James Ron Frohlich was born in the US, grew up in Jerusalem, and returned to the US for studies in his 20s. His native tongue is English, but he speaks Hebrew fluently and functions well in Spanish and French.

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In the late 1980s, James spent his three-year mandatory military service in the 35th parachute brigade of the Israeli Defense Forces, where he saw active service in south Lebanon.

 

James later wrote about those experiences, and about Israeli military rule in the Palestinian territories, in academic, NGO and media venues. 

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After earning a BA from Stanford University and a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, James held tenure-track and tenured teaching positions at Johns Hopkins, McGill, Carleton, and the University of Minnesota. 

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James held a government-funded Canada Research Chair at McGill and the privately endowed Stassen Research Chair at the University of Minnesota. He was a research fellow at the Brookings Institution and Brown University, and a visiting professor at CIDE, a research and teaching institute in Mexico City. 

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Prior to working in academia, James was a researcher and journalist for the Financial Times and Associated Press in Jerusalem. Later, he did work for Human Rights Watch in or near Albania, Chechnya, Kyrgyzstan, the Palestinian territories, Nigeria, and Turkey. 

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Over the years, James has done advisory work for the Canadian departments of development and international affairs; the international humanitarian charity, CARE; the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross, which supports prisoners of war and civilians in combat zones; and the Sydney-based medical charity, Life for a Child, which provides insulin to children with Type 1 diabetes in resource-poor countries. 

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James’ research has focused on armed conflict, civil society, human rights, international media and NGO reporting, and public opinion. He has published two scholarly books and multiple articles in scholarly venues, as well as many editorials in the mainstream media. 

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James’ research has been supported by agencies of the Canadian government, the Ford Foundation, the International Development Research Center of Canada, MacArthur Foundation, National Sciences Foundations, the Open Societies Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the US Institute of Peace. 

 

James’ teaching has focused on international development assistance, human rights, international security, and public policy. 

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In his spare time, James likes to travel internationally, work on his French and Spanish, ride motorcycles, and read history. He has two teenaged children and a partner living in Minneapolis.

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Please contact James below for consulting opportunities.