Bruce Gilley (born July 21, 1966) is a Canadian–American professor of political science and director of the PhD program in Public Affairs and Policy at the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University. He is the founder and president of the Oregon Association of Scholars,[2][3] member of the Heterodox Academy and founding signatory of the Oregon Academic Faculty Pledge on Freedom.[4] Gilley gained international acclaim but also a storm of criticism for his highly controversial peer-reviewed article "The Case for Colonialism," published in an advance online edition of the scientific journal Third World Quarterly in 2017. Fifteen members of the journal's board resigned over Gilley's article.

Bruce Gilley
Born (1966-07-21) July 21, 1966 (age 57)
Montreal, Canada[1]
Occupation(s)Political scientist, Economist, journalist, Author & professor
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Toronto (BA)
University of Oxford (MPhil)
Princeton University (PhD)
Academic work
DisciplinePolitical Science
InstitutionsPortland State University
Notable worksThe Case for Colonialism
WebsiteAcademic page

Scholarship edit

Appearance of Correspondent Bruce Gilley on September 23, 2002, testifying before a congressional committee on the current and future leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, future succession issues, and the Chinese political system.

Prof. Dr. Bruce Gilley a Canadian born American of Scottish descent[1] received his Bachelor of Arts in economics and international relations from the University of Toronto in 1988. As a Commonwealth Scholar he did his Master of Economics at the University of Oxford from 1989 to 1991, and went to China to spend a year teaching English.[1] From 1992 to 2002, he worked as a journalist in Hong Kong writing for the Eastern Express newspaper and then the Far Eastern Economic Review magazine where his biggest scoop was exposing an illicit technology transfer by a Stanford professor to China's military. Gilley was a Woodrow Wilson Scholar at Princeton University from 2004 to 2006 from where he received his PhD in politics in 2007.[4][5] He became an associate professor in 2008 at the Department of Political Science of the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University. He was granted academic tenure in 2011 and promoted to full professor in 2016.[6] Gilley's research centers on comparative and international politics and public policy. His work covers issues as diverse as democracy, climate change, political legitimacy, and international conflict. He is a specialist on the politics of China and Asia.[3] His 2006 article "The meaning and measure of state legitimacy: results for 72 countries" introduced a novel multidimensional, quantitative measure of the qualitative concept of political legitimacy.[7][8][9] His work has since been extended by other scholars, and customized to specific geographical regions such as Latin America[8] and Europe.[9] Gilley himself has since updated his work on quantification of legitimacy with additional empirical data.[9][10]

The Case for Colonialism edit

Gilley's article "The Case for Colonialism" was published in an advance online version of the Third World Quarterly in 2017.[11] According to Gilley, colonialism was both objectively beneficial and subjectively legitimate. Consequently, the author calls for a revival of colonialism.[12] The article was controversial both for its argument and for its subsequent withdrawal, and resulted in a debate about academic standards and peer review. Fifteen members of the journal's board resigned over the issue.[13][14][15][16][11][17] Critics described the article as low-quality and said that it was published, over the objections of reviewers, as a form of academic clickbait, while board member Noam Chomsky defended the publication of the article, saying that it is "pretty clear that proper procedures were not followed in publishing the article, but I think retraction is a mistake – and also opens very dangerous doors ... Rebuttal offers a great opportunity for education, not only in this case."[11][18] The article was ultimately withdrawn with Gilley's assent after the editor had received threats of violence and it was re-published in the National Association of Scholars' journal Academic Questions in April 2018.[19][18] When asked if it would be ethical to publish a paper making a case for genocide, Gilley said, "I think everyone would agree, [genocide] is a moral wrong" but that he did not believe colonialism was a moral wrong. In the spring of 2022, Gilley responded to many of his critics in a second article entitled "The Case for Colonialism: A Response to My Critics".[20]

The Last Imperialist edit

Gilley's biography of Sir Alan Burns, entitled The Last Imperialist: Sir Alan Burns's Epic Defense of the British Empire, was withdrawn from publishing by Rowman & Littlefield after J. Moufawad-Paul started a petition, which gained more than 1000 signatories, saying the author espoused a "pro-colonial" and "white nationalist" perspective.[21] Gilley defended the book by saying it had passed a peer-review procedure and was endorsed by historians Tirthankar Roy and Jeremy Black; Roy confirmed that it had been peer-reviewed and that he had endorsed it and stated that "[t]hat it could be an apology for empires ... never crossed my mind, I do not think this book is one".[21] The book was published by conservative publishing house Regnery Gateway in September 2021.[22]

