Robert Nandor Berki (1936-1991), who published as R. N. Berki, was a Hungarian-British political scientist.

Life

Berki was born on 12 July 1936 in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, and educated from 1941 to 1952 at the Catholic Piarista Convent School in Budapest. After working for a year in the Hungarian government's land redistribution department, he studied classical music and jazz at a Budapest music academy. Escaping Hungary after the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

, he managed to get to Britain in 1957. Attending evening classes, Berki gained O- and

A-levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

, and entered

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

in 1961, securing a first-class degree 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 ...

in 1964. In 1962 he married Etelka Taph, also Hungarian, whom he had met at a jazz club in Stalintown near Budapest. He gained his PhD from

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, writing a thesis supervised by

E. H. Carr Edward Hallett Carr (28 June 1892 – 3 November 1982) was a British historian, diplomat, journalist and international relations theorist, and an opponent of empiricism within historiography. Carr was best known for '' A History of Soviet Rus ...

on the political thought of

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...

and

Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 p ...

. In 1967 Berki became a lecturer in politics at the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hull ...

. He stayed there until his death, becoming professor of European political and social theory and director of the Institute of European Studies in 1984. He died of a

brain haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

in Hull on 17 September 1991.

Works

* (ed. with

Bhikhu Parekh Bhikhu Chotalal Parekh, Baron Parekh, (born 4 January 1935) is a British political theorist, academic, and life peer. He is a Labour Party member of the House of Lords. He was Professor of Political Theory at the University of Hull from 1982 ...

) ''The morality of politics''. London: Allen and Unwin, 1972. * (ed. with Robert Benewick and Bhikhu Parekh) ''Knowledge and belief in politics; the problem of ideology''. London: Allen & Unwin, 1973. * ''The history of political thought: a short introduction''. London: Dent, 1974. * ''Socialism''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1975. * (ed. with

Jack Hayward Sir Jack Arnold Hayward (14 June 1923 – 13 January 2015) was an English businessman, property developer, philanthropist, and president of English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers. Biography Early life The only son of Charles William ...

) ''State and society in contemporary Europe''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1979. * ''On political realism''. London: Dent, 1981. * ''Insight and vision: the problem of communism in Marx's thought''. London: J. M. Dent, 1983. * ''Security and society: reflections on law, order and politics''. London: Dent, 1986. * ''The genesis of Marxism: four lectures''. London: Dent, 1988.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berki, Robert Nandor 1936 births 1991 deaths Hungarian political scientists 20th-century political scientists