Abstract
In the first half of the 1960s I studied political science, philosophy and sociology at German and American universities. Among the academics who influenced me most as a student were Iring Fetscher, Ralf Dahrendorf, Max Horkheimer, Theodor W. Adorno, Jürgen Habermas, Anatol Rapoport and especially Karl W. Deutsch. A lasting intellectual impact, though from a distance, came from Samir Amin, in my opinion a most important academic intellectual in the southern hemisphere. These names represent the theoretical and political influences that have characterized my later work: critical assessment of ideologies and critical theory, combined with social science understood as scientific effort based on empirical evidence. These are the foci of the various fields I have worked in since the mid-1960s, reflected in different analytical approaches and determined to a large extent by specific issues.
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Notes
- 1.
This text is available (in German) at my institutional website as “Wissenschaftsbiographische Notizen”; at: <http://www.iniis.uni-bremen.de/homepages/senghaas/notizen.php?USER=senghaas&SPRACHE=de>. The author is grateful to Hans Günter Brauch, the editor of this series of books, who translated this text into English and to Mr Mike Headon of Colwyn Bay, Wales, UK who carefully language-edited this translation.
- 2.
A collection of all my publications since 1963 has been archived in a deposit at the Archives of Social Democracy of the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation in Bonn (Germany).
- 3.
This book was published in Spanish as: Armamento y Militarismo (Mexico, D.F.: Siglo Veintiuno, 1974).
- 4.
My reply to the extensive critical assessments of my early studies may be found in the prefaces to the second and third editions of my book on deterrence: Abschreckung und Frieden [Deterrence and Peace], Frankfurt a.M. 31981: 7ff. and 23ff.
- 5.
For a Spanish translation: Aprender de Europa. Consideraciones sobre la historia del desarrollo (Barcelona-Caracas: Editorial Alfa, 1985).
- 6.
For a Korean translation: Yu-Rop eu kyohun kwa tsche sam sae-gyae (Seoul: Na-Nam Verlag, 1990).
- 7.
A comprehensive, extremely detailed and superb assessment was offered by Lars Mjöset: “Comparative Typologies of Development Patterns: The Menzel/Senghaas Framework”, in: Lars Mjöset (ed.): Contributions to the Comparative Study of Development. Proceedings from the Vilhelm Aubert Memorial Symposion 1990, (Oslo: Institute for Social Research, 1992), vol. 2: 96–161; reprinted in: Comparative Social Research, vol. 24 (2007): 123–176. See also the comprehensive MA thesis by Hanno Franke: Der Beitrag von Dieter Senghaas zur entwicklungstheoretischen Diskussion (Freiburg i. Br.: Institute of Political Science, 1993/94) and more recently a biography by Wolfgang Hein: “Dieter Senghaas—Von Europa lernen: Autozentrierte Entwicklung und Zivilisierung”, in: Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit, vol. 40 (1999): 172–175.
- 8.
For a Japanese translation: Europe 2000 (Tokyo: Sobunsha Verlag, 1992).
- 9.
For a detailed presentation of this reorientation see my contribution in: Jörg Calließ (ed.): Wodurch und wie konstituiert sich Frieden? Das zivilisatorische Hexagon auf dem Prüfstand (Loccum: Evangelische Akademie Loccum, 1997): 21–32.
- 10.
