Rudolph Joseph Rummel

Rudolph Joseph Rummel

Rudolph Joseph Rummel (born October 21, 1932 in Cleveland , Ohio , † March 2, 2014 in Kāneʻohe , Hawaii ) was an American political scientist .

He taught political science and history at the University of Hawai'i . As an empirical researcher, he worked on the theory of democratic peace . On the basis of statistical procedures, in his various studies he proves, among other things, the assumption that fewer armed conflicts take place between democratic states.

Life

Rummel studied political science at the University of Hawaii, where he received his BA ( Bachelor of Arts) in 1959 and an MA ( Master of Arts) in 1961 . In 1963 he received his Ph. D. (Doctor of Philosophy) from Northwestern University in Evanston (Illinois ). He then taught at various universities: in 1963 at Indiana University , from 1964 to 1966 at Yale University and since 1966 at the University of Hawaii . Until his death he was Professor Emeritus of Political Science in Hawaii.

In addition to his academic work, Rummel was engaged as an advisor to the US military. From 1965 to 1966 in the Special Operations Research Office.

In his research work, Rummel mainly focused on the historical conditions that lead to collective violence and war , with the idea of ​​helping to understand the processes and perhaps to resolve or even prevent those conflicts. Most of his books and articles deal primarily with this topic. He has received numerous awards for his work in the field of peace and conflict research , such as B. the Susan Strange Award of the International Studies Association 1999 or the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Conflict Processes Section of the American Political Science Association 2003. Rummel has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize repeatedly since 1996 . His work was supported by research grants from the National Science Foundation (1969–1974) or the Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency (1967–1975) and others.

During his long career, Rummel coined new terms such as B. Democide and took a stand in the discussion about the possibility and probability of a democratic peace. Politically, Rummel actively advocates the war on terror and thus the war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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As an empirical researcher, Rummel dealt primarily with war, genocide and political mass murder . His various studies are guided by the assumption that the extent of power a government has, determines the likelihood of that state participating in war : the more power the rulers have, the more likely it is that the country will get into a military conflict. Accordingly, the peacefulness of a state depends on the freedom of its citizens. This idea corresponds to the theory of democratic peace that Rummel empirically proves in his studies. The results of his studies suggest that the freedom of citizens in a democracy brings about economic and humane development as well as scientific and technical progress. It also reduces the risk of poverty and famine. Internal political instability and the risk of political mass murder and genocide by the government also decrease the more democratic a state is. In conclusion, Rummel sees the political freedom of the citizens as the only means against internal and external violence of states. Democracy is the only means against war in the world, while centered power promotes corruption , poverty and death.

In the book Death by Government (1994) Rummel explores the theory of democratic peace with regard to democide. He mainly analyzes data from the 20th century . Rummel compares 39 million war victims worldwide (1900–1987) to 170 million victims of democide. The figures are made up of estimates by other scientists (Small & Singer for the years 1900–1980) and our own estimates (for the years 1980–1987). He analyzes and compares the data from 15 regimens such as B. the USSR , communist China , Cambodia under the Red Khmer , Nazi Germany , or Japan . He lists the victims in numerous tables and graphics according to the place, time and circumstances of their murder and according to the perpetrators. In the first chapter he summarizes the murderers with more than 1 million victims each in a ranking list for the 20th century. Measured in millions of victims, he names: Josef Stalin (43), Mao Zedong (38), Adolf Hitler (21), Chiang Kai-shek (10), Lenin (4), Tōjō Hideki (3,6), Pol Pot (2 , 4), Mengistu Haile Mariam (1.7), Yahya Khan (1.5) and Tito (1.1). Rummel formulates the assumption that democide will almost never begin , in authoritarian states more likely and in totalitarian states most likely. His statistical analyzes lead him to conclude that centralized power is the main factor behind a democide. Other factors such as cultural differences, religion , ideologies or the struggle for resources are important for understanding individual cases, but the power factor is important for everyone. Rummel sees the advantages of democracy on the one hand in the distribution of power and the plurality of interests. On the other hand, a democratic culture promotes peace . This arises through freedom of expression , debate and finding compromises. Since all democracies share these values, they cooperate instead of going to war with one another, the statement said. The book was published in German translation in 2003 ( Demozid - der befombie Tod ) with a foreword by Yehuda Bauer ( Yad Vashem Memorial ). The foreword to the American edition by Irving Louis Horowitz is also printed in this edition .

In his book Power Kills , published in 1996, Rummel mainly deals with the interplay between democracy and war. His thesis is that established (stable) democracies tend less towards war and generally towards violence against one another. They also pursue a less violent line in foreign policy and are less prone to internal collective outbreaks of violence. Thus, the more democratic a nation the less risk of democide occurring. Rummel explains the vulnerability of states to war and violence through their power relations. The more centered and uncontrolled the accumulation of power within a nation grows, the greater the risk of violent, armed conflict with other states. Rummel's conclusion: “Power kills and absolute Power kills absolutely” (“ Power kills, and absolute power absolutely kills ”) Rummel sees democratization as an opportunity for a peaceful world, for “democratic peace”. In democracy, Rummel sees the possibility of controlling power and so, in contrast to other state systems, the distribution and decentralization of this. He substantiates his thesis and illustrates it with numerous statistics.

