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

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. 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 relat ...

and

political culture Political culture describes how culture impacts politics. Every political system is embedded in a particular political culture. Political culture is what the people, the voters, the electorates believe and do based on their understanding of the ...

, as well as qualitative

research methods Research is 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 attentiveness to ...

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, Hesse, Friedberg in the south and Gießen in the west. Geography Location The officially recognised climatic sp ...

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

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

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

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

. He was educated at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

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 Sout ...

'' 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, where he served in the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

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 Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

, after which he moved to the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

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'' 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 answer research questions. A research design typically outlines the theories and models underlying a project; the research question(s) of a project; a strategy for gathering data and info ...

Death and personal life

Eckstein lived in

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

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

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eckstein, Harry 1924 births 1999 deaths American people of German-Jewish descent 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 American political scientists