Michael Brecher (14 March 1925 – 16 January 2022) was a Canadian political scientist and teacher in Quebec.
Life and career
Brecher was born on 14 March 1925. He obtained his PhD in
International Relations
International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...
from
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
in 1953, and joined the faculty of McGill University in 1954. He was R.B. Angus Professor of Political Science at
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
until his retirement. His areas of research included; theory of crisis, conflict and war, protracted conflicts/enduring rivalries, foreign policy theory, international systems, the Middle East and South Asia international relations.
He retired after 69 years, thereafter becoming R.B. Angus Professor of Political Science Emeritus, and a member of the
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...
. Brecher died on 16 January 2022, at the age of 96.
Selected publications
Books
* ''The Struggle for Kashmir'',
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 1953.
* ''Nehru: A Political Biography'',
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 1959 & 2005.
* ''Israel, the Korean War and China'', 1974.
* ''Crises in World Politics: Theory and Reality'',
Pergamon Press
Pergamon Press was an Oxford-based publishing house, founded by Paul Rosbaud and Robert Maxwell, that published scientific and medical books and journals. Originally called Butterworth-Springer, it is now an imprint of Elsevier.
History
The cor ...
, 1993.
* ''A Study of Crisis'', with
Jonathan Wilkenfeld
Jonathan Wilkenfeld (born March 24, 1942) is an American political scientist and professor emeritus at University of Maryland, specialized in foreign policy, terrorism and simulation methodology in political science. He is the Founding Director ...
,
University of Michigan Press
The University of Michigan Press is part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earned numerous awards, including L ...
, 1997.
* ''International Political Earthquakes'',
University of Michigan Press
The University of Michigan Press is part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earned numerous awards, including L ...
, 2008.
* ''The World of Protracted Conflicts'', Rowman and Littlefield Lexington Books, 2016.
* ''Political Leadership and Charisma: Nehru, Ben-Gurion, and Other 20th Century Political Leaders'',
Palgrave-Macmillan
Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains off ...
, 2016.
* ''Dynamics of the Arab-Israel Conflict: Past and Present'',
Palgrave-Macmillan
Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains off ...
, 2017
* ''A Century of Crisis and Conflict in the International System: Theory and Evidence'',
Palgrave-Macmillan
Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains off ...
, 2017.
Edited collections
* ''Crisis in the Twentieth Century'', co-edited with
Jonathan Wilkenfeld
Jonathan Wilkenfeld (born March 24, 1942) is an American political scientist and professor emeritus at University of Maryland, specialized in foreign policy, terrorism and simulation methodology in political science. He is the Founding Director ...
, (3 volumes), 1988, 1989.
* ''Millennial Reflections on International Studies'', editor, with Frank P. Harvey, Ann Arbor, MI:
University of Michigan Press
The University of Michigan Press is part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earned numerous awards, including L ...
, 2002 (5 volumes)
Reception
A review of Brecher's biography of Nehru called this book 'substantial, scholarly... the best single work available at present on this subject.'
M. A. C. observes in ''Pakistan Horizon'' that Brecher's book, ''The Struggle for Kashmir'', is a "painstaking but not a balanced study". The reviewer points out that there are examples of facts being misrepresented to Pakistan's disadvantage. Holden Furber calls it a careful study based on relevant published materials. But despite that Furber comments that Brecher's approach lacks ground research and he is more a scholar who has lived among United Nations reports in libraries. Percival Spears sees that Brecher tends to too readily accept Indian arguments for Kashmir and Junagadh and relies on Alan Campbell Johnson who is seen as prejudiced in Pakistan. Spear also observes that Brecher has a tendency to readily accept Indian reasons for rejecting each proposal in the discussions on conditions for plebiscite and also a tendency to underrate the importance of the Pakistani acceptances of proposals made through January 1951 to the Graham negotiations.
Honours and awards
* 1959 -
Watumull prize of the
American Historical Association
The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...
for his biography of
Jawaharlal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
* 1964 -
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...
scholarship
* 1965 -
John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship
* 1970 and 1976-
Killam
Killam is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Albert Clements Killam (1849–1908), Canadian lawyer
* Amasa Emerson Killam (1834–1922), Canadian politician
* Dorothy J. Killam (1900–1965), Canadian philanthropist
* Eva Ki ...
scholarship
* 1986 -
Fieldhouse Prize from
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
for excellence in research
* 1999-2000, President,
International Studies Association
The International Studies Association (ISA) is a US-based professional association for scholars and practitioners in the field of international studies. Founded in 1959, ISA has been headquartered at the University of Connecticut in Storrs since ...
* 2000,
Leon-Gerin Quebec Prize for the Human Sciences
* 2000, Award for High Distinction in Research,
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
* 2009, Lifetime Achievement Award, American Political Science Association (Conflict Processes)
[ McGill/Political science webpage]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brecher, Michael
1925 births
2022 deaths
Academics from Quebec
Yale University alumni
Canadian political scientists
McGill University faculty
Anglophone Quebec people
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
Canadian expatriates in the United States
Writers about the Kashmir conflict
Writers from Quebec