Robert D. Putnam is a scholar of comparative politics best known for broadening our understanding of community. His most notable work, Bowling Alone, studied the decline of social capital in the U.S. since 1950, including decreased voter turnout, growing distrust in government, and general disengagement from community involvement. Putnam then embarked on the Saguaro Seminar, a long-term research project to increase Americans’ social connectedness and strengthen community institutions, the results of which appear in the follow-up book Better Together.
Putnam’s other works cover the changing role of religion in contemporary America, strategies for civic renewal in the U.S. in the contexts of immigration and diversity, and the effects of workplace practices on family and community life. He is also known for developing the two-level game theory of international agreements.
Professional positions
- 1979–present: Professor of government (1979–present), Don K. Price Professor of Politics (1989–1991), Stanfield Professor of International Peace (1996–2000), and Peter and Isabel Malkin Research Professor of Public Policy (2000–present), Harvard University
- 1970–1979: Assistant (1970–1972), associate (1972–1975), and full (1975–1979) professor of political science, University of Michigan
Notable publications
- Putnam, Robert D., and David E. Campbell. 2010. American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us. Simon & Schuster.
- Putnam, Robert D., and Lewis M. Feldstein. 2003. Better Together: Restoring the American Community. Simon & Schuster.
- Putnam, Robert D. 2000. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Simon & Schuster.
- Putnam, Robert D. 1995. “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital.” Journal of Democracy 6(1): 65–78.
Degrees
- PhD, Yale Uniersity
- MA, Yale University
- BA, Swarthmore College
