Dale Roy Herspring

Background

Dale Herspring was born on September 28, 1940, in Oakland, California. He is a son of Frank E. (a police officer) and Ruby F. (Ford) Herspring.

Education

Dale R. Herspring was educated at Stanford University. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965. Then he entered Georgetown University and received a Master of Arts degree in 1967. Herspring completed his study at the University of Southern California and graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy in 1972.

Career

A former captain in the United States Navy, now retired, Herspring spent many years working as a foreign service officer for the United States Department of State, and he is an expert on the militaries of the Soviet bloc, having spent time in Warsaw, Poland, and at the United States Embassy in Moscow during the Soviet era. An educator and writer, Herspring has taught political science at a number of universities, including Georgetown, Columbia, and George Washington University, and has contributed articles to numerous journals and periodicals. Herspring has written and/or edited a number of books on politics and the military, both in the United States and those of Russia and former Soviet-satellite countries.

In Russian Civil-Military Relations: Past and Present, Herspring addresses the relationship between the military and the civilian population, looking specifically at the smaller nations once held by the Warsaw pact and considering how the relationship altered through the decades. Mark Kramer, writing for American Political Science Review, observed: "Despite the brevity of Herspring's book, it provides a cogent and well-informed point of departure for those hoping to understand the role of the army in Russia's post-Communist transformation."

The Pentagon and the Presidency: Civil-Military Relations from FDR to George W. Bush looks at the relationship between the executive branch and the military since World War II. Because the military leaders are in effect looking to a civilian for their guidance, there is always the danger of strife between the two. However, Herspring shows that, despite disagreements in most administrations between the president and the military commanders with whom he worked, the relationship has continued to remain effective.

Achievements

• Herspring has created and organized the Political, Military and Diplomatic Lecture Series. To this point, he has brought over 190 senior academics, retired military, and diplomatic officials, and foreign officials to KSU to provide graduate students with an opportunity to meet and discuss problems of international relations with experts.

Works

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  • Russian Civil-Military Relations

    (Dale Herspring analyzes three key periods of change in ci...)

    1996
  • Soldiers, Commissars, and Chaplains: Civil-Military Relations since Cromwell

    (This innovative study offers the first-ever comparison of...)

  • Requiem for an Army

    (Building on a strong foundation of primary sources, this ...)

  • The Kremlin and the High Command: Presidential Impact on the Russian Military from Gorbachev to Putin

    (Throughout its existence, the Red Army was viewed as a fo...)

    2006
  • Civil-Military Relations and Shared Responsibility

    (Dale R. Herspring considers the factors that allow some c...)

    2013
  • The Pentagon and the Presidency: Civil-Military Relations from FDR to George W. Bush 2005
  • Rumsfeld's Wars: The Arrogance of Power
  • Requiem for an Army by Dale R. Herspring 1998

Membership

• American Political Science Association , United Nations

• American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies , United States

• International Institute for Strategic Studies

• International Studies Association

Personality

Herspring speaks German, Russian and a bit of Polish.

Interests

• Music & Bands

  Everything Sina Now

Connections

Father:

Frank E. Herspring.

Mother:

Ruby F. (Ford) Herspring

References

• Contemporary Authors, Vol. 164