By David Cortright
Marcus Raskin died [in late December, 2017] in Washington DC. He was the founder and long-time director of the Institute for Policy Studies, the influential left-liberal think tank that was at the heart of the Vietnam antiwar movement and many progressive projects over the decades.
Raskin was my teacher and mentor for PhD studies and guided the writing of my dissertation, which became the book, Soldiers in Revolt.
In the years I was at the Institute, 1972-75, Raskin was constantly in motion, always organizing conferences and antiwar actions, meeting dignitaries and donors, endlessly fundraising, engaging in intense political and intellectual conversations with the leading thinkers and doers of the day. I knew how difficult it was for him to fit advising my dissertation into his packed schedule and was immensely grateful for his willingness to read and discuss my chapters and guide my studies.
I remember spending a lot of time in those days waiting outside his office. Often he would be late or called away to another priority. Then he would come rushing in, greeting me warmly, and quickly getting down to the business of scholarship, peppering me with probing questions about the research and writing.
Those were shining moments of enlightenment for me. He would question my assumptions and conclusions, agreeing with some and challenging others, and urge me to look into additional sources, always suggesting important works for me to read in political theory, international relations and national security.
Raskin was the classic scholar-activist, a concept he developed at length in his important book, Being and Doing: the scholar who studies for the purpose of social betterment, the activist who is deeply grounded in scholarship. I have tried to apply that model throughout my life and always share it with my students.
Raskin also played a critical role in guiding my career. He introduced me to the directors of SANE, the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy when they were searching for a new director. Several years after I became executive director of SANE, he became chair of the board of directors, and we worked together closely during the 1980s in building the movement to freeze and reverse the arms race.
We met almost weekly during those years, spending time on organizational matters but also discussing strategic and programmatic direction. We didn’t always agree. He was more interested in the broad vision of disarmament, calling for a renewal of the 1961 plan for general and complete disarmament, while I was more focused on achievable policy steps, such as a U.S.-Soviet halt to nuclear testing. But he was always supportive of the organization and my leadership and never wavered in his commitment to building and supporting a strong movement against nuclear weapons.
We mourn his passing, as always when the great ones leave us, but we also recognize and pay tribute to his monumental contributions. The master is gone, but his work lives on in our continuing struggle against the war system that dominates U.S. foreign policymaking.Φ
David Cortright is an American scholar and peace activist. He is Director of Policy Studies at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame and Chair of the Board of the Fourth Freedom Forum. This article was published on January 2 at David Cortright’s blog.