Hong Kong independence edit

Gilley's views about colonialism were strongly influenced by his years as a journalist when he worked in Hong Kong. During his stay the British transferred their crown colony Hong Kong to China on the first of July 1997. The tremendous fear among the population of Hong Kong prior to the transfer of power to China in 1997 made a big impression on him.[1]

Political views edit

Gilley describes himself as a "classical liberal" and "an independent voter".[1] In 2017, Gilley withdrew from the American Political Science Association, stating that he considered it to lack intellectual diversity and to possess an anti-conservative bias.[23] As a member of the Heterodox Academy, he has been critical of tenure evaluations which require a pledge to uphold collegiate diversity.[24] Gilley has been critical of educational initiatives designed to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion.[25][26]

Memberships and awards edit

Gilley is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Democracy and the Journal of Contemporary China.[24] furthermore Gilley is the chapter president of the Oregon Association of Scholars, the state chapter of the National Association of Scholars, member of the Heterodox Academy and founding signatory of the Oregon Academic Faculty Pledge on Freedom.[4] He is the recipient of the following awards and nominations for scholarly achievement and articles:[A]

  • Commonwealth Scholarship, University of Oxford (1989–1991)
  • East Asian Studies Prize, Princeton University (2002)
  • Woodrow Wilson Scholars Fellowship, Princeton University (2004–2006)
  • Marcel Cadieux Award, Best Article on Foreign Policy, Canadian Institute of International Affairs
  • Nominated for Gabriel A. Almond Best Dissertation Award, American Political Science Association (2006, 2012)
  • Best Dissertation in Comparative Politics, Department of Politics, Princeton University (2007)
  • Frank Cass Prize, Best Article in Democratization (2010)
  • Dean's Award for Scholarly Achievement – Senior Faculty, College of Urban and Public Affairs (2016)

Selected publications edit

Books edit

  • Tiger on the Brink: Jiang Zemin and China's New Elite. University of California Press, 1998. ISBN 0520213955[27]
  • Model Rebels: The Rise and Fall of China's Richest Village. University of California Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0520225329[28]
  • China's New Rulers: The Secret Files. New York Review of Books, New York, 2003. (With Andrew Nathan) ISBN 978-1590170465[29]
  • China's Democratic Future: How It Will Happen and Where It Will Lead. Columbia University Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0231130844[30]
  • The Right to Rule: How States Win and Lose Legitimacy. Columbia University Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0231138727[31]
  • The Nature of Asian Politics. Cambridge University Press, 2014. ISBN 978-0521761710[32]
  • The Last Imperialist: Sir Alan Burns's Epic Defense of the British Empire. Regnery Gateway, 2021. ISBN 978-1684512171[33]
  • In Defense of German Colonialism: And How Its Critics Empowered Nazis, Communists, and the Enemies of the West. Regnery Gateway, 2022. ISBN 978-1684512379[34]
  • The Case for Colonialism. New English Review Press, 2023. ISBN 978-1943003907

Edited books edit

  • Middle Powers and the Rise of China. Georgetown University Press, Washington DC, 2014. (With Andrew O'Neil)
  • Political Change in China: Comparisons With Taiwan. Lynne Rienner, Boulder, 2008. (With Larry Diamond)
  • Asia's Giants: Comparing China and India. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2005. (With Edward Friedman)

Articles edit

Bibliography edit

See also edit

References edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ 1. College of Urban and Public Affairs Dean's Award for Scholarly Achievement – Senior Faculty (2016); 2. Frank Cass Prize, Best Article in Democratization (2010); 3. Best Dissertation in Comparative Politics (2007), Department of Politics, Princeton University; 4. Nominated for the Gabriel A. Almond Best Dissertation Award, American Political Science Association (2006, 2012); 5. Marcel Cadieux Award, Best Article on Foreign Policy, Canadian Institute of International Affairs; 6. Woodrow Wilson Scholars Fellowship, Princeton University (2004–06); 7. Princeton University, East Asian Studies Prize (2002); and 8. Commonwealth Scholarship, University of Oxford (1989–1991)[35]

