Guillermo O'Donnell

Guillermo O'Donnell (1936 – 29 November 2011) was a prominent Argentine political scientist, named the Helen Kellogg Professor of Government and International Studies at the University of Notre Dame in the United States. His brother, Pacho O'Donnell, is a well-known politician and writer.

Biography

O'Donnell was born in Buenos Aires. He studied law at the University of Buenos Aires and became a lawyer in 1958, aged 22. He went on to earn his master's degree (1971) and Ph.D in political science (1981) from Yale University. He later served as president of the International Political Science Association from 1988 to 1991. O'Donnell became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1995. He was a member of the scientific committee of Fundación IDEAS, Spain's Socialist Party's think-tank.

Academic Work

Most important among his theoretical contributions to political science is his work on the 'bureaucratic-authoritarian state' and on theories of democracy and the characteristics of the process of democratic transition, through the development of concepts such as "horizontal accountability", "micro democracy" and "delegative democracy".^{[citation needed]}

Death

He died in his native Buenos Aires at the age of 75 on 29 November 2011 after a four month battle with cancer.^{[citation needed]}

Selected Publications

• The Quality of Democracy: Theory and Applications (2004)
• Desarrollo Humano y Ciudadanía: Reflexiones sobre la Calidad de la Democracia en América Latina (2003)
• Counterpoints: Selected Essays on Authoritarianism and Democratization (1999)
• The (Un)Rule of Law and the Underprivileged in Latin America (1999)
• A Democracia no Brasil (1988)
• Bureaucratic Authoritarianism: Argentina 1966-1973 in Comparative Perspective (1986)
• Transitions from Authoritarian Rule (1986)
• Poverty and Inequality in Latin America (1988)
• Development and the Art of Trespassing (1986)
• Issues in Democratic Consolidation (1982)

Awards

• In 2006, O'Donnell was the first ever recipient of the Prize for Lifetime Achievement from the International Political Science Association (IPSA).
• In 2003, O'Donnell received the Kalman Silvert Award for lifetime contribution to the study of Latin America, the highest honor of the Latin American Studies Association.

External links

• Official Page