Raymond Duncan Gastil (December 19, 1931 – December 14, 2010) was an American social scientist, best known for evaluating political freedom in the ''

Freedom in the World ''Freedom in the World'' is a yearly survey and report by the U.S.-based non-governmental organization Freedom House that measures the degree of civil liberties and political rights in every nation and significant related and disputed territori ...

'' reports published by Freedom House".

Biography

Gastil received his BA (social relations, 1953), MA (Middle Eastern Studies, 1956) and PhD (Social Science, 1959) 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 ...

. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Pakistan (1953-4), and taught

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

and social science at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. He spent seven years as a researcher at the Hudson Institute, analysing national security and other policy issues, and contributed to the Institute's 1968 book, ''Can We Win in Vietnam?''.''Can We Win in Vietnam?'', Armbruster et al (Praeger, 1968). p425 In the early 1970s he worked at the Battelle Memorial Institute. From 1977 to 1988 he was Director of Freedom House's annual survey.Staffan I. Lindberg. ''Democracy and elections in Africa''. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. p171

Books

* (co-editor), ''Can We Win in Vietnam?'', Armbruster ''et al.'' (Praeger, 1968). * (co-editor), ''Why ABM?: Policy issues in the missile defense controversy'', Holst and Schneider, eds. (Pergamon, 1969). * ''Cultural Regions of the United States'', University of Washington Press, 1976 * ''Social Humanities: Toward an Integrative Discipline of Science and Values'' (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1977). * (co-editor), ''Promoting Democracy: Opportunities and Issues, Goldman and Douglas'', eds. (Praeger, 1988). * (co-editor), ''Democracy and Development in East Asia: Taiwan, South Korea, and The Philippines'', Robinson (ed.) (

American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right Washington, D.C.–based think tank that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare. A ...

, 1991). * ''Progress: Critical Thinking About Historical Change'' (Westport: Praeger, 1993). * (with Barnett Singer), ''The Pacific Northwest: Growth of a Regional Identity'', McFarland, 2010

Notes

References

* Harvard College alumni 1931 births 2010 deaths American sociologists Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni {{US-sociologist-stub