Citations edit

  1. ^ a b c d e The Good Side of Colonialism: An Interview with Bruce Gilley
  2. ^ The Oregon Chapter of the National Association of Scholars
  3. ^ a b Author: Bruce Gilley – mindingthecampus.org Retrieved January 30, 2023
  4. ^ a b c Bruce Gilley's Academic page and Bio at Portland state University
  5. ^ Illicit technology transfer by a Stanford professor to China's military.
  6. ^ Bruce Gilley, Portland state University Official CURRICULUM VITAE, October 11, 2022
  7. ^ Gilley, Bruce (May 2006). "The meaning and measure of state legitimacy: results for 72 countries" (PDF). European Journal of Political Research. 45 (3): 499–525. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6765.2006.00307.x – via Harvard Kennedy School.
  8. ^ a b Power, Timothy J.; Cyr, Jennifer M. (June 2009). "Mapping political legitimacy in Latin America". International Social Science Journal. 60 (196): 253–272. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2451.2010.01718.x.
  9. ^ a b c Blanco-González, Alicia; Prado-Román, Camilo; Díez-Martín, Francisco (May 2017). "Building a European legitimacy index". American Behavioral Scientist. 61 (5): 509–525. doi:10.1177/0002764217693282. S2CID 151937608.
  10. ^ Gilley, Bruce (August 2012). "State legitimacy: an updated dataset for 52 countries" (PDF). European Journal of Political Research. 51 (5): 693–699. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6765.2012.02059.x – via Portland State University.
  11. ^ a b c Flaherty, Colleen (September 26, 2017). "'Colonialism' article flap highlights push for transparency in publishing". News. Inside Higher Ed. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  12. ^ Gilley, Bruce (2017). "The case for colonialism". Third World Quarterly: 1–17. doi:10.1080/01436597.2017.1369037. S2CID 149585084.
  13. ^ Zamudio-Suaréz, Fernanda (September 20, 2017). "Fifteen members of 'Third World Quarterly' editorial board resign". The Ticker. Chronicle of Higher Education. Archived from the original on October 3, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  14. ^ Gilley, Bruce (September 8, 2017). "The case for colonialism". Viewpoint. Third World Quarterly: 1–17. doi:10.1080/01436597.2017.1369037. S2CID 149585084.
  15. ^ Lusher, Adam (October 12, 2017). "Professor's 'bring back colonialism' call sparks fury and academic freedom debate". Americas. The Independent. Archived from the original on October 30, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  16. ^ Flaherty, Colleen (September 19, 2017). "Is retraction the new rebuttal?". News. Inside Higher Ed. Archived from the original on October 30, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  17. ^ Kendhammer, Brandon (September 19, 2017). "A controversial article praises colonialism. But colonialism's real legacy was ugly". Analysis. Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  18. ^ a b "Author Asks Journal to Pull Pro-Colonial Essay". Inside Higher Ed. September 22, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  19. ^ "The Case for Colonialism", Bruce Gilley, Academic Questions, June 2018, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 167–185.
  20. ^ Gilley, Bruce, The Case for Colonialism: A Response to My Critics, Academic Questions, 2022
  21. ^ a b Bridge, Mark (October 9, 2020). "Bruce Gilley's biography of imperialist Sir Alan Burns cancelled after petition". The Times. Archived from the original on July 5, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  22. ^ Bruce Gilley (September 21, 2021). The Last Imperialist: Sir Alan Burns's Epic Defense of the British Empire. Gateway Editions. ISBN 978-1-68451-217-1.
  23. ^ Gilley, Bruce (August 29, 2017). "Why I'm leaving the Political Science Association". Essays. Minding the Campus. Archived from the original on October 31, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  24. ^ a b Leef, George (May 10, 2017). "Professors shouldn't be forced to pledge allegiance to 'diversity'". Beltway Brief. Forbes. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  25. ^ Gilley, Bruce (May 15, 2019). "Opinion: Teaching history by political checklist". oregonlive. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  26. ^ Bernstein, Maxine (February 1, 2023). "University of Oregon loses 1st round as judge allows Portland State professor's free speech case to proceed". oregonlive. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  27. ^ Reviews of Tiger on the Brink:
