Biography
James Ron has had a long and prolific career working in poling and policy, focusing on research and data interpretation. His work has led him to create research approaches for managing large, diverse global and domestic teams while also developing policy recommendations and documenting results. All this history serves him admirably as he presently focuses on co-ownership of Azimuth Social Research, a consulting firm providing customized research solutions for private, public, and non-profit organizations.
James is heavily influenced by his life experiences, stretching as far back as his time growing up in Jerusalem before returning to the U.S. for school. He speaks four languages and passionately believes in the capacity for cross-cultural development and growth. His time in school at Stanford and UC Berkeley only reinforced this ideology, where he studied and began a history of prolific amounts of publishing.
True to form, he did work for a time at CIDE in Mexico City, where he continued to develop connections with cultures outside his own. Beyond working in academia, James has also consulted for the Associated Press and the Financial Times in Jerusalem and has also focused heavily on supporting human rights organizations. His passion for helping others has led to his work with groups as renowned as Human Rights Watch and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Testimonials
Supervisors and Clients
Deputy Director, Europe and Central Asia, Human Rights Watch
“Jim stepped in to research the situation for civilians during the second war in Chechnya, in the Russian Federation. This was during the very early phases of the armed conflict, in 1999, before it received widespread attention, before most human rights groups and foreign journalist were traveling there, at a time when certain aspects of the armed conflict itself were still inchoate. He very quickly and capably mapped out how to get himself and another HRW colleague close to the conflict as safely possible and interview civilians.Jim established a strong relationship of trust both interviewees and HRW’s Russia-based colleagues. With the civilians he interviewed, he worked with tremendous empathy. He quickly and with great integrity conveyed information, accurately outlining the problems fleeing civilians were facing and constructing from disparate information a cohesive picture of the situation inside Chechnya.Jim puts the interests and well-being of survivors of human right abuses first and foremost, together with substantive accuracy and integrity. He is a top-rate, deeply skilled investigator with a big heart.”
“Jim has provided valuable support to the Life for a Child Program. He was instrumental in building the connections that led the Program to start in Mexico, and he has visited a number of countries to monitor and evaluate the work. These include some less-travelled countries in Central Asia. These visits require rapid adaptation to numerous very different medical and social situations, as well as diplomacy, insight, background knowledge, and warmth. He conducted these visits with great skill. Furthermore, he has also established research connections in USA, Canada and India which have resulted in various peer-reviewed publications which contribute to knowledge of diabetes care of young people in less-resourced settings.”Testimonials
Colleagues and Collaborators
Lawyer at the Open Society Justice Initiative, Nigeria
“Jim was editor of Open Global Rights when a friend introduced the platform to me in 2013. He edited most of the articles I wrote for them. His thoughtful, probing and engaging approach to contributors’ writings was as refreshing as it was revealing of the kind of thorough, deeply passionate and exceptionally gifted researcher and academic he is. When Jim commits to a project, you can be sure he will give it undivided attention.”
Osai Ojigho, JD, LLM
LLM Country Director, Amnesty International, Nigeria
“Jim is a visionary and aspirational leader. In the years we worked closely together on Open Global Rights (a platform he created), I learned a lot from him about how to be patient, review after review, and to always keep an eye on the goal of making knowledge accessible to as many people as possible. He treated everyone with respect, was very professional, and dedicated to the editorial team and the contributors. Working with Jim was easy and enjoyable.”Testimonials
Graduate Students, Employees, and Mentees
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, 2020-2
“Jim was my MA supervisor at Carleton University, my first PhD supervisor, and also my director when I started working as an editor for Open Global Rights – I have known him for 15 years. He has been one of the key mentors in my career, and I would not have embarked on my PhD journey if it were not for his encouragement. As an instructor, he was excellent and engaging, and he brought valuable fieldwork experience into the classroom. He has always been highly professional, and his feedback never failed to make my work better. He demands excellence from his students but also shows them how to achieve it, and he teaches with compassion – this is a rare combination. His research work is inspiring and groundbreaking, and he has incredible attention to detail and a keen ability to solve complex problems. I hope to be able to work with him again someday!”
Country Manager, Palestinian Association for Children’s Encouragement of Sports, Palestine
“I got to know James Ron while he was teaching at the University of Minnesota, where I visited for a year a State Department-funded fellowship. We consulted a number of times in Minneapolis on my interests, and he was very helpful. Later, I helped him plan and execute a research trip to Palestine, which he conducted with a colleague. It was a pleasure to work with him in the field. He brings integrity and knowledge to his work, connects well with people from different backgrounds, and is able to conduct and guide cross-cultural conversations with ease. I highly recommend him to anyone considering him for work in an international context.”
Publications
Published in several reputable magazines, here is a collection of James Ron's peer reviewed and approved work
Books
- RON, J., S. GOLDEN; D. CROW; A. PANDYA. 2017. Taking Root: Human Rights & Public Opinion in the Global South. Oxford University Press.
- RON, J. 2003. Frontiers & Ghettos: State Violence in Serbia & Israel. University of California Press.
Scholarly Articles
Published in the last 5 years
- CROW, D. & J. RON. (2020) “Do Global Publics View Human Rights Organizations as Handmaidens of U.S. Empire?” Political Studies Quarterly 135/1: 9-35.
