Daniel Chirot (born 1942) is an American historian and writer on

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. He is the Herbert J. Ellison Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

. Chirot is also the founder of the journal ''

East European Politics and Societies ''East European Politics and Societies'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that covers the field of political science, especially concerning international relations of Eastern Europe. The journal's editors-in-chief are Wendy Bracewell (University ...

'', and has written and edited many books and articles.

Early life and education

Daniel Chirot was born to Jewish parents in

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its te ...

on November 27, 1942. His parents were able to evade the Nazis until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and in 1948 Chirot and his family immigrated to the United States. Chirot graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1964 and earned his Ph.D. from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1973.

Career

Chirot has taught in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the

since 1975, and was appointed as the Herbert J. Ellison Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies in 1980. He has written prolifically on the subject of

authoritarian regimes Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political '' status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic ...

, tyranny, and

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...

, publishing 15 books and numerous articles in such scholarly journals as the ''

Journal of Asian Studies ''The Journal of Asian Studies'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Association for Asian Studies, covering Asian studies, ranging from history, the arts, social sciences, to phil ...

'', ''

'', '' Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism'', ''

Journal of Democracy The ''Journal of Democracy'' is a quarterly academic journal established in 1990 and an official publication of the National Endowment for Democracy's International Forum for Democratic Studies. It covers the study of democracy, democratic regim ...

'', ''Society'', ''

International Sociology ''International Sociology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the field of sociology. The editor-in-chief is Marta Soler Gallart (Universitat de Barcelona). It was established in 1986 and is published by SAGE Publications on behalf of th ...

'', and '' Perspectives on Politics''. He has been praised in publications from the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' to the '' International Social Science Review'' for his comprehensive scholarship, lucidity, and nuance. Chirot served at the

United States Institute of Peace The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American federal institution tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training to individuals in diplomacy, mediation, and other pea ...

in Washington, D.C., as a senior fellow from 2004 to 2005, and has received grants from many organizations, including the

John Simon Guggenheim Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been ...

, the

Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pitt ...

, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the U.S. State Department.

Personal life

Chirot married Cynthia Kenyon, a banker, in 1974. Together they have two children, Claire and Laura.

Publications

* ''Social Change in a Peripheral Society: The Creation of a Balkan Colony'', Academic Press (New York, NY), 1976. * ''Social Change in the Twentieth Century'', Harcourt (New York, NY), 1977. * ''Social Change in the Modern Era'', Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1986. * ''The Origins of Backwardness in Eastern Europe'', University of California Press (Berkeley, CA), 1989. (Editor) * ''The Crisis of Leninism and the Decline of the Left: The Revolutions of 1989'', University of Washington Press (Seattle, WA), 1991. (Editor) * ''National Liberations and Nationalist Nightmares: The Consequences of the End of Empires in Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century'', University of California Press (Berkeley, CA), 1993. * ''How Societies Change'', Pine Forge Press (Thousand Oaks, CA), 1994, 2nd edition, 2012. * ''Modern Tyrants: The Power and Prevalence of Evil in Our Age'', Free Press (New York, NY), 1994. * ''Essential Outsiders: Chinese and Jews in the Modern Transformation of Southeast Asia and Central Europe'', University of Washington Press (Seattle, WA), 1997. (Editor, with Anthony Reid) * ''Ethnopolitical Warfare: Causes, Consequences, and Possible Solutions'', American Psychological Association (Washington, DC), 2001. (Editor, with Martin E.O. Seligman) * ''Why Not Kill Them All? The Logic and Prevention of Mass Political Murder'', Princeton University Press (Princeton, NJ), 2006 (with Clark McCauley) * ''Contentious Identities: Ethnic, Religious, and Nationalist Conflicts in Today's World'', Routledge (New York, NY), 2011. * ''Confronting Memories of World War II: European and Asian Legacies'', University of Washington Press (Seattle, WA), 2014. * ''The Shape of the New: Four Big Ideas and How They Made the Modern World'', Princeton University Press (Princeton, NJ), 2015. * ''You Say You Want a Revolution? Radical Idealism and Its Tragic Consequences'', Princeton University Press (Princeton, NJ), 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chirot, Daniel 1942 births Living people 20th-century American historians 21st-century American historians American people of French-Jewish descent Columbia University alumni French emigrants to the United States French Jews Harvard University alumni Historians of Russia Jewish American historians Jews who emigrated to escape Nazism University of Washington faculty Writers about Russia