Professor Robert Weiner Ends Long Term as Graduate Program Director at MGS

Robert Weiner, who played an instrumental role in the development of McCormack Graduate School's international relations master’s program and its incorporation into the Department of Conflict Resolution, has announced that he is stepping down from his position as graduate program director.

“Robert Weiner has served as graduate program director for ten years. His contributions to building and advancing the program have been tremendous,” said Eben Weitzman, chair of Conflict Resolution, Human Security and Global Governance Department. “We thank him for his many excellent years of service.”

Weiner was influential in drawing up the curriculum and requirements for the international relations program. He believes that the current program, “with its niche focus on human security, provides a unique combination of theory and practice… [and has demonstrated] an excellent track record of preparing students for a wide variety of international careers.” This focus has become especially important as academics in the field increasingly emphasize human rights and humanitarian intervention in their work.

The program has attracted students from all over the world, including Bulgaria, Brazil, China, Haiti, and Italy. Weiner praised his students as being “strongly committed and dedicated to constructing a world order based on peace and justice. My students have gone on to work for the State Department, Washington think tanks, NGOs, and multinational corporations, as well as to continue their studies in law, medicine, and various PhD programs.”

During his thirty-year tenure in the Political Science Department, Weiner has been a center associate at Harvard University’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and a fellow at MSG’s Center for Peace, Democracy, and Development. Before coming to UMass Boston, he was a consultant for Global Integrity, a Washington-based NGO that focuses on corruption in countries around the world. He received his PhD in international relations from New York University.

Weiner’s research interests lie in Romanian foreign policy, Moldovan foreign policy, international law of genocide, and diplomacy and war, among other topics. He is the author of Romanian Foreign Policy and the United Nations and Change in Eastern Europe and has served as the academic editor for the Annual Edition of World Politics 12/13. He has also published works in more than 20 book chapters, articles, and book reviews in prominent journals such as The Slavic Review, The New England Journal of Public Policy, The East European Quarterly, and Sudost-Europa. 

In conjunction with his research, Weiner has presented his work at numerous scholarly seminars, such as the Comparative Economics seminar series at Harvard’s Davis Center, and conferences, including those hosted by the American Political Science Association and the World Congress on East European Studies.

“We thank Robert for his contributions to the program, both inside and outside of the classroom, and we hope his contributions will continue for many years to come,” said Weitzman. “Robert leaves a substantial legacy, and we are very lucky to be able to hand the reins over to someone as able, thoughtful, and collegial as J. Samuel Barkin.”

Barkin, an associate professor of global governance and human security, came to MSG  last year. He earned  his MPhil and PhD degrees in political science from Columbia University and BA and MA in political science from the University of Toronto.

His areas of expertise include international monetary politics, constructivist theory, international relations theory, and international organizations, with an emphasis on international environmental politics. He has contributed to journals such as International Studies Quarterly, Foreign Policy Analysis, Global Environmental Politics, and completed a book manuscript on the international politics of fish and fishing, forthcoming from MIT Press.