- FRIEDEMANN-SANCHEZ, G., B. CAPISTRANT, J. RON, L. NOVAK, C. ZUIJDWIJK, G. OGLE, B. ANDERSON, A. MORAN & S. PENDSEY. (2018). “Caregiving for Children with Type 1 Diabetes and Clinical Outcomes in Central India.” Pediatric Diabetes 19/3: 527-533.
- ZUIJDWIJK, C., S. PENDSEY, J. RON, K. WILLIAMS, A. SALWA, S. CHALKHORE, G. OGLE & A. AHMET. (2017). “Management of Type 1 Diabetes in a Limited Resource Context.” Journal of Diabetology 8/2: 37-44.
- PANDYA, A. & J. RON 2017. “Local Resources for Local Rights? The Mumbai Fundraiser’s Dilemma.” Journal of Human Rights 16/3: 370-387.
- RON, J., A. PANDYA & D. CROW. 2016. “Can Southern Rights Groups Raise More Domestic Resources?” Journal of Human Rights Practice. 8 (3): 393-405.
- DUPUY, K., J. RON & A. PRAKASH. 2016. “Hands Off My Regime! The Backlash Against Foreign Funding to Local NGOs.” World Development. 84: 299-311.
Edited Collections
Collections of Scholarly Articles
- J. RON. 2017. Journal of Human Rights (16/3). Special Journal Issue on Public Opinion Surveys and Human Rights.
- HAFNER-BURTON, E. & J. RON. 2007. Journal of Peace Research (44/4), Special Journal Issue on Protecting Human Rights.
- J. RON. 2004. Journal of Conflict Resolution (49/4), Special Journal Issue on Primary Commodities and War.
Book Chapters
Work contributed to other books
- RON, J., KAIRE, J., PANDYA, A. & MARTINEZ, A. 2018. “What Will it Take to Reduce NGO Dependence on Foreign Aid?” pp. 153-160 in Rodriguez-Garavito and Gomez, eds., Rising to the Populist Challenge: A New Playbook for Human Rights Actors. Bogota: DeJusticia.
- RON, J. 2000. “Territoriality & Plausible Deniability: Serbian Paramilitaries in the Bosnian War.” Pp. 287-312 in Death Squads in Global Perspective: Murder with Deniability. Arthur D. Brenner & & Bruce B. Campbell, St. Martin’s
Articles and Podcasts for Policy Readers
From the last 3 years
- LAVINE, H., J. RON & R. L. WOOD (October 22, 2020). “Why Are White Evangelicals Anti Human Rights?” Open Global Rights. Español.
- RON, J. (October 16, 2020). Civil Rights and America. On Global Leadership.
- RON, J. & D. GUTHRIE. (October 5, 2020). Populism and Trump’s Rhetoric of Mistrust for Multinationals. On Global Leadership.
- RON, J. & D. Guthrie. (September 14, 2020). Are Today’s Police Critics Anti-Capitalists? The Numbers Say No. OnGlobalLeadership.com.
- RON, J. & H. LAVINE. (September 24, 2019). American Jews and American Muslims have a Common Antagonist. New York Times.
- LAVINE, H. & J. RON. (August 21, 2019). To Protect Human Rights Abroad, Preach to Trump Voters. Foreign Policy.
- RON, J., H. LAVINE & S. GOLDEN. (May 6, 2019). No, American’s Don’t Support Airstrikes that Kill Civilians, Even When they Target Terrorists. Washington Post.
- KREBS, R. & J. RON. (2018, June 7). Democracies Need a Little Help From Their Friends. Foreign Policy.
- KREBS, R. & J. RON. (2018, May 13). Why Countries Should Welcome, Not Fear, Foreign Funding of NGOs. Lawfare. Republished in Ynet in Hebrew on May 21 and in English on May 23; and in Open Global Rights in English on June 6.
- RON, J., KAIRE, J., PANDYA, A. & MARTINEZ, A. (2018, June 2014). Reducing Dependence on Foreign Aid: What Will it Take? Open Global Rights, June 14. Available also in Spanish.
Reports for Government Agencies, NGO's and Communities of Practice
For the last 3 years
- KAIRE, J., USECHE, C., CROW, D. & J. RON. 2018. Can Local Human Rights Organizations Raise Funds from the General Public in Bogotá? University of Minnesota.
- ABSAR, K., D. CROW, J. RON, G. MALDONADO, J.P. BOLANOS, J. KAIRE, & A. MARTINEZ. 2017. Will Publics Pay to Protect Rights? University of Minnesota.
- PANDYA, A., S. GOLDEN, J. RON & D. CROW. 2016. The Human Rights Sector in Mumbai, India: Evidence from Activists and the Public. University of Minnesota.
Websites
James proudly blogs actively and explores a variety of topics in the realms of public policy, personal health, and business ownership
Professional Research
Focusing on polling, policy and foreign affairs providing his unique perspective backed by decades of research and field work
Professional Guidance
Ruminations on the means for running a business, personal health when starting a business, and physical well being for children with type 1 diabetes
Social Media
Check out these links which James updates regularly
Twitter
LinkedIn
Youtube
Facebook
