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

political freedom Political freedom (also known as political autonomy or political agency) is a central concept in history and political thought and one of the most important features of democratic societies.Hannah Arendt, "What is Freedom?", ''Between Past and ...

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 territ ...

'' reports published by

Freedom House Freedom House is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. It is best known for political advocacy surrounding issues of democracy, Freedom (political), political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, wi ...

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 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 ...

. He was a

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

in Pakistan (1953–4), and taught

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

and social science at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. He spent seven years as a researcher at the

Hudson Institute Hudson Institute is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1961 in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation. Kahn ...

, analysing

national security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...

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 Battelle Memorial Institute (or simply Battelle) is an American private nonprofit applied science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. History The institute was founded in 1929 by Gordon Battelle. Originall ...

. 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 Johns Hopkins University Press (also referred to as JHU Press or JHUP) is the publishing division of Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and is the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The press publi ...

, 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 think tank based in Washington, D.C., that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare ...

, 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