author
Harold D. (Harold Dwight) Lasswell
1902–1978
A pioneering political scientist and communication theorist, he helped shape how people study propaganda, mass media, and the way power works in public life. His writing brought psychology, law, and politics together in a way that still feels strikingly modern.
1 Audiobook
Psychopathology and politics
by Harold D. (Harold Dwight) Lasswell
About the author
Born in Donnellson, Illinois, in 1902, he became one of the most influential American thinkers in political science and communication studies. He studied at the University of Chicago and later taught at Yale, where his work reached across law, politics, psychology, and public policy.
He is especially remembered for his studies of propaganda, political behavior, and mass communication. His books include Politics: Who Gets What, When, How and Psychopathology and Politics, and he is often credited with helping define a practical, research-driven approach to the study of power.
Across a long career, he also held major leadership roles in scholarly life, serving as president of the American Political Science Association and contributing to the development of what became known as the policy sciences. He died in New York in 1978, leaving behind ideas that continue to influence political analysis and media studies.