GOLDMAN, Ralph M. 1920-2005

(Ralph Morris Goldman)

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born May 14, 1920, in New York, NY; died of cancer, July 10, 2005, in Kirkland, WA. Political scientist, educator, activist, and author. Goldman was a former professor of political science who was especially noted for his ideas about using transnational political parties as a way of fostering international peace. After serving in the Adjutant Generals Corps during World War II, and achieving the rank of captain, he earned a B.A. at New York University in 1947. Goldman then attended the University of Chicago, completing an M.A. in 1948 and a Ph.D. in 1951. During his early career, he worked for such organizations as the Democratic National Committee, the American Political Science Association, and the Brookings Institution. He then began an academic career by joining the faculty at Michigan State University in 1956. From 1962 until 1987, he was a professor at San Francisco State University, where he headed the department of political science in the early 1970s and was director of the Institute for Research on International Behavior from 1964 to 1967. After leaving San Francisco, Goldman moved to Washington, DC, where he pursued several jobs, including teaching at the American University, serving as director of the congressional studies program at Catholic University from 1992 to 1996, and as president of the Center for Party Development from 1992 to 2003. Goldman was also a radio commentator for Voice of America in the mid-1980s and was a senior consultant for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. An expert on conflict management who was also a peace advocate, in the early 1970s he worked to convince the U.S. government to dedicate ten percent of its war budget in Vietnam to creating a peace-keeping force within the United Nations. Later, he continued to work to promote democracy internationally and believed that international political parties should be established to foster peaceful cooperation between states. He was the author of many books about national and international politics, including Behavioral Perspectives on American Politics (1973), Arms Control and Peacekeeping: Feeling Safe in This World (1982), and From Warfare to Party Politics: The Critical Transition to Civilian Control (1990). His more recent books include The United Nations in the Beginning: Conflict Processes, Colligations, Cases (2001), the four-volume The Future Catches Up: Selected Writings of Ralph M. Goldman (2002), and From DNA to Culture: The Synthesis Principle in Human Development (2003). Most of his work was nonfiction, but late in life Goldman also published a novel, The Mentor and the Protégé (2003).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

New York Times, July 17, 2005, p. A33.

Washington Post, July 19, 2005, p. B6.

ONLINE

San Francisco State University CampusMemo Online, http://www.sfsu.edu/∼news/cmemo/ (August 22, 2005).