Karl W. German

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Karl Wolfgang Deutsch (born July 21, 1912 in Prague , † November 1, 1992 in Cambridge , USA ) was an American social and political scientist who came from Czechoslovakia and moved to the USA . He was political through its comparative analysis processes are known in which studies on the process of nation-building ( nation-building revenue) and national development processes to the international communication and integration processes, a central role. Deutsch was President of the American Political Science Association (APSA) in 1969/70 and President of the International Political Science Association (IPSA) from 1976 to 1979 .

Life

His mother Marie Deutsch, a Social Democrat, was one of the first female members of the Czechoslovak Parliament (since 1920), his father was an optician. In his youth there were several formative experiences for Deutsch, which were reflected in his later works and determined his theories. The nationality conflicts in the still young Czechoslovak Republic, the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and the rise and subsequent takeover of power by the National Socialists were important key experiences for Deutsch. The mother's political activity had a significant influence. In an autobiography ( A Voyage of the Mind 1930–1980 ), Deutsch wrote that his interest in politics was first aroused at the age of six - at his mother's election meetings.

In 1931 he graduated from the German State Real High School in Prague, in 1934 he obtained his first academic degree at the German Karl Ferdinand University in Prague. Deutsch had to interrupt his further studies at the university, which has since been infiltrated by the National Socialists, due to his involvement in anti-Nazi groups, to which he publicly confessed.

He left Czechoslovakia and studied applied optics in England before returning to Prague. Now, however, he enrolled at the Czech-speaking Charles University, where he obtained his doctorate in law (Dr. iur.) In 1938. In the same year, Deutsch and his wife Ruth traveled to an anti-fascist congress of the Social Democratic Party in the USA. During their stay in the States, events occurred on the European continent that tipped the balance for Deutsch and his wife not to return home from the USA. This refers to the Munich Agreement of September 1938 and the subsequent annexation of the Sudetenland by the German Reich.

In 1939, Deutsch and his wife began their new lives in the United States. Deutsch received a scholarship for those persecuted by the Nazi regime and studied at Harvard University . From USA entered the war in 1942, he worked for the American government. After the Second World War, Deutsch returned to his studies at Harvard. At the same time he taught at MIT ( Massachusetts Institute of Technology ) and published his own articles. In 1951 he was awarded a doctorate from Harvard University.

His dissertation “Nationalism and Social Communication” received the 1951 Sumner Prize from Harvard University. Here it was already possible to see what kind of views German had on politics and society. The following year, 1952, Deutsch received his doctorate as professor of history and political science at MIT (1952–1958).

This was just the beginning of his career in the United States. Further stations in his academic career were Yale University 1958–1967 as "Professor of Government", Harvard University 1971–1983 as Professor of International Peace (international peace research) and several visiting professorships.

From 1977 to 1987 he was director at the International Institute for Comparative Society Research (IIVG) of the Berlin Social Science Center , before finally working in the field of peace research at Emory University in Atlanta.

In 1953, Deutsch was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences , and in 1976 to the National Academy of Sciences .

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Conception

As the author and co-author of 14 books and over a hundred articles, Karl W. Deutsch always felt obliged to the following three impulses: His political focus was on dealing with substantial problems, his scientific approach was always strictly systematic, and very much to himself An important educational approach was to make scientific knowledge accessible to everyone. The collection of new data sets always provided the approach for approaching old and new scientific problems. He examined theories in great detail using the case studies and ultimately sought, in the best case scenario, to find general indicators for future developments primarily through the quantity of his data sets. He almost always worked in an interdisciplinary manner . Below are three of the most important theories of German. Deutsch investigated the fall of old empires and developed a “layer cake pattern”. The communication from one social class to the next becomes weaker and weaker downwards, followed by a total disintegration of the lowest social class, as it has in no way the possibility of participation or a say. This makes the outdated system susceptible to attacks from inside and outside.

Contrary to the disintegration, Deutsch observed the development of “social mobilization” in Europe. This took place in four phases. Initially an exchange economy emerged in society and later also worldwide. This was followed by urbanization and, as a result, better communication and organizational possibilities. The third phase, namely the literacy of the masses, promoted the self-confidence as well as the skills of the population in different areas. Finally, a politicization of interests and truths is described.

