2003 – Stuart Kaufman

A book analyzing causes of contemporary ethnic conflict and making recommendations for peace won the 2003 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order.

Dr. Stuart Kaufman, associate professor of political science at the University of Kentucky, will receive a $200,000 prize for the ideas in his book, “Modern Hatreds: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War.”

About Stuart Kaufman

Stuart Kaufman is associate professor of political science and director of graduate studies at the University of Kentucky, where he has been a faculty member since 1990.

Kaufman received his bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard University in 1983. He received his political science master’s degree in 1985 and Ph.D. in 1991 from the University of Michigan. He wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on the Soviet Union’s military policy.

Kaufman specializes in international security affairs and politics of the former Soviet region, with a focus on problems of ethnic conflict and conflict resolution in the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. His research has included fieldwork in Russia, Georgia and Moldova. He teaches courses on world politics, national security affairs and Russian and East European politics.

Kaufman won a Council on Foreign Relations international affairs fellowship for 1998-99. With the aid of the fellowship, he spent 1999 working as director for Russian, Ukrainian and Eurasian affairs on the U.S. National Security Council staff. His portfolio included U.S. relations with countries of Central Asia, the Caucasus and Moldova, with a focus on peace processes for Nagorno-Karabagh, Abkhazia, Moldova and Tajikistan; conventional arms control; and issues relating to conflicts in Kosovo and Chechnya.

Kaufman also conducted research on changes in the international system from ancient times to today. It compares relationships among ancient Egypt, Assyria, and other Biblical-age countries with the relationships among modern great powers. The focus is on how countries’ understanding of their security requirements has changed through history.

Kaufman also has published work on Russia’s national identity problem, U.S. security policy in the Baltic Sea region, U.S. security policy in the Asia-Pacific region, and other contemporary national security issues.

In addition to his Grawemeyer Award-winning book, “Modern Hatreds: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War” (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001). Kaufman has written numerous articles on international security affairs, ethnic conflict, Soviet and post-Soviet affairs, and international relations. These include articles in leading journals such as World Politics, International Security, International Organization, Review of International Studies and Security Studies.

He has received several other academic awards and grants, including grants from the U.S. Institute of Peace and the International Research and Exchange Board (IREX), and a Top Ten Teaching award from the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences.