David D. Laitin

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David D. Laitin (born in 1945)[1] is the James T. Watkins IV and Elise V. Watkins Professor of Political Science in the School of Humanities and Science at Stanford University.[2] He is an influential comparative politics scholar who has written influential works on civil war,[3] ethnic identity, culture and nationalism.[4] He is known for his application of rational choice to the study of ethnic conflict,[3] and for bridging a gap between ethnography and rational choice.[5]

He was awarded the Johan Skytte Prize in 2021.[6] He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences.[7] Before joining Stanford University, he was a professor in the political science department at the University of Chicago.[7]

In 1986, he published a book about the Yoruba in Nigeria, Hegemony and Culture: The Politics of Religious Change Among the Yoruba.[7] Laitin studied Russian and lived with a Russian family in Estonia for a year.[7] The experiences formed the basis of his influential 1998 book Identity in Formation: The Russian-Speaking Populations in the Near Abroad.[7] In the 1990s and 2000s, Laitin published several highly influential works on ethnicity with James Fearon.[7][4]

Early life and education[]

Laitin was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1945.[4] He grew up in a Jewish family in Flatbush, Brooklyn.[8][7] He is the grandson of émigrés from Russia and Austria.[7] In 1967, he was awarded an undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College.[7]

He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from University of California at Berkeley, where he did his dissertation under the guidance of Ernst Haas,[2] Hanna Pitkin,[2] and Kenneth Waltz.[9] During his time at Berkeley, Laitin served with the Peace Corps in Somalia and Grenada.[7] Laitin's experiences in Somalia influenced his dissertation and his 1977 book Politics, Language and Thought: The Somali Experience.[7]

References[]

  1. ^ Munck, Gerardo L.; Snyder, Richard (2007). Passion, Craft, and Method in Comparative Politics. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-8018-8464-1.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "David D. Laitin | Political Science". politicalscience.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Kaufmann, Chaim (2005-01-01). "Rational Choice and Progress in the Study of Ethnic Conflict: A Review Essay". Security Studies. 14 (1): 178–207. doi:10.1080/09636410591002554. ISSN 0963-6412. S2CID 143819357.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c Munck, Gerardo L.; Snyder, Richard (2007). Passion, Craft, and Method in Comparative Politics. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 601–602. ISBN 978-0-8018-8464-1.
  5. ^ Wedeen, Lisa (2010-05-01). "Reflections on Ethnographic Work in Political Science". Annual Review of Political Science. 13 (1): 255–272. doi:10.1146/annurev.polisci.11.052706.123951. ISSN 1094-2939.
  6. ^ "The 27th Johan Skytte Prize goes to David D. Laitin | The Johan Skytte Prize". Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k Gupta, Sujata (2011-12-20). "Profile of David D. Laitin". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 108 (51): 20301–20303. Bibcode:2011PNAS..10820301G. doi:10.1073/pnas.1117177108. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 3251095. PMID 22106288.
  8. ^ Fearon, James D.; Laitin, David D. (1996). "Explaining Interethnic Cooperation". The American Political Science Review. 90 (4): 715–735. doi:10.2307/2945838. ISSN 0003-0554. JSTOR 2945838.
  9. ^ "Interview - James Fearon". E-International Relations. 2013-12-16. Retrieved 2021-05-09.


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