Stein Rokkan

Stein Rokkan was a giant in the social sciences, and Arild Stubhaug offers a compelling portrait of his remarkable career... One of many themes that run through the book is Rokkan’s collaboration with Seymour Martin Lipset, who had a similar vision. Their collaboration not only strengthened the institutions of international social science, but yielded an extraordinarily influential coauthored article, Cleavage Structures, Party Systems, and Voter Alignments, which brought to a wide audience Rokkan’s idea of critical junctures. The article shows how these historical turning points in Europe set party systems and national politics on contrasting, long-term trajectories. -- David Collier, UC Berkeley

This book enhances our appreciation of the work of one of the greatest macro-historical comparative political scientists of the twentieth century. By exploring with unprecedented richness of detail the connections between Stein Rokkan’s life and his analysis of state formation, nation-building and democratisation in Europe, A Man of Several Worlds provides a fresh perspective on a theoretical and historical framework that remains crucial for the understanding of Europe’s development. -- Daniele Caramani, European University Institute and University of Zurich

Stein Rokkan bridged sociology and political science, and European and American scholarship, during a formative period of the social sciences. He studied the historical origins of big structures and explored connections among politics, the economy and culture. His ideas still inspire researchers. This book is the best introduction to the man and his work. -- Gerardo Munck, University of Southern California

Arild Stubhaug is a writer of fiction and biography with an honorary doctorate from Oslo University. He has written several biographies and won numerous awards, including the Norwegian Language Council Prize, the Norwegian Academy Prize and the Dobloug Prize awarded by the Swedish Academy.

Lucy Moffatt is an award-winning translator working primarily from Norwegian to English, with a focus on literary projects, both fiction and non-fiction. Recent translations range from vintage crime fiction to a memoir on insomnia. Since translating the Sunday Times bestseller, 'Extraordinary Insects' by conservation biologist, Anne Sverdrup-Thygesen in 2019, she has gone on to translate Sverdrup-Thygeson's second popular science book for adults, 'Tapestries of Life'.Lucy has also translated/co-translated a number of Mexican documentaries from Spanish to English, including multiple-award-winning "Tempestad" by Tatiana Huezo Sánchez.In 2014, she won a John Dryden prize for her translation of a text by Hans Herbjørnsrud, "The Skeleton and the Anatomy Book". In 2020 she won NORLA's annual Translator's Award for her non-fiction translation work.