For a compact discussion of this paradigm see footnote 4 in the previously cited volume, where also my reply to my critics can be found as: “Hexagon-Sünden. Über die Kritik am ‘zivilisatorischen Hexagon’”, pp. 325–337; further in my book Zum irdischen Frieden (2004), Chap. 4, pp. 124–140. See also the comprehensive and fair treatment of my own position in: Peter Imbusch: “Die Konflikttheorie der Zivilisierungstheorie”, in: Thorsten Bonacker (ed.): Sozialwissenschaftliche Konflikttheorien (Opladen: Leske + Budrich, 2002), pp. 165–186 and in the portrait of Dieter Senghaas by Thomas König. in: Gisela Riescher (ed.): Politische Theorie der Gegenwart in Einzeldarstellungen (Stuttgart: Kröner, 2004): 444–449. For a comprehensive treatment see also: Alfons Siegel: Ideen zur Friedensgestaltung am Ende des Ersten Weltkrieges und des Ost-West-Konfliktes. Entwicklungen und Konzepte von Matthias Erzberger und Dieter Senghaas (Münster: agenda Verlag, 2003): 163–418 and passim. See also the articles in: Leviathan, 33,4 (2005): “Wissenschaft als Beruf—zwei Vorträge über Dieter Senghaas” (pp. 420–438): Frank Nullmeier: “Ein Professor in Bremen” (pp. 423–427); Michael Zürn: “Frieden umfassend denken” (pp. 428–438); Ulrich Menzel: “Vom ewigen zum irdischen Frieden. Dieter Senghaas wird 65 und kein bisschen leise”, in: Friedensforum, No. 1–2 (2005), pp. 3–4, and Alfons Siegel: “Kant-Bezüge in Friedenskonzepten von Matthias Erzberger und Dieter Senghaas”, in: Eine Kultur des Friedens denken, in: Biberacher Studien, Vol. 7 (Biberach/Riß: 2006), pp. 43–59 (an extended version was published in: Zeitschrift für Politik, 55,3 (2008), pp. 337–361). For a biographical scientific treatment, see Mitsuo Miyata’s postscript to the Japanese edition of Zivilisierung wider Willen (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten Publishers, 2006), pp. 257–272; Hajo Schmidt: “Laudatio auf Dieter Senghaas”, in: Reden in der Villa Ichon 2006–2007, Vol. XI (Bremen: Villa Ichon, 2007), pp. 21–27. More recent references to the "Civilizational Hexagon" are: Sabine Jaberg: “Frieden als Zivilisierungsprojekt”, in: Hans J. Gießmann and Bernhard Rinke (ed.): Handbuch Frieden (Wiesbaden: VS Verlag, 2011), pp. 86–100; also in several contributions in: Egbert Jahn et al. (ed.): Die Zukunft des Friedens, vol. 2: Die Friedens- und Konfliktforschung aus der Perspektive der jüngeren Generation (Wiesbaden: VS Verlag, 2005), see especially the chapters by Sabine Fischer and Astrid Sahm and by Heidrun Zinecker. For pertinent short contributions and discussions on the ‘Civilizational Hexagon’ see several contributions to these readers: Jörg Calließ and Christoph Weller (eds.): Friedenstheorie (Loccum: Evangelische Akademie Loccum, 2003); Jörg Calließ and Christoph Weller (eds.): Chancen für den Frieden (Loccum: Evangelische Akademie Loccum, 2006); Peter Schlotter and Simone Wisotzki (eds.): Friedens- und Konfliktforschung (Baden–Baden: Nomos, 2011).
- 11.
For an English translation: The Clash within Civilizations. Coming to Terms with Cultural Conflicts (London–New York: Routledge, 2002); for a translation into Arabic by Shawqi Jalal: As-ssidam dakhil al-hadarat. At-tafahum bisha’n as-ssiraat ath-thaqafia (Abu Dhabi: Alkalima, 2009—Cairo: Dar Al-Ain 2009).
- 12.
For an English translation: On Perpetual Peace: A Timely Assessment (New York–Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2007).
- 13.
A diachronic analysis, presented in summary form as a journal article, can be found in my contribution “Die Konstitution der Welt—eine Analyse in friedenspolitischer Absicht”, in: Leviathan, 31,1 (2003): 117–152; see also: Dieter Senghaas: Weltordnung in einer zerklüfteten Welt. Hat Frieden Zukunft? (Berlin: Suhrkamp-Verlag, 2012).
- 14.
This book covers a wide range of different themes, among them the following: Neither night nor storm? Approaches to peace through classical music; The key question: Why do people plan crazy actions?; Periculum in mora: Premonitions; Battle figures in peace and love; War and peace in conflict; Da pacem—then and now; Peace expectations during war; Te Deum and jubilation after victory; Concerti funebri: Why is the city so desolate?; Anti-compositions; Sounding worlds of peace; Retrospective and outlook.
- 15.
Additonal information may be found at: <http://www.friedenspaedagogik.de/service/publika/f_hoeren.htm>; for orders:<kontakt@friedenspaedagogik.de>or: Institut für Friedenspädagogik Tübingen e.V., Corrensstr. 12, D-72076 Tübingen.
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Senghaas, D. (2013). The Author’s Biographical Notes. In: Dieter Senghaas. SpringerBriefs on Pioneers in Science and Practice, vol 6. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-34114-4_1
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