Ted Robert Gurr
Encyclopedia
Ted Robert Gurr is one of the world’s leading authorities on political conflict and instability. His book Why Men Rebel (1970) emphasized the importance of social psychological factors (relative deprivation) and ideology as root sources of political violence. It has been widely translated, most recently into Arabic and Russian. He is Distinguished University Professor emeritus at the University of Maryland
and continues to consult on projects he established there.
(1965–69), Northwestern University
(1970–83, where he was Payson S. Wild Professor and chair of the political science department 1977-80); and the University of Colorado
(1984–88).
In 1968 Professor Gurr was asked to join the staff of the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence, established by President Lyndon Johnson
after the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy
. He teamed with historian Hugh Davis Graham to prepare the 1969 report Violence in America: Historical and Comparative Perspectives, which was widely publicized and published in many editions.
The Polity study, begun by Professor Gurr in the late 1960s, profiles the democratic and autocratic traits of all regimes worldwide from 1800 to the present. The project is now directed by Prof. Monty G. Marshall of George Mason University
, one of the two dozen Ph.D.’s whose doctoral work he has supervised. The Polity data is widely used by researchers and government agencies to track democratization
and to assess the stability of contemporary regimes.
The Minorities at Risk
project, which he began in 1985, assesses the political status and activities of more than 300 ethnic and religious minorities world-wide. The MAR project, which is continued by a research team at the University of Maryland, provides data for his and others’ analyses of the causes and management of ethnopolitical protest and rebellion, most recently in Peoples versus States: Minorities at Risk in the New Century (2000) and Ethnic Conflict in World Politics (2003), co-authored with Prof. Barbara Harff.
In 1994-95 Professor Gurr helped establish the State Failure (now Political Instability) Task Force
, at the request of Vice President Gore’s office, to provide global risk assessments of impending intrastate conflicts. He continued to serve as senior consultant to the Task Force under the George W. Bush Administration and now the Obama Administration.
Since 2001 Professor Gurr has been a member of a network of scholars concerned with risks and prevention of genocide
, and participated in the 2004 Stockholm International Forum on the Prevention of Genocide, an international conference hosted by the Foreign Ministry of Sweden. In 2002 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Sofia, Bulgaria. In 2004-05 he organized a workshop on economic roots of terrorism for the Club de Madrid’s
International Summit on Democracy
, Terrorism
and Security
, which was convened by the Spanish Foreign Ministry to commemorate the first anniversary of the Madrid train bombings in March 2004.
His current projects include periodic assessments of risks of genocide and politicide
, with Barbara Harff; and a comparative study of “unholy alliances” between terrorists and international criminal networks, with Prof. Lyubov Mincheva of the University of Sofia.
Professor Gurr has held a Guggenheim Fellowship
(1972–73), a Fulbright Senior Fellowship (Australia, 1981–82), and a US Institute of Peace Fellowship (1988–89). In 1993-94 he was president of the International Studies Association
, an international body of 3000+ scholars and policy makers. In 1996-97 he held the Swedish government’s Olof Palme Visiting Professorship at the University of Uppsala.
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
and continues to consult on projects he established there.
Career
Before joining the University of Maryland faculty in 1989 Prof. Gurr held academic positions at Princeton UniversityPrinceton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
(1965–69), Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
(1970–83, where he was Payson S. Wild Professor and chair of the political science department 1977-80); and the University of Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
(1984–88).
In 1968 Professor Gurr was asked to join the staff of the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence, established by President Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
after the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
. He teamed with historian Hugh Davis Graham to prepare the 1969 report Violence in America: Historical and Comparative Perspectives, which was widely publicized and published in many editions.
The Polity study, begun by Professor Gurr in the late 1960s, profiles the democratic and autocratic traits of all regimes worldwide from 1800 to the present. The project is now directed by Prof. Monty G. Marshall of George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
, one of the two dozen Ph.D.’s whose doctoral work he has supervised. The Polity data is widely used by researchers and government agencies to track democratization
Democratization
Democratization is the transition to a more democratic political regime. It may be the transition from an authoritarian regime to a full democracy, a transition from an authoritarian political system to a semi-democracy or transition from a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic...
and to assess the stability of contemporary regimes.