As a logical consequence of his previous studies, Deutsch dealt with the possible formation of supranational, i.e. supranational, institutions, which he himself called “security communities”. The formation of such communities made sense to him, since with the increasing growth of nations, although more performance could be achieved if they were networked with one another, there was always the danger of a chauvinistic and aggressive solo effort by a single nation. Deutsch distinguished two types of security community. He did not see the "amalgamated security community" as promising because it required too many and overly complicated conditions, such as the necessary compatibility of essential values, more and better communication, the increase in political and, above all, administrative demands on each individual state, the mobility of people and the predictability of the next actions of each actor within that community. The nations for their part expected economic gain for everyone from the community. The “amalgamated security community” thus includes the formation of a completely new political community. The “pluralistic security community”, on the other hand, is more modest in its claims. It is limited to the necessary compatibility of essential values, a certain sensitivity and a sense of responsibility towards the socially disadvantaged and minorities as well as the predictability of the behavior of each actor within the community. However, Deutsch always criticized the fact that both types of security community are at high risk of relapse.

Most important works

In his first book Nationalism and Social Communication (1953), which was also his dissertation and for which he received the Harvard Summner Prize in 1951, Deutsch deals intensively with the rise of National Socialism, its roots and effects, as well as with war in general and racism apart.

In “Nationalism and its Alternatives” (1969), Deutsch developed a new concept of nationalism based on a group of people who had always had the same type of communication, i.e. language, and the same ways of communication.

In doing so, he resorted to cybernetic modeling methods that he had already used in his book Nerves of Government . In it, he examined different types of communication and control with the help of communicative feedback processes. In this book, too, Deutsch deals with the types of communication and control within a society and organizations. He was guided by questions such as the extent to which the degree of communication inside and outside a state is an indication of the development or decline of a state, or whether one can control and monitor the number of institutions that control information and general communication within a state can see the general performance of the government. In his own words, Deutsch endeavored to use this book to steer political thought in the direction of a thought that viewed politics as a potential instrument for social sensitivity, social and economic development, and intellectual and moral growth. His scientific work, however, was never carried out on a purely theoretical basis; as already mentioned, his theories always had to be empirically verifiable.

In this tradition the book Germany Rejoins the Powers was written , in which the post-war progress in West Germany was described on the basis of data surveys (such as public opinion, the economy and the background of social classes).

Works

  • Nationalism and Social Communication: An Inquiry into the Foundations of Nationality , New York (NY) 1953. German edition: Nationbildung - Nationstaat - Integration , ed. by A. Ashkenasi and P. Schulze, Bertelsmann Universitätsverlag, Düsseldorf, 1972.
  • Political Community at the International Level: Problems of Definition and Measurement , Garden City (NY) 1954.
  • An Interdisciplinary Bibliography on Nationalism, 1935–1953 , Cambridge (Mass.) 1956.
  • Political Community and the North Atlantic Area: International Organization in the Light of Historical Experience , New York (NY) 1957.
  • The Nerves of Government: Models of Political Communication and Control , New York (NY) 1963.
  • together with William J. Foltz (Ed.): Nation-Building , New York (NY) / London 1963.
  • Arms Control and the Atlantic Alliance: Europe Faces Coming Policy Decisions , New York (NY) 1967.
  • The Analysis of International Relations , Englewood Cliffs (New Jersey) 1968.
  • Political Cybernetics . Models and Perspectives. German translation of the new edition of The Nerves of Government 1966. Verlag Rombach, Freiburg, 1969.
  • Nationalism and Its Alternatives , New York (NY) 1969.
  • Politics and Government: How People Decide Their Fate , Boston (Mass.) 1970.
  • Tides Among Nations , New York (NY) 1979.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Book of Members 1780 – present, Chapter D. (PDF; 575 kB) In: American Academy of Arts and Sciences (amacad.org). Accessed March 28, 2018 (English).
personal data
SURNAME German, Karl W.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES German, Karl Wolfgang (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Czechoslovak-American political scientist
DATE OF BIRTH July 21, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Prague
DATE OF DEATH November 1, 1992
Place of death Cambridge, USA