  28. ^ Reviews of Model Rebels:
    • Tony Saich (November–December 2001), China Perspectives 38: 77–78, JSTOR 24050995; translated into French by Mathilde Lelièvre (September–October 2001), Perspectives Chinoises 67: 83–85, JSTOR 24071347
    • John L. Rawlinson (2001), History: Reviews of New Books 29 (3): 130–131, doi:10.1080/03612759.2001.10525891
    • Flemming Christiansen (July 2002), The China Journal 48: 211–212, doi:10.2307/3182464
    • Michelle Mood (Winter 2001–2002), Pacific Affairs 74 (4): 592–593, doi:10.2307/3557816
    • Parks M. Coble (Winter 2002), Agricultural History 76 (1): 116–118, JSTOR 3744778
    • Jonathan Unger (Spring 2002), China Review International 9 (1): 109–112, JSTOR 23729543
    • Robert G. Ferguson (June 2002), Enterprise & Society 3 (2): 371–372, doi:10.1017/S1467222700011782
    • Ma. Teresa Rodríguez y Rodríguez (September–December 2004), Estudios de Asia y Africa 39 (3): 790–794, JSTOR 40313572
  29. ^ Reviews of China's New Rulers:
    • Michael Sheridan (January 2003), The Sunday Times, [4]
    • Lucian W. Pye (January–February 2003), Foreign Affairs 82 (1): 176, doi:10.2307/20033480
    • Alissa Black (July 2003), International Affairs 79 (4): 932–933, JSTOR 3569622
    • Alfred L. Chan (July 2003), The China Journal 50: 107–119, doi:10.2307/3182248
    • Richard B. Khoe (Summer–Fall 2003), SAIS Review 23 (2): 239–243, doi:10.1353/sais.2003.0041
    • Michael Schoenhals (September 2004), The China Quarterly 179: 811–812, JSTOR 20192382
    • John Sweda (Winter 2004), Fletcher Forum of World Affairs 28 (1)
  30. ^ Reviews of China's Democratic Future:
    • Peg Christoff (March 2004), Library Journal 129 (4)
    • Stephen Green (October 2004), International Affairs 80 (5): 1022–1023, JSTOR 3569515
    • Scott Kennedy (Winter 2004–2005), World Policy Journal 21 (4): 77–85, JSTOR 40209938
    • Barrett L. McCormick (January 2005), The China Journal 53: 192–194, doi:10.2307/20066020
    • Patricia M. Thornton (Summer 2005), Political Science Quarterly 120 (2): 338–339, JSTOR 20202545
    • Andrew Mertha (September 2006), Perspectives on Politics 4 (3): 613–614, JSTOR 20446246
    • Alan P. L. Liu (2008), China Review International 15 (1): 94–96, JSTOR 23733273
    • Jagannath P. Panda (2008), Strategic Analysis 33 (1): 127–132, doi:10.1080/09700160802518734
  31. ^ Reviews for The Right to Rule:
    • Pierre Hassner (February 2010), Survival: Global Politics and Strategy 52 (1): 204–206, doi:10.1080/00396331003612554
    • Mitchell A. Seligson (March 2010), Perspectives on Politics 8 (1): 378–379, JSTOR 25698587
    • Vsevolod Gunitskiy (Spring 2010), Political Science Quarterly 125 (1): 163–165, JSTOR 25698978
    • Stefano Burzo (November 2016), Journal of East Asian Studies 16 (3): 420–421, doi:10.1017/jea.2016.25
  32. ^ Reviews of The Nature of Asian Politics:
    • Benjamin Reilly (February 2015), Australian Outlook, [5]; Journal of Democracy 26 (3): 171–175, doi:10.1353/jod.2015.0038
    • Duncan McCargo (May–June 2015), Foreign Affairs, [6]
    • Takashi Inoguchi (March 2016), Pacific Affairs 89 (1): 115–116, [7]
    • Sungmoon Kim (September 2016), Perspectives on Politics 14 (3): 900–902, doi:10.1017/S1537592716002449
    • Osman Hulusi Takçı (2016), Review of International Law & Politics 12 (2): 190–194, [8]
  33. ^ Bruce Gilley (September 21, 2021). The Last Imperialist: Sir Alan Burns's Epic Defense of the British Empire. Gateway Editions. ISBN 978-1684512171.
  34. ^ Bruce Gilley (August 2, 2022). In Defense of German Colonialism: And How Its Critics Empowered Nazis, Communists, and the Enemies of the West. Gateway Editions. ISBN 978-1684512379.
  35. ^ Gilley, Bruce (n.d.). "And about me". Portland State University. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.

External links edit