The Minorities at Risk
Minorities at Risk
The Minorities at Risk Data Generation and Management Project is a University of Maryland, College Park based research project that monitors and analyzes the status and conflicts of politically-active minority ethnicities and religious sects in all countries with a current population of at least...
project, which he began in 1985, assesses the political status and activities of more than 300 ethnic and religious minorities world-wide. The MAR project, which is continued by a research team at the University of Maryland, provides data for his and others’ analyses of the causes and management of ethnopolitical protest and rebellion, most recently in Peoples versus States: Minorities at Risk in the New Century (2000) and Ethnic Conflict in World Politics (2003), co-authored with Prof. Barbara Harff.
In 1994-95 Professor Gurr helped establish the State Failure (now Political Instability) Task Force
Political Instability Task Force
Political Instability Task Force is a U.S. government-sponsored research project to build a database on major domestic political conflicts leading to state failures...
, at the request of Vice President Gore’s office, to provide global risk assessments of impending intrastate conflicts. He continued to serve as senior consultant to the Task Force under the George W. Bush Administration and now the Obama Administration.
Since 2001 Professor Gurr has been a member of a network of scholars concerned with risks and prevention of genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, and participated in the 2004 Stockholm International Forum on the Prevention of Genocide, an international conference hosted by the Foreign Ministry of Sweden. In 2002 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Sofia, Bulgaria. In 2004-05 he organized a workshop on economic roots of terrorism for the Club de Madrid’s
Club of Madrid
The Club de Madrid is an independent non-profit organization created to promote democracy and change in the international community. Composed of 80 former Presidents and Prime Ministers from 56 countries, the Club de Madrid is the world’s largest forum of former Heads of State and Government.Among...
International Summit on Democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
, Terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
and Security
Security
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
, which was convened by the Spanish Foreign Ministry to commemorate the first anniversary of the Madrid train bombings in March 2004.
His current projects include periodic assessments of risks of genocide and politicide
Politicide
Politicide has three related but distinct meanings. It can mean a gradual but systematic attempt to cause the annihilation of an independent political and social entity. For example the destruction of the apartheid system in South Africa...
, with Barbara Harff; and a comparative study of “unholy alliances” between terrorists and international criminal networks, with Prof. Lyubov Mincheva of the University of Sofia.
Publications, Honors
Prof. Gurr has written or edited more than twenty books and monographs. The latest is Peace and Conflict 2010, with University of Maryland co-authors Profs. Joseph Hewitt and Jonathan Wilkenfeld. He and Monty G. Marshall established this biennial report series in 2001 to provide scholars, analysts and journalists with current information on global conflict trends and risks of future instability. Earlier editions documented the global decline in internal wars during the 1990s and the ascendancy of negotiated agreements for managing ethnic and other internal conflicts.Professor Gurr has held a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
(1972–73), a Fulbright Senior Fellowship (Australia, 1981–82), and a US Institute of Peace Fellowship (1988–89). In 1993-94 he was president of the International Studies Association
International Studies Association
The International Studies Association was founded by a group of scholars and practitioners in 1959 to pursue mutual interests in international studies. Representing eighty countries, ISA has over three thousand members worldwide and is the most respected and widely known scholarly association in...
, an international body of 3000+ scholars and policy makers. In 1996-97 he held the Swedish government’s Olof Palme Visiting Professorship at the University of Uppsala.
Published works
- Why Men Rebel (Princeton, 1970)
- Violence In America (with historian Hugh Davis Graham, U.S. Government Printing Office, Bantam Books, and Praeger, 1969; Sage Publications, 1979)
- The State and the City, coauthored with Desmond King (University of Chicago Press, 1987)
- Ethnic Conflict in World Politics, coauthored with Barbara HarffBarbara HarffBarbara Harff is Professor of Political Science Emerita at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. In 2003 and again in 2005 she was a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University...
(Westview Press, 1994). A revised edition will appear in 2003. - Early Warning of Communal Conflict and Genocide: Linking Empirical Research and International Responses (United Nations University Press, 1996)
- Preventive Measures: Building Risk Assessment and Crisis Early Warning Systems, coedited by Gurr and John L. Davies (Rowman & Littlefield, 1998).
- Peoples Versus States: Minorities at Risk in the New Century (U.S. Institute of Peace Press, 2000)
- Peace and Conflict 2010,coauthored with Joseph HewittJoseph HewittColonel Sir Joseph Hewitt, 1st Baronet was an English solicitor and coal mine owner.Hewitt was born in humble circumstances, but qualified as a solicitor and later acquired substantial interests in the coal mining industry...
, Jonathan Wilkenfeld (Paradigm Publishers, 2009)