Bruce Martin Russett

1935 - 2023

Bruce Martin Russett
Bruce Martin Russett, of Hamden, Connecticut, passed away on September 22 of this year. He was 88 years old. Russett was Dean Acheson Research Professor of Political Science at Yale University, where he taught for 50 years.
Russett was born in North Adams, Massachusetts, in 1935, the only child of Raymond and Ruth Martin Russett. He attended nearby Williams College on a scholarship. Upon obtaining his B.A. in Political Economy, he spent a year at Kings College, Cambridge, where he earned a Diploma in Economics. He was awarded a Ph.D. in Political Science from Yale University in 1961. After one year of teaching at MIT, he returned to Yale, where he taught until his retirement.
During his doctoral studies, Russett met Cynthia Eagle, a history graduate student. They married in 1960 and had four children: Margaret Ellen, Mark David, Lucia Elizabeth, and Daniel Alden. Bruce was appointed Dean Acheson Professor in 1985, while Cynthia, who had taught part-time at Yale for many years, was later promoted to Larned Professor of History.
In a long and distinguished career, Bruce Russett authored, co-authored, or edited 24 influential books and hundreds of articles. He edited the Journal of Conflict Resolution for 37 years. Russett was a dedicated advisor and mentor to many students and colleagues who became important figures in the field of international relations. His own contributions to this field were broad and varied. He is perhaps best known for his empirical work on the democratic or Kantian peace: the theory that democracies rarely go to war with one another. This research culminated in the book Triangulating Peace: Democracy, Interdependence, and International Relations (2001). He was also principal advisor to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which issued its influential Pastoral Letter on War and Peace in 1983. With Paul Kennedy, he staffed the Ford Foundation's report on "The United Nations in Its Second Half-Century." Russett's many awards and honors included fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Fulbright Foundation, and the World Institute of Peace. He was awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Uppsala and Williams College, and his influence was felt worldwide.
Russett was an avid traveler, and the family spent several years abroad on his sabbaticals from Yale. His many other interests included Baroque music, Wagnerian opera, camping, and baseball.
Russett is survived by his four children, three grandchildren, and his beloved cat Ilya. A memorial service will be held at St. Thomas More Chapel, 268 Park Street, New Haven, New Haven, on Saturday, October 7, at 2:00 p.m. Donations in his name may be made to Partners in Health, www.pih.org, or to LSA Family Health Service, www.littlesistersfamily.org. To send condolences, please see obituary at www.beecherandbennett.com.