Ernst B. Haas

Ernst Bernard Haas ( * 1924 in Frankfurt am Main, † 6 March 2003) was an American political scientist. In the theoretical field of international relations, he published numerous papers and essays. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as a consultant to many international organizations and is regarded as the theoretical development of the neofunctionalism.

Life

Ernst Haas was born in 1924 in Frankfurt am Main in Germany and emigrated in 1938 with his parents to the United States. He studied at the University of Chicago, but left the University to work from 1943 to 1946 in the Secret Service. Then he took at Columbia University to study, from which he graduated in 1952 with a doctorate (PhD) in Law and Political Science.

Haas was married 57 years with his wife Hildegarde Vogel Haas. Together they have a son, Peter M. Haas, who is at the University of Massachusetts Amherst professor of political science.

Academic career

Haas began his academic career at UC Berkeley in 1951 and remained faithful to the University until his death. From 1969 to 1973 Haas was Director of the Department of International Relations, after which he continued to teach as a professor of government research at the Department of Political Science. After Haas resigned his professorship in 1999, he continued working as a researcher.

Theory

Haas was basically researching on the subject of international integration. In his view, there was another, the possibility of a profound change in the policy and relationship of the European countries, the liberalization of the Güterverhehrs, capital flow and the entry and exit regulations. However, his theoretical considerations very different from the views of classical liberalism.

He is the founder of neofunctionalism, an approach to the explanation of integration. The theory holds States in the International System for influential, but also takes into account the role of stakeholders and the bureaucratic management of regional organizations. Member States to create specific codes of conduct, based on which or with which it was modeled regional stakeholders promote integration. Consequences, for example, a change in behavior of the actors in conflicts of interest. Provided that the actors could implement their interests more effectively by the organizations or their code of conduct, they shift decision-making power in international organizations, which from now on, in part, to take care of with binding decision-making power solutions and implementations on specific topic areas.

Work

Weblink

• UC Berkeley - Obituary

• Political scientist
• German
• Americans
• Born in 1924
• Died in 2003
• Man