Biography:Gopal Balakrishnan
Gopal Balakrishnan | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 27, 1966[1] New Delhi, India[2] |
| Occupation | scholar |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles (Ph.D., 1998) (M.A., 1993) Cornell University (B.A., 1989)[2] |
| Thesis | 'The Enemy: An Intellectual Portrait of Carl Schmitt' (1998) |
| Doctoral advisor | Robert Brenner, Perry Anderson[3] |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Historian |
| Sub-discipline | European Intellectual History |
| Institutions | University of California, Santa Cruz (2005-2019) University of Chicago (2001-2005)[4] |
| Website | gopal-balakrishnan |
Gopal Balakrishnan was a professor in the History of Consciousness Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz.[5]
Education
Balakrishnan studied European intellectual history and historical sociology at UCLA during the 1990s with Perry Anderson, Robert Brenner, Rogers Brubaker, and Michael Mann. He worked on political thought, intellectual history, and critical theory. Prior to his appointment at UC-Santa Cruz, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Chicago.
Career
Balakrishnan joined the University of California, Santa Cruz as a faculty member and later became a tenured professor. In 2006, he was appointed associate professor in the university’s History of Consciousness Department.[6]
Scholarly Work
Balakrishnan’s academic work has been the subject of discussion in several independent scholarly publications. A review in the American Historical Review characterized his book The Enemy: An Intellectual Portrait of Carl Schmitt as a systematic study that situates Schmitt’s political theory within the broader crises of twentieth-century European history.[7]
In a review for Newsday, critic Scott McLemee described The Enemy: An Intellectual Portrait of Carl Schmitt as a “stimulating” examination of Schmitt’s political thought, noting that the book engages with themes that remain unsettling in contemporary debates.[8] In Boston Review, William E. Scheuerman praised Balakrishnan’s The Enemy for “usefully highlight[ing] those facets of [Schmitt’s] thinking that anticipate present‑day left‑wing political and intellectual concerns.”[9]
His essays in New Left Review on geopolitics, sovereignty, and economic stagnation have also been referenced in critical-theory scholarship for their engagement with debates on state power and the long-term trajectory of global capitalism.[10]
Controversy
In 2017, a number of people published allegations that Balakrishnan had committed sexual assault on multiple occasions. UC Santa Cruz launched an investigation in 2017 that was extended in May 2018.[11][12] In October 2018, Balakrishnan remained on paid administrative leave.[13][14][15][16] He subsequently resigned as a member of the editorial board of the New Left Review.[4] In September 2019, he was fired from his position at UCSC, becoming the first tenured faculty member to be fired at UCSC.[17][18]
Selected publications
Books
- Mapping the nation. Verso. 1996.
- Balakrishnan, Gopal (2000). The enemy: an intellectual portrait of Carl Schmitt. Verso.
- Balakrishnan, Gopal, ed (2003). Debating Empire. Verso.
- Balakrishnan, Gopal (2009). Antagonistics: capitalism and power in an age of war. Verso.
Articles
- Balakrishnan, Gopal (September–October 2000). "Hardt and Negri's Empire". New Left Review (New Left Review) II (5). http://newleftreview.org/II/5/gopal-balakrishnan-hardt-and-negri-s-empire.
- Review of the book Empire by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri.
- Balakrishnan, Gopal (September–October 2003). "Algorithms of war". New Left Review (New Left Review) II (23). http://newleftreview.org/II/23/gopal-balakrishnan-algorithms-of-war.
- Review of the book The Shield of Achilles by Philip Bobbitt.
- Balakrishnan, Gopal (September–October 2009). "Speculations on the stationary state". New Left Review (New Left Review) II (59). http://newleftreview.org/II/59/gopal-balakrishnan-speculations-on-the-stationary-state.
- Balakrishnan, Gopal (November–December 2010). "The coming contradiction". New Left Review (New Left Review) II (66). http://newleftreview.org/II/66/gopal-balakrishnan-the-coming-contradiction.
- Review of the book Valences of the Dialectic by Frederic Jameson.