In the article Democracies are less warlike than other regimes (European Journal of International Relations 1, 1995, pp. 457-479), Rummel proves the thesis of the same wording on the basis of data that other scientists have already used showed that all forms of government are roughly equally likely to be involved in war. In this study, Rummel uses data from Small and Singer (1976, 1982), which document the military activity of 214 states in the years 1900–1980 (129 of which had armed conflicts). Rummel himself collected the figures for the years 1981–1987. In contrast to his colleagues Small and Singer, Rummel does not measure the frequency of the occurrence of wars (here: disputes with a total of more than 1000 deaths) and also not, like his colleague Steve Chan (1984), the number of war years, but the severity of the conflict, measured by the number of victims. Rummel therefore comes to different conclusions with the same data: in comparison to authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, the conflicts in democracies are less serious. Using statistical factor analysis and case studies, he supports the assumption that the peacefulness of a state is not based on an overriding factor such as prosperity.

The conclusion of his investigations is: the freedom of the citizens alone is decisive for peace. Therefore, democratic structures must be promoted. Rummel also explains this point of view in the introduction to Power Kills :

“There is one solution to each and the solution in each case is the same. It is to foster democratic freedom and to democratize coercive power and force. That is, mass killing and mass murder carried out by government is a result of indiscriminate, irresponsible power at the center. Or in terms of the title of this book, Power kills. "

- Hype : Power Kills 3

“There is a solution for every case and in every case the solution is the same. It means promoting democratic peace and democratizing oppressive power and violence. Mass murder by governments is the result of undivided, irresponsible power at the center. Or, as the title of this book says: Power kills. "

In his numerous blog entries, Rummel stimulates discussions on his central topics such as democracy and peace and takes a position on current events.

As far as ideological orientation is concerned, Rummel has long described himself as libertarian , but recently saw himself as a “freedomist” who wanted to differentiate himself from the libertarians on the basis of different views on foreign policy. While the libertarians are for unrestricted international relations (every state can do what it wants as long as it does not attack others), Rummel himself believed that freedom and democracy should be "promoted" internationally. For example, he contradicted critics of George W. Bush's Iraq war and defended democratization as a prevention against war and democide. He wrote on his Democratic Peace Blog :

“When President Bush calls for 'fostering democracy,' one should read this phrase as 'helping a people cast off the chains the bind and the fear that paralyzes them'.”

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"When President Bush calls for 'promoting democracy', one should read something like 'helping a people break free from the chains that bind them and the fear that paralyzes them'."

Freedom and minimal government power are the basis for prosperity, peace and justice. He wrote on his Freedoms blog :

"I am not an anarchist, but believe social justice means minimal government consistent with protecting and guaranteeing all have equal civil and political rights."

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"I am not an anarchist, but I believe social justice means as little government as possible while guaranteeing protection and guaranteeing equal rights for all citizens."

Dealing with the civil disasters of the 20th century prompted the researcher to write a fictional alternative story . In his novel series Never Again ( Never again ), a young couple takes a trip back to 1906 with the mission of all wars, genocide and mass killings to prevent the 20th century. There is also the non-fiction book Never Again that explains the real events underlying the novels.

Fonts

• Applied Factor Analysis, Evanston: Northwestern University Press 1970
• Dimensions of Nations, Beverly Hills, Sage 1976
• Peace Endangered: The Reality of Détente, Beverly Hills, Sage 1976
• Field Theory Evolving, Beverly Hills, Sage 1977
• Dynamics of Power: The US-USSR Arms Field, Honolulu: Department of Political Science, University of Hawaii 1977
• Understanding Correlation, Honolulu: Department of Political Science, University of Hawaii, 1978
• National Attributes and Behavior: Dimensions, Linkages and Groups, 1950-1965, Beverly Hills, Sage 1979
• Understanding Conflict and War, Vol. 1-5, Beverly Hills, Sage, 1975-1981
  • Vol. 1: The Dynamic Psychological Field, 1975
  • Vol. 2: The Conflict Helix, 1976
  • Vol. 3: Conflict In Perspective, 1977
  • Vol. 4: War, Power, Peace, 1979
  • Vol. 5: The Just Peace, 1981
• Analyzing Population Policy and Demographic Change, Calcutta, Prajna 1981
• In The Minds of Men: Principles Toward Understanding and Waging Peace, Seoul, Sogang University Press 1984
• Freedom or Violence: On the Inverse Relationship between Political Freedom and Collective Violence, Honolulu, Department of Political Science, University of Hawaii 1986.
• Lethal Politics: Soviet Genocides and Mass Murders 1917–1987, Rutgers, New Jersey, Transaction Publishers 1990.
• The Conflict Helix: Principles and Practices of Interpersonal, Social, and International Conflict and Cooperation. Rutgers, New Jersey, Transaction Publishers 1991.
• China's Bloody Century: Genocide and Mass Murder Since 1900. Rutgers, New Jersey, Transaction Publishers 1991.
• Democide: Nazi Genocide and Mass Murder. Rutgers, New Jersey, Transaction Publishers 1992.
• Death by Government: Genocide and Mass Murder in the Twentieth Century, New Jersey, Transaction Publishers 1994. ISBN 1-56000-145-3
• The Miracle That Is Freedom. The Martin Institute, University of Idaho 1996.
• Statistics on Democide. Center on National Security and Law, University of Virginia 1997.
• Power kills. Rutgers, New Jersey, Transaction Publishers 1997. ISBN 1-56000-297-2
• Saving Lives, Enriching Life: Freedom as a Right, and a Moral Good, Published on Rummels web site, 2001.
• "Demozid" - the commanded death , with a foreword by Yehuda Bauer (= Scientific Paperbacks , Volume 12). Lit, Münster / Hamburg / London, 2nd edition 2006, ISBN 3-8258-3469-7 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Rudolph Joseph Rummel in the catalog of the German National Library
• Rummels website
• Selection of texts translated into German by Rummel
• Democratic Peace Blog