Scott Straus
Encyclopedia
Scott Straus is an Associate Professor of Political Science
and International Studies
at University of Wisconsin–Madison
in the United States
. He studied for a BA in English at Dartmouth College
and received his PhD from University of California, Berkeley
on the Rwandan Genocide
. His research focuses on genocide
, violence
, human rights
and African politics. He was previously a freelance journalist based in Africa, and in 2000 was a Visiting Fellow at Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris
.
Straus is author of The Order of Genocide: Race, Power, and War in Rwanda (Cornell University Press, 2006), which won the 2006 Award for Excellence in Political Science and Government from the Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division of the Association of American Publishers
, an honorable mention in the African Studies Association
's 2007 Melville J. Herskovits Award, and Choice magazine's Outstanding Academic Title award for 2007. His other books are Africa's Stalled Development: International Causes and Cures, co-authored with David K. Leonard (Lynne Rienner, 2003), and Intimate Enemy: Images and Voices of the Rwandan Genocide, in collaboration with photographer Robert Lyons (MIT Press
/Zone Books, 2006). He also translated The Great Lakes of Africa: Two Thousand Years of History by the French historian Jean-Pierre Chrétien into English (MIT Press/Zone Books, 2003).
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and International Studies
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
at University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He studied for a BA in English at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
and received his PhD from University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
on the Rwandan Genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
. His research focuses on genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
and African politics. He was previously a freelance journalist based in Africa, and in 2000 was a Visiting Fellow at Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris
Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris
The Institut d'études politiques de Paris , simply referred to as Sciences Po , is a public research and higher education institution in Paris, France, specialised in the social sciences. It has the status of grand établissement, which allows its admissions process to be highly selective...
.
Straus is author of The Order of Genocide: Race, Power, and War in Rwanda (Cornell University Press, 2006), which won the 2006 Award for Excellence in Political Science and Government from the Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division of the Association of American Publishers
Association of American Publishers
The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the American book publishing industry. AAP has more than 300 members, including most of the major commercial publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly...
, an honorable mention in the African Studies Association
African Studies Association
The African Studies Association is an association of scholars and professionals in the United States and Canada with an interest in the continent of Africa. Started in 1957, the ASA is the leading organization of African Studies in North America. The associations headquarters are Rutgers...
's 2007 Melville J. Herskovits Award, and Choice magazine's Outstanding Academic Title award for 2007. His other books are Africa's Stalled Development: International Causes and Cures, co-authored with David K. Leonard (Lynne Rienner, 2003), and Intimate Enemy: Images and Voices of the Rwandan Genocide, in collaboration with photographer Robert Lyons (MIT Press
MIT Press
The MIT Press is a university press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts .-History:...
/Zone Books, 2006). He also translated The Great Lakes of Africa: Two Thousand Years of History by the French historian Jean-Pierre Chrétien into English (MIT Press/Zone Books, 2003).