Michael Barkun

Michael Barkun
photograph
Barkun in 2009
Born (1938-04-08) April 8, 1938 (age 88)
EducationNorthwestern University (Ph.D)
OccupationPolitical scientist
Employer(s)Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University
Known forStudy of political extremism, religion and violence, millenarian and utopian movements.

Michael Barkun (born April 8, 1938) is an American academic who serves as Professor Emeritus of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, specializing in political and religious extremism and the relationship between religion and violence. He has authored a number of books on the subject, including Religion and the Racist Right (1996), A Culture of Conspiracy (2003), and Chasing Phantoms (2011).

Early life and education

Barkun was born April 8, 1938. Barkun earned his Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 1965.

Career

Barkun serves as Professor Emeritus of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, specializing in political and religious extremism and the relationship between religion and violence.

Barkun has acted as a consultant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation; as a member of the Special Advisory Commission to the FBI Critical Incident Response Group from late 1995 to early 1996, he provided training and background presentations on extremist groups. He serves on the editorial boards of Terrorism and Political Violence and Nova Religio, and was the editor of Communal Societies from 1987 to 1994. He edits the Religion and Politics book series for the Syracuse University Press.

Barkun focuses particularly on millenarian and utopian movements, terrorism and "doomsday weapons", and the contemporary influence of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion decades after it was exposed as a hoax.

Works and ideas

Barkun has authored a number of books on the subject, including Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement (1996), A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America (2003), and Chasing Phantoms: Reality, Imagination, and Homeland Security Since 9/11 (2011). He won the 2003 Distinguished Scholar award from the Communal Studies Association, and the Myers Center Award for the Study of Human Rights for his book Religion and the Racist Right.

His books have been reviewed by The New York Times, The New York Sun, The Montana Professor, and Terrorism and Political Violence. In a 2004 review, historian Paul S. Boyer wrote that Barkun "knows his way around the arcane world of contemporary conspiracy theorists" more "than any other scholar in America".

In his 2003 book A Culture of Conspiracy, he classified conspiracy theories into three kinds:

Barkun discusses four types of groups categorized by the nature of secrecy involved: a Type 1 conspiracy theory refers to a secret group which acts secretly, and a Type 3 conspiracy theory refers to a known group which acts secretly (Types 2 and 4 lie outside of conspiracy theory).

Works

References

  1. ↑ "Barkun, Michael". Library of Congress Authorities. Retrieved October 15, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Michael Barkun faculty listing". Maxwell School of Syracuse University. March 17, 2009. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
  3. ↑ Barkun, Michael (2002). "Project Megiddo, the FBI, and the Academic Community". In Kaplan, Jeffrey (ed.). Millennial Violence: Past, Present and Future. Routledge. pp. 100, 103. ISBN 9781135316266. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
  4. ↑ Berlet, Chip (September 2004). "Interview: Michael Barkun". New Internationalist. Political Research Associates. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
  5. ↑ McLemee, Scott (November 6, 1994). "Aryan and Proud". The New York Times. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
  6. ↑ Pipes, Daniel (January 13, 2004). "Old Conspiracies, New Beliefs". The New York Sun. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
  7. ↑ Pratt, Ray (Spring 2005). "Review of A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America". The Montana Professor. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
  8. ↑ Daschkea, Dereck (2006). "A Review of A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America". Terrorism and Political Violence. 18 (4): 608–609. doi:10.1080/09546550601000322. S2CID 147339483.
  9. ↑ Boyer, Paul S. (July 27, 2004). "The Strange World of Conspiracy Theories". The Christian Century. pp. 32–35. Archived from the original on March 10, 2013. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 Barkun 2003, p. 6.