1988
Guillermo O’Donnell
CEBRAP, São Paulo, University of Notre Dame (Brazil & United States)
(1988–1991)
Guillermo O’Donnell (1936–2011) was one of Latin America’s most prominent political scientists, renowned for his contributions to the study of authoritarianism and democracy in Latin America. He studied law at the University of Buenos Aires in 1958 and obtained his Ph.D. in Political Science from Yale University in 1987.
Prof. O’Donnell held several prestigious academic positions, including serving as the Helen Kellogg Professor of Government and International Studies (1982–2005) and the founding Academic Director of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies (1982–1997) at the University of Notre Dame. He was also Director of the Centro de Estudios de Estado y Sociedad (CEDES) in Argentina from 1976 to 1979. As the founding director of the Kellogg Institute, Prof. O’Donnell played a key role in advancing research on democratic transitions and the quality of democracy. In addition to his work at Notre Dame, he was a visiting fellow or professor at numerous leading institutions, including Princeton University, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, the University of California-Berkeley, the Instituto Juan March in Madrid, Stanford University, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Oxford. His scholarship profoundly influenced the field of comparative politics, especially through his analysis of authoritarianism and democratization in Latin America.
Scott Mainwaring, former director of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, identifies three distinct phases in Prof. O’Donnell’s scholarly contributions. Early in his career, he focused on the origins of authoritarianism in South America, particularly in the region's more developed countries. His seminal work, Modernization and Bureaucratic Authoritarianism (1973), was pivotal in understanding the roots of modern authoritarianism in Latin America. In the second phase, O’Donnell was the pioneer in anticipating the wave of transitions to democracy that began in Latin America in 1978. At a time when authoritarian rule was at its peak in Latin America, he understood the transient nature of many dictatorships, analyzing the internal contradictions within these regimes. His co-edited volume, Transitions From Authoritarian Rule (1986), remains a classic and is one of the most widely cited works in political science. In the final phase, starting in the late 1980s, O’Donnell turned his attention to the deficiencies of democratic regimes, with a focus on Latin America. He introduced key concepts such as "delegative democracy" and contributed important articles on accountability, the rule of law, and the state-democracy relationship. His article Democracy, Law and Comparative Politics (2001) won the Luebbert Prize for the best article in comparative politics.
Prof. O’Donnell served as 5XÉçÇøVice-President from 1982 to 1988 before assuming the presidency from 1988 to 1991. During his tenure, he played a key role in the professionalization of the association and the 5XÉçÇøSecretariat.
Prof. O’Donnell also held the position of Vice-President of the American Political Science Association (APSA) from 1999 to 2000. His contributions to political science were recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including the 5XÉçÇøLifetime Achievement Award in 2006 and the Kalman Silvert Award from the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) in 2003. His academic legacy was further honored in 2023 with the establishment of the 5XÉçÇøGuillermo O’Donnell Award for Latin American Scholars, launched at the 5XÉçÇøWorld Congress in Buenos Aires.