References
- ↑ Balakrishnan, Gopal (1998). The Enemy: An Intellectual Portrait of Carl Schmitt (Ph.D.). University of California, Los Angeles. p. iv. OCLC 41036825. ProQuest 304448547.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Balakrishnan 1998, p. iv.
- ↑ Balakrishnan 1998, p. ii.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Faculty Homepage at UC Santa Cruz
- ↑ Mangan, Katherine (2018-01-05). "How Sexual-Assault Accusations Against a Professor Brought Paranoia to His Campus" (in en). https://www.chronicle.com/article/how-sexual-assault-accusations-against-a-professor-brought-paranoia-to-his-campus/.
- ↑ "University Could Terminate A Professor For Off Campus Sexually Abusive Conduct Towards Two Women Who Were Not Students" (in en-US). 2024-02-28. https://www.lcwlegal.com/news/university-could-terminate-a-professor-for-off-campus-sexually-abusive-conduct-towards-two-women-who-were-not-students/.
- ↑ Stackelberg, Roderick (2002-12-01). "Gopal Balakrishnan. The Enemy: An Intellectual Portrait of Carl Schmitt . New York: Verso. 2000. Pp. vi, 312. $40.00" (in en). The American Historical Review 107 (5): 1654–1656. doi:10.1086/ahr/107.5.1654. ISSN 1937-5239. https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article/107/5/1654/32013.
- ↑ Mclemee, Scott (2002-12-29). "The Enemy: An Intellectual Portrait of Carl Schmitt (review)". Newsday (Suffolk Edition): pp. 183. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/728513428/.
- ↑ Scheuerman, William E. (2001-04-01). "Down on Law: On Carl Schmitt, Germany’s most influential jurist of the authoritarian right wing" (in en). Boston Review. https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/william-e-scheuerman-down-law/.
- ↑ Balakrishnan, Gopal (October 2009). "Speculations on the stationary state". New Left Review II (59). http://newleftreview.org/II/59/gopal-balakrishnan-speculations-on-the-stationary-state. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
- ↑ "Some Called It "Vigilante Justice." But An Anonymous Campaign Triggered A Real Investigation Into A UC Santa Cruz Professor." (in en). BuzzFeed. https://www.buzzfeed.com/nidhisubbaraman/gopal-balakrishnan-sexual-harassment-investigation.
- ↑ Gladu, Sydney (17 May 2018). "Sexual Harassment and Assault Allegations Build Against UCSC Professor | City on a Hill Press" (in en-US). http://www.cityonahillpress.com/2018/05/17/sexual-harassment-and-assault-allegations-build-against-ucsc-professor/.
- ↑ Johnson, Laretta (2018-10-04). "Balakrishnan Case Closed". City on a Hill Press. https://www.cityonahillpress.com/2018/10/04/balakrishnan-case-closed/.
- ↑ "Professor at UC-Santa Cruz Disputes Sexual-Assault Accusations". The Chronicle of Higher Education. 2017-12-03. https://www.chronicle.com/article/Professor-at-UC-Santa-Cruz/241964.
- ↑ Coleman, Mary (2017-12-04). "Multiple allegations against UCSC professor claim he sexually assaulted/harassed them". KION-TV. http://www.kion546.com/news/multiple-allegations-against-ucsc-professor-claim-he-sexually-assaultedharassed-them/667429919.
- ↑ Kulkarni, Bhargavi (2018-01-19). "Calif. professor denies sexual harassment charges". India Abroad. https://www.indiaabroad.com/crime/calif-professor-denies-sexual-harassment-charges/article_b9b2c840-fd71-11e7-ab8d-f7c0cd15d16b.html.
- ↑ "Statement on dismissed faculty member|" (in en-US). UCSC Public Affairs. https://news.ucsc.edu/2019/09/statement-ix-case.html.
- ↑ "UC Santa Cruz Has Fired A Professor After He Violated The University's Harassment Policy." (in en). BuzzFeed. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nidhisubbaraman/gopal-balakrishnan-fired-santa-cruz.
External links
 |  |
