MICHAEL WALZER

Professor Michael Walzer
School of Social Science
Institute for Advanced Study
Einstein Drive
Princeton, NJ 08540
(609) 734-8253
Fax: (609) 951-4457
walzer [at] ias.edu

One of America’s foremost political thinkers, Michael Walzer addresses a wide variety of topics in political theory and moral philosophy in his writings; these include political obligation, just and unjust war, nationalism and ethnicity, economic justice and the welfare state. He has played a critical role in the revival of a practical, issue focused ethics and in the development of a pluralist approach to political and moral life. Walzer’s books include Arguing About War (2004), On Toleration (1999), and Just and Unjust Wars (1977); he has served as editor of the political journal, Dissent, since the early days of the Civil Rights movement. Currently, he is working on the toleration and accommodation of “difference” in all its forms and also on a collaborative project focused on the history of Jewish political thought.

EDUCATION:
Brandeis University, B.A., 1956
Cambridge University (Fulbright Fellowship), 1956-57
Harvard University, Ph.D., 1961

TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
Princeton University, 1962-66
Harvard University, 1966-80
Since 1980, Permanent Faculty Member, Emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study

OTHER ACTIVITIES:
Editor, Dissent
Member, Editorial Board, Political Theory
Contributing Editor, The New Republic
Member, Board of Governors, Hebrew University
Member, Board of Trustees, Brandeis University, 1983-88

Select citizenship-related publications:

BOOKS
- Obligations: Essays on Disobedience, War and Citizenship (Harvard University Press, 1970); translations: Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese.
- Spheres of Justice (Basic Books, 1983); translations: Italian (second edition with new preface, 2008), German (second edition with new preface, 2006), Swedish, French, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Portuguese, Polish.
- What It Means to be an American (Marsilio, 1992 in Italian and English); translation: Japanese.
- Civil Society and American Democracy (Rotbuch Verlag, 1992, selected essays--in German).
- Thick and Thin: Moral Argument at Home and Abroad (Notre Dame Press, 1994); translations: Italian, German, Spanish, Slovak, Greek, French, Japanese.
- Pluralism, Justice, and Equality, with David Miller (Oxford University Press, 1995); translation: Spanish.
- Toward a Global Civil Society, editor (Berghahn Books, 1995); translation: Japanese.
- On Toleration (Yale University Press, 1997); English edition in India by Frank Bros. & Co. (Publishers) Ltd.; translations: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Estonian, Greek, Bulgarian, Hebrew, Russian, Polish, Chinese, Japanese, Romanian, Slovak, Ukrainian; forthcoming in Lithuanian, Turkish.
- Pluralism and Democracy (Éditions Esprit, 1997, selected essays--in French).
- Reason, Politics, and Passion (Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 1999 - The Horkheimer Lectures, in German); also published in Spanish, French, Italian, and Korean.
- Politics and Passion: Toward a More Egalitarian Liberalism (Yale University Press, 2005); translation: Polish; forthcoming in Chinese, Japanese. (Expanded version of Reason, Politics, and Passion.)
- Thinking Politically: Essays in Political Theory (Yale University Press, 2007); translations: forthcoming in Italian, Japanese.

SELECTED ARTICLES
- "In Defense of Equality," Dissent, 1973.
- “Civility and Civil Virtue in Contemporary America," Social Research, 1974.
- "The Political Theory of Ethnic Pluralism," in Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups, (Belknap Press, 1980).
- "The Distribution of Membership," in Boundaries: National Autonomy and its Limits (Rowman & Littlefield, 1981).
- "Philosophy and Democracy," Political Theory, 1981.
- "Liberalism and the Art of Separation," Political Theory, 1984.
- "Citizenship," in Political Innovation and Conceptual Change (Cambridge University Press, 1989).
- "What Does It Mean to Be an 'American'?" Social Research, 1990.
- "The Communitarian Critique of Liberalism," Political Theory, 1990.
- "The Idea of Civil Society," Dissent, 1991.
- "Multiculturalism and Individualism," Dissent, 1994.
- “Multiculturalism and the Politics of Interest,” in Insider/Outsider (University of California Press, 1998).
- “On Involuntary Association,” in Freedom of Association (Princeton University Press, 1998).
- “International Society: What is the Best We Can Do?” in Ethical Perspectives (Leuven, Belgium, 1999).
- “What Rights for Illiberal Communities?” In Forms of Justice: Critical Perspectives on David Miller’s Political Philosophy, edited by Daniel A. Bell and Avner de-Shalit (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2003).