Karen Dawisha American scientist and writer, professor of political science Date of Birth: 02.12.1949 Country: USA

1. Early Life and Education
2. Career
3. "Putin's Kleptocracy"
4. Reception of "Putin's Kleptocracy"
5. Personal Life

Early Life and Education

Karen Dawisha was born on December 2, 1949, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Her parents, Paula (née Keene) and Harry Hurst, were a schoolteacher and a jazz musician, respectively. She had two brothers and a sister. Dawisha attended a local school that offered Russian language, which sparked her interest in the country.

Dawisha went on to study Russian politics at the University of Colorado at Boulder, receiving her bachelor's degree. She then completed a Master's degree at the University of Lancaster in the United Kingdom and a PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1974.

Career

Dawisha's career focused on the study of Russia. She was a member of the British House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and the Council on Foreign Relations. From 1985 to 1987, she worked for the US State Department.

In 1990, she published "Eastern Europe, Gorbachev and Reform: The Great Challenge," which examined the potential for democratic transitions in post-communist countries. Dawisha became a professor in the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland from 1985 to 2000. She also directed the Center for the Study of Post-Communist Societies.

In 2000, Dawisha moved to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she became a professor in the Department of Political Science. There, she founded the Walter E. Havighurst Center for Russian and Post-Soviet Studies.

"Putin's Kleptocracy"

In 2014, Dawisha published "Putin's Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia?" The book caused controversy, with its publisher, Cambridge University Press, initially declining to release it due to concerns over potential lawsuits.

The book was eventually published by Simon & Schuster and examined the rise of Vladimir Putin in Russia. Dawisha argued that Putin had fostered close ties with oligarchs and transformed "a state-independent, state-stronger oligarchy into a corporatist structure in which the oligarchs were subordinate to state officials, who gained and wielded economic control...for the purposes of both the state and themselves."

Reception of "Putin's Kleptocracy"

"Putin's Kleptocracy" received mixed reviews. Some praised its "dispassionate scholarly exposé" and "striking relentlessness." Others criticized its overwhelming detail, but commended its thorough depiction of corruption in modern Russia.

Personal Life

Dawisha married Adeed Dawisha, an Iraqi scholar, while attending the University of Lancaster. They had two children, Emily and Nadia, and one grandchild, Theo.

Dawisha passed away on April 11, 2018, but her legacy as a respected scholar of Russian politics continues.