Harry H. Eckstein (January 26, 1924 in Schotten, Germany – June 22, 1999) was an American

political scientist Political science is the science, scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of politics, political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated c ...

. He was an influential scholar of

comparative politics Comparative politics is a field in political science characterized either by the use of the ''comparative method'' or other empirical methods to explore politics both within and between countries. Substantively, this can include questions relatin ...

and

political culture Political culture describes how culture impacts politics. Every political system is embedded in a particular political culture. Definition Gabriel Almond defines it as "the particular pattern of orientations toward political actions in which ...

, as well as qualitative

research methods Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

Early life and education

Eckstein was born on January 26, 1924, in

Schotten Schotten is a town in the middle of Hesse, Germany. Larger towns nearby include Alsfeld in the north, Fulda in the east, Friedberg in the south and Gießen in the west. Geography Location The officially recognised climatic spa lies between 168 m ...

, Germany, to a Jewish family, that was persecuted during

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. He came to the United States without his family at age 12, living in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. He was educated at

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 higher le ...

on a scholarship, earning a bachelor's degree ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' in 1948, a master's degree in 1950, and a doctorate in 1953, all in Government. His undergraduate years at Harvard were interrupted by service in the United States Army in

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 opposin ...

, where he served in the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

and attained the rank of master sergeant. His parents did not survive the war.

Scholarly career

He taught at Harvard and then for 20 years at

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

, after which he moved to the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...

in 1980, where he held the title of Distinguished Research Professor of Political Science at his death. He taught at UC Irvine's School of Social Sciences and was the university's first faculty member with the title of Distinguished Professor. In 1988, the journal ''

Comparative Political Studies ''Comparative Political Studies'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal. It was established in 1968 by SAGE Publications, who continue to publish it today. The editors are David J. Samuels, University of Minnesota, and Benjamin W. Ansell, Universi ...

'' devoted a special issue to Eckstein. According to Gabriel A. Almond, "Few political scientists can claim to have made significant substantive as well as methodological contributions as has Harry Eckstein." Eckstein's 1975 essay on "crucial case studies" is considered influential in social science

research design Research design refers to the overall strategy utilized to carry out research that defines a succinct and logical plan to tackle established research question(s) through the collection, interpretation, analysis, and discussion of data. Incorporat ...

Death and personal life

Eckstein lived in

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

, and died there on June 22, 1999, at age 75. He was married five times; his first four marriages ended in divorce. His only child Jonathan Eckstein is a professor of Management Science and Information Systems at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eckstein, Harry 1924 births 1999 deaths American people of German-Jewish descent American political scientists Harvard College alumni Harvard University faculty Princeton University faculty University of California, Irvine faculty Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army non-commissioned officers Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni 20th-century political scientists