Welcome! My name is J.P. Singh and I am Distinguished University Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, and Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow with the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin. I study international trade, development, technologies, culture, and negotiations and diplomacy.
SCHOLARSHIP
My work addresses preference formation and forms of collective action enabled through cultural and technological interactions from local to global levels. It encompasses three themes: (1) the origins of preferences in cultural values and technological factors; (2) the ways organizations and institutions represent or shape preferences and interests; (3) forms of agency and collective action available to the weak. Empirically, I study trade, development, artificial intelligence, information technology networks, and cultural economies and policies. I have conducted field research in over three dozen countries.
My current research is focused on the determinants of artificial intelligence infrastructures. I’m the principal investigator for a $1.39 million grant from the Minerva program in the United States. “AI Strategies” examines how cultural values and institutional priorities shape artificial intelligence infrastructures in national and global contexts. The project team is interdisciplinary and includes social scientists and computer science engineers. In 2022-23, I was also awarded a Fulbright-Nehru Professional Excellence Award to study artificial intelligence infrastructures in India and during was based in New Delhi at the Centre for WTO Studies, Indian Institute for Foreign Trade.
I have authored five monographs, edited five books, and published dozens of scholarly articles. Many of these books and articles are on international trade and development, national and international cultural policies, and international negotiations and diplomacy. Single authored books include Sweet Talk: Paternalism and Collective Action in North-South Trade Negotiations (Stanford 2017), Negotiation and the Global Information Economy (Cambridge 2008) and Globalized Arts: The Entertainment Economy and Cultural Identity (Columbia, 2011), which won the American Political Science Association’s award for best book in information technology and politics in 2012. Edited volumes include Cultural Values in Political Economy (Stanford 2020), Science, Technology, Art and International Relations (Routledge 2019) and Globalization, Culture and Development (Palgrave 2015). My current book project is Development 2.0: How Technologies Can Foster Inclusivity in the Developing World (Oxford, forthcoming).
LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE
I complement my research with various service, policy and leadership activities. I have advised or consulted with the World Bank and the World Trade Organization for trade and international development, and the British Council and UNESCO on international cultural policies. I have played a leadership role in several professional organizations, and served as Editor from 2006-09 and dramatically increased the impact of Review of Policy Research, the journal specializing in the politics and policy of science and technology. At the International Studies Association, I have chaired three different sections, two of which I helped to create: International Political Economy; International Communication; Science, Technology, Art and International Relations (STAIR). I edit Stanford’s book series on Emerging Frontiers in the Global Economy, and am Section Editor of “Political economy, markets, and institutions” for the journal Global Perspectives. I founded and edited the journal Arts and International Affairs for five years before it closed down during the pandemic.
Fellowships include those with the Robert Bosch Academy (current), Fulbright Program (current), New America Foundation, and the Social Science Research Council. Visiting scholar roles include those with the World Trade Organization and the Copenhagen Business School. Recent professional recognitions include the Outstanding Scholar Award from Schar School, and being named the distinguished scholar in international communication from the International Studies Association.
TEACHING
I adore being in the classroom. Over the years, I have taught a variety of classes in diverse formats and have been fortunate to receive several teaching awards. My constants have been classes in trade, development, cultural policies, and research methods (quantitative and qualitative). One of my favorites was teaching a class on development using multimedia techniques that resulted in an article titled Development Remix. Another one was implementing a World Bank development project in India with my students after we won a Development Marketplace grant in 2000. I also set up a study abroad program in Geneva for Georgetown University.
Apart from George Mason, I have taught at the University of Mississippi, American University, Georgetown University, and School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University. Previously, I was Chair and Professor of Culture and Political Economy, and Director of the Institute for International Cultural Relations (IICR) at the University of Edinburgh. In Europe, other than two years at the University of Edinburgh, I have taught courses at the Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies (Geneva) and the University of Jyväskyla (Finland).
I hold a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Public Policy from the University of Southern California. Before coming to the United States, I studied economics at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai (BA), and the Mumbai School of Economics and Public Policy (MA).