Andrew Price-Smith

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dr. Andrew Price-Smith (b. 1968) is a Canadian academic writer, best known for his analysis of the linkages between environmental change, public health, economics and security. He has held prior appointments at Columbia University, and the University of South Florida. In 2005, he moved to Colorado College to become a Professor of Political Science there. Price-Smith was also the first to empirically model an index for State Capacity variables. Although Price-Smith's findings are often espoused by the Human Security community, his work suggests that he is a National Security (IR) theoretician who invokes elements of Classical Realism, coupled with facets of political psychology (perception, cogniton, and affect) in the tradition of Robert Jervis.

Contents

[edit] Influences

Price-Smith was influenced by his step father, John 'Jack' Tennyson Macleod a Professor of Political Science (Emeritus) at the University of Toronto, and a well-known author in his own right. Price-Smith's influences include William McNeill, Alfred Crosby, E.O. Wilson, Robert Jervis, Max Weber, Stephen Jay Gould, and Sir Francis Bacon.

[edit] Academic background

Price-Smith earned a BA (Honours) in Political Science from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario in 1992. His Master's in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario in 1994 focused upon Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm (1990-1991), and the conflict between the US-led coalition forces and Iraq. He completed his Ph.D in Political Science at the University of Toronto in 1999. His doctoral dissertation was entitled the Health of Nations and formed the core of his subsequent book of the same name, published by MIT, and shortlisted for the Grawemeyer Award in 2002.

At the University of Toronto, Price-Smith initially studied under Thomas Homer-Dixon, but completed his doctorate under David A. Welch. Upon graduation Price-Smith accepted a post-doctoral position at CIESIN in the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and concurrently taught at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). Following that, he taught at the University of South Florida for several years where he began to develop his interests in marine biodiversity and its preservation. He moved to Colorado College in the summer of 2005 to take a position in the Department of Political Science. He now serves as Director of the Project on Health, Environment and Global Affairs a global network based out of CC. He is also founding Director of the nascent Project on Energy, Sustainability and Security, also based out of CC.

[edit] Teaching Career

[edit] Books

  • (2001) The Health of Nations: Infectious Disease, Environmental Change, and Their Effects on National Security and Development. MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-16203-2. 
  • (2001) Plagues and Politics : Infectious Disease and International Policy. Palgrave/Macmillan Press. ISBN 0-333-80066-4. 
  • (2004) Downward Spiral: HIV/AIDS, State Capacity and Political Violence in Zimbabwe. US Institute of Peace Press. 

Price-Smith's next book is entitled Contagion and Chaos, due to be published by MIT Press in 2008.


Price-Smith's work has been used in The Atlantic Monthly, The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, and the Denver Post. He has spoken on Voice of America. Over the years he has occasionally acted as consultant for the United Nations Development Program, the World Bank, the United States Institute of Peace, the US Department of Energy, and the US Department of Homeland Security (among other institutions).

[edit] See also

Environmental Sustainability Index

[edit] References

[edit] External links