal, and Carleton University in Ottawa.
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At Johns Hopkins and McGill Universities, James taught in departments of sociology. At the University of Minnesota, he taught in the public policy and political science departments. At Ottawa’s Carleton University, James taught in the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, a training program for graduate students interested in international public service.
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James’ scholarly recognition includes an endowed chair in international affairs at the University of Minnesota, a Tier II Canada Research Chair in conflict and human rights at McGill University, and research grants to study human rights, international conflict, international aid, and related topics from multiple US and Canadian sources, including the MacArthur Foundation, National Science Foundation, the Canadian Social Science and Humanities Research Council, the Ford Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, and others.
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James also received research grants from a variety of Canadian government institutions, including the Canada Fund for Innovation, Canada Research Chairs program, Global Affairs Canada, International Development Research Centre, and Quebec provincial government.
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James has held visiting research appointments and fellowships at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., el Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE) in Mexico City, and the Watson Institute at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
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James Ron’s scholarly publications have appeared in Comparative Politics, Human Rights Quarterly, International Organization, International Security, International Studies Quarterly, the Journal of Conflict Resolution, the Journal of Peace Research, Political Studies Quarterly, Social Problems, Theory and Society, World Development, and more. James has also published books with Oxford University Press and California University Press, as well as book-length reports for Human Rights Watch. To read some of these articles, please visit his ResearchGate and Academia.edu profiles. To learn how other scholars have used James Ron's work in their own research, please visit his Google Scholar page.
International Research Consultant
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James now works as a private consultant for clients in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. Recently, he was part of a team assessing efforts by the International Committee of the Red Cross to support forensic investigations in Mexico and Central America. A second recent team effort included an evaluation of European aid to human rights organizations in Israel and the Palestinian territories. James has also recently assessed the research output on women’s employment issues for a Bedouin human rights advocacy group.
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In previous years, James consulted for the US chapter of CARE, evaluating the human rights implications of their humanitarian aid to refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and documented violations of international law in Chechnya, Israel/Palestine, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, and Turkey for Human Rights Watch. In still another past project, James evaluated the International Committee of the Red Cross’ civilian protection efforts in Bosnia and Croatia during civil wars across the former Yugoslavia.
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While volunteering his research and advocacy skills for Life for a Child, an Australian pediatric charity, James traveled to India, Mexico, Morocco, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. In this work, James collaborates closely with local and international medical providers, pediatric patients, and their families, analyzing the supply of insulin and other vital medical supplies to children with Type 1 diabetes, an auto-immune disease. James made recommendations on data collection and preparation and has worked in Mexico to help expand the organization’s access to children in need.
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James’ research, consulting, and advocacy experiences stretch from Central Asia to Latin America, North Africa, the Middle East, southern Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa.
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Publishing in Popular Venues
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James Ron often publishes guest editorials in popular venues, including in the Baltimore Sun, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Foreign Policy, Globe and Mail (Canada), International Herald Tribune, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Open Global Rights, Ottawa Citizen, Toronto Star, and Washington Post.​ To read some of these articles, please visit his professional website.
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James is now working on creative writing projects, including a personal blog and a memoir.