Vinod K. Aggarwal
Pacific Cooperation: Building Economic and Security Regimes in the Asia Pacific Region, 1994
John Maynard Keynes once said that “Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back.” His observation notwithstanding, it is difficult to convince policymakers of the relevance of theoretical musing. Academics often assume that the reluctance of decisionmakers to embrace theoretical arguments reflects their simple ignorance or inability to appreciate academia’s valuable contributions. Practitioners, by contrast, observing scholars reveling in endless debate of often minor issues, might be forgiven for taking Keynes literally: only madmen would wish to draw on academic scribbling.