Robert A. Dahl
Robert A. Dahl (1915-2014) was a prominent political theorist widely regarded as a leading figure in the study of modern democracy. Born in Inwood, Iowa, and raised in Skagway, Alaska, Dahl's early experiences with the working class informed his academic pursuits. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in 1936 and completed his doctorate at Yale University in 1940. Dahl's influential theories include defining political power and advocating for the concept of pluralist democracy, which recognizes the role of various groups in shaping political outcomes rather than a singular vision of democracy.
His notable works include *A Preface to Democratic Theory*, *Who Governs?*, and *How Democratic Is the American Constitution?*, which explore the complexities and realities of democratic systems. Dahl emphasized the necessity of active public participation and the presence of competing political parties for a functional democracy. His contributions earned him several prestigious awards throughout his career, including the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science. Even after his retirement from Yale in 1986, Dahl's work continues to influence political science education and discourse, as evidenced by the establishment of the Robert A. Dahl Award to honor emerging scholars in the field.
Robert A. Dahl
Political scientist, professor
- Born: December 17, 1915
- Place of Birth: Place of birth: Inwood, Iowa
- Died: February 5, 2014
- Place of Death: Place of death: Hamden, Connecticut
Education:University of Washington, 1936; Yale University, 1940.
Significance:Robert A. Dahl is considered by many to be the preeminent political theorist of his time. He developed several concepts that are necessary to understand of modern democracy; he has shared these concepts through his teaching and writing.
Background
Robert Alan Dahl was born on December 17, 1915, in Inwood, Iowa. His father, Peter Dahl, was a doctor who struggled financially because his patients often lacked the funds to pay him. Seeking a more stable life for his wife and three sons, the senior Dahl answered an ad from the White Pass and Yukon Railroad for a company doctor based in Skagway, Alaska. The family moved there in 1926 when Dahl was about ten years old. Dahl later wrote a book about his youth in Alaska, After the Goldrush: Growing up in Skagway, which he self-published in 2005.
The railroad provided Dahl’s earliest work experience. During the summer, he also often worked as a longshoreman, loading and unloading cargo from ships in Skagway’s busy port. His interest in political science was awakened when he saw the way the lives of the working men around him were affected by the actions of those in power. Dahl pursued this interest at the University of Washington, where he earned an undergraduate degree in 1936, and then at Yale, where he studied political science on a fellowship until 1940.
Upon completion of his doctorate from Yale, Dahl worked for the Department of Agriculture and several other government agencies. With World War II underway, Dahl elected to give up a draft deferment he received because of his studies and enlisted as an infantryman. Dahl was awarded a bronze star for heroic or meritorious action, as well as an oak leaf cluster, signifying additional meritorious acts beyond those earned for the bronze star. When the war ended, Dahl helped reestablish the banking system in Germany. Unhappy with bureaucratic life, he returned to Yale.
Life’s Work
Dahl became a teacher at Yale in 1946; by 1957 he was chairing the Political Science Department. In 1964 he was made a Sterling Professor of Political Science at the university, which is an honor bestowed by the university president to recognize tenured professors who are among the best in their field.
Dahl’s field was political theory, and he is credited with originating several key concepts in political science. He defined political power as the ability of group or individual A to get group or individual B to do something that A wants done and that B would not normally do otherwise. He also established the ideas of a pluralist theory of democracy and a theocracy.
Dahl claimed that a perfect democracy does not exist; this would require all factions in a democracy to be equal, a utopian ideal that simply cannot be realized. Instead, he supported the pluralist democracy theory, where different groups of unequal power and influence attempt to exert control over political outcomes. He believed that the best results in a democracy could be obtained when a democracy operated as a polyarchy, where a significant portion of the eligible population took an active role in the electoral process and candidates had to compete for their votes, thus deriving their power from the voting public.
It was also Dahl’s belief that the democratic polyarchy required freedom of speech and equal rights for the participants, as well as at least two competing parties. In this system, the best interests of the overall population would be served even if the voting public only represented a small part of the population because either the non-voting public was uninterested in the results or too uninformed to make an appropriate choice.
Dahl published his theories in several books, including A Preface to Democratic Theory (1956), Who Governs? (1961), Pluralist Democracy in the United States (1967), and How Democratic Is the American Constitution? (2001). Of these, Who Governs?,which uses the town of New Haven, Connecticut, to illustrate his pluralist theories, is generally considered his most controversial and been challenged by theorists with opposing views. However, How Democratic Is the American Constitution?, which alleges that the Constitution is only as democratic as the Founding Fathers could make it back then and does not fully account for current situations, was also subject to challenge by other scholars. Among those who have most stridently objected to Dahl’s theories is G. William Domhoff (1936 – ), who wrote the 1960s essay "Who Really Ruled in Dahl’s New Haven?" Another critic is Charles Blattberg (1967 – ), a Canadian-born political philosopher who disagrees with Dahl’s definitions of democracy.
After a forty-year career as a professor at Yale University, Dahl retired in 1986. He died in a nursing home in Hamden, Connecticut, on February 5, 2014, at the age of 98.
Impact
Dahl’s groundbreaking approach to democracy and scholarship earned him many awards, including Guggenheim Fellowships in 1950 and 1978 and the 1995 Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science. His theories are still taught to political science students, and his books are standard reading in many classes, continuing his influence beyond his lifetime. Following his passing, the Robert A. Dahl Award was established by the American Political Science Association (APSA). It is awarded annually to an untenured scholar who has produced outstanding research on the subject of democracy.
Personal
Dahl married twice. His married his first wife, Mary Louise Bartlett, in 1940. She died in 1970. In 1973, Dahl married Ann Sale. She had two daughters: Sara and Jane. Dahl was survived by his stepdaughters and three other children: sons Eric and Christopher and daughter, Kirsten, as well as several grandchildren. A third son, Peter, died before Dahl.
Bibliography
Carey, Michael. "In Skagway lived a boy who grew up to be a scholar of US Democracy." Alaska Dispatch News, Apr. 2015. Web. 24 June 2016.
Dahl, Robert A. and Margaret Levy. "A Conversation with Robert A. Dahl." Annual Review of Political Science, Vol 12. 2009. Web. 24 June 2016.
Italie, Hillel. "Robert Dahl Dies At 98; Political Scientist Wrote ‘Who Governs?’" Los Angeles Times, Feb. 2014. Web. 24 June 2016.
Italie, Hillel. "Robert A. Dahl, Yale professor and political scientist who wrote on Democracy, dies at 98." Washington Post. February 2014. Web. 24 June 2016.
Martin, Douglas. "Robert A. Dahl Dies at 98; Yale Scholar Defined Politics and Power." The New York Times, Feb. 2014. Web. 24 June 2016.
"Robert A. Dahl Award." American Political Science Association, apsanet.org/programs/apsa-awards/robert-a-dahl-award/. Accessed 30 Sept. 2024.
"Robert Dahl, Sterling Professor Emeritus in Political Science, Passes Away." Yale University Political Science Department, Feb. 2014. Web. 24 June 2016.
Shapiro, Ian. "The Life and Work of Robert A. Dahl." Foreign Affairs, Feb. 2014. Web. 24 June 2016.