James Mittelman

James Mittelman "is University Professor of International Affairs at American University. He specializes in global political economy (with emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Asia), globalization studies, international relations theory, and development. Currently, he is writing a book on globalization and the changing macro dynamics of peace and conflict.

"Before coming to American University, Mittelman taught at Cornell University, Columbia University, the City University of New York, and the University of Denver. Mittelman has also been Visiting Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa), Visiting Professor at Ritsumeikan University (Japan), and holder of the Pok Rafeah Chair in International Studies and Distinguished Visiting Professor at the National University of Malaysia. He worked extensively in Tanzania and has had research appointments at the Makerere Institute of Social Research (Uganda), the Princeton University Center of International Studies, Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique), the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Singapore), the Collegium for Advanced Studies (Finland), and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

"Throughout his career, Mittelman has engaged in administrative and institution-building activities: as the founding Director of the International Studies Program at the City College of the City University of New York; as Dean of the Graduate School of International Studies, as well as Director of the Social Science Foundation, University of Denver; as Dean of the Division of Social Science, Queens College of the City University of New York; as Chair of Comparative and Regional Studies, American University; and in various capacities with the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations.

"Mittelman was Vice President of the International Studies Association for 2006-2007, and received American University’s Faculty Award for Outstanding Scholarship, Research, and Other Professional Contributions in 2005.

"His publications appear in 10 languages, and include Ideology and Politics in Uganda: From Obote to Amin (Cornell University Press, 1975), Underdevelopment and the Transition to Socialism: Mozambique and Tanzania (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich/Academic Press, 1981), Out from Underdevelopment: Prospects for the Third World (Macmillan and St. Martin's, 1988; coauthor, second ed., 1997), and Innovation and Transformation in International Studies (coeditor, Cambridge University Press, 1997).

"Mittelman is also the author or editor of a series of books on globalization: Globalization: Critical Reflections (editor, Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1996), The Globalization Syndrome: Transformation and Resistance (Princeton University Press, 2000, with translations in Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and Vietnamese), and Capturing Globalization (coeditor, Routledge, 2001, awarded the Gold Medal as the best book in the social sciences at the National University of Malaysia). His most recent book is Whither Globalization? The Vortex of Knowledge and Ideology (Routledge, 2004; Japanese translation). He is working on a book on globalization and insecurity."


 * Director, Concerned Africa Scholars