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Peter Schwab, Ph.D.Peter Schwab.jpg

Professor of Political Science
School of Natural and Social Sciences

Office: 1033 SS Building
Tel: (914) 251-6625
Fax: (914) 251-6603
Email: peter.schwab@purchase.edu

Dr. Peter Schwab is a professor of political science in the School of Natural and Social Sciences and a member of the interdisciplinary global black studies faculty. His interests include human rights, especially from a non-Western perspective, the horn of Africa, Ethiopian politics and culture, and the relationship between Cuba and the United States. He is the recipient of grants and awards from the New School for Social Research, Fulbright-Hays, and the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. Professor Schwab is also the director of the Purchase College summer program in Burgos, Spain.

Education

  • B.S., 1962, Fairleigh Dickinson University
  • M.A., 1966, New School for Social Research
  • Ph.D., 1969, New School for Social Research

Positions

  • Peace Corps, 1962-64, Liberia
  • Instructor, 1964-66, Fairleigh Dickinson University
  • Instructor, Assistant Professor, 1966-71, Adelphi University
  • Assistant Professor, 1971-73, Purchase College, SUNY
  • Associate Professor, 1973-80, Purchase College, SUNY
  • Professor, 1980-present, Purchase College, SUNY

Areas of Expertise
Human rights; Ethiopian politics; politics and the horn of Africa; Cuba and the United States.

Honors and Awards
Edith Henry Johnson Memorial Award for Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation, 1969, New School for Social Research; Fulbright-Hays Awards for travel to Africa, 1967; Award for primary reference work on human rights, 1986, U.N. Commission on Human Rights.
SUNY Chancellor’s Research Recognition Award for Excellence in Research and Scholarship, 2005

Courses Taught
The Middle East; Human Rights; U.S. Foreign Policy Since 1945; Introduction to U.S. Politics; African Literature and Politics.

Research Interests
The effect of the embargo on life in Cuba; human rights from a non-Western perspective; Ethiopian politics and culture.

Publications

Books

Schwab, P., 1972. Decision making in Ethiopia. C. Hurst, London.

Schwab, P., and A. Pollis. 1979, 1980. Human Rights; Cultural and Ideological Perspectives. Praeger, New York.

Schwab, P., and A. Pollis. 1982. Toward a Human Rights Framework. Praeger, New York.

Schwab, P., 1985. Ethiopia: Politics, Economics and Society. Frances Pinter, London (distributed by Cassell PLC, London)

Schwab, P., 1999. Cuba: Confronting the US Embargo.  St. Martin's Press

Schwab, P., 2001. Africa: A Continent Self-Destructs. Palgrave/ St. Martin's Press

Schwab, P., 2004. Designing West Africa: Prelude to 21st Century Calamity. Palgrave/Macmillan

Reviews, Articles, Analyses

Schwab, P. 1978. Cold war on the horn of Africa. African Affairs, 77: 306.

Schwab, P. 1981. Socialist Ethiopia. In: B. Szajkowski (ed.). Marxist Governments, Vol. 2. Macmillan, London.

Schwab, P. 1997. Shabbat in Havana. Jewish Currents.

Cuban Health Care and the US Embargo,”  Monthly Review  (11/2997, v.49, #6