There will be
a memorial service at Huntingdon Presbyterian Church on Saturday,
February 23 at 5pm.
Craig Baxter,
professor of politics and history at Juniata College, has utilized
his vast experience as an American diplomat in Asian countries
to write or co-write 13 books, and his latest work, Bangladesh:
From A Nation To A State, published last January by Westview
Press has been named an "Outstanding Academic Book" for 1997 by Choice.
Choice reviews have been called "the best short critical evaluations of new titles available anywhere" in a recent reader survey. Its subscribers rate it high among sources used to select materials for academic libraries.
Founded in 1964, Choice is a publication of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA).
"I am honored to have been recognized by Choice," Dr. Baxter said. "The process of writing a book can be extensive, but this type of recognition reaffirms that it was a worthwhile effort. I was very happily surprised."
Bangladesh: From a Nation To A State, was published as part of the Nations of the Modern World: Asia series. In the book, Dr. Baxter traces the development of national identity in Bangladesh, which celebrated its 25th anniversary as an independent nation-state in 1996. He explores the formative periods of Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim and British government that preceded Pakistani rule and subsequent independence.
"This book is a general survey of Bangladesh from its origins up through 1996," Dr. Baxter said. "It investigates the historical, political, religious, and socio-economic aspects of the country. It covers the very early periods of Bangladesh, when the country was Hindu. It then covers the period when the country became ruled by Buddhists, and then after that the Muslims. Today, about 85 percent of the population in Bangladesh is Muslim. It also covers the period of British rule and Pakistani rule until, finally, Bangladesh won its independence in a civil war in 1971. The purpose is for a more general reader who is interested in Bangladesh."
For 25 years, Dr. Baxter worked as an officer in the U.S. Foreign Service with assignments in many Asian countries, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. He remains involved in academic organizations geared toward those countries, serving as founding president of the American Institute of Bangladesh Studies as well as the serving as the president of the American Institute of Pakistan Studies.
The American Institute of Bangladesh Studies is an organization that regularly gives grants for Americans to do research in Bangladesh as well as providing grants to undergraduate students to study in Bangladesh. Dr. Baxter continues to travel to Bangladesh regularly.
His foreign service background and continued work in these areas has led to the 13 book publications in which Dr. Baxter contributed either as an author, co-author, or editor.
Craig
Baxter CV
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Ph.D., History, University of Pennsylvania, 1967
A.M., Political Science, University of Pennsylvania, 1954
B.S. in Economics, University of Pennsylvania, 1951
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Academic
Juniata College, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania
Chairman, Department of Political Science, 1991-1994
Professor of Politics and History, 1982-1970, Emeritus, 1970-
Visiting Professor of Political Science and Diplomat-in-
Residence, 1981-82
Mount Vernon College, Washington, D.C.
Lecturer in South Asian Studies, 1981
United States Military Academy, West Point, New York
Foreign Service Visiting Associate Professor in Social Sciences,
1971-74
Northern Virginia Center, University of Virginia, Falls
Church, Virginia (now George Mason University)
Adjunct Lecturer in International Relations and History, 1969-71
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Teaching Assistant in European History, 1955-56
Foreign Service
Officer-in-Charge, International Scientific Relations for the
Near East, South Asia and Africa,
1978-80
Political Counselor, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1976-78
Political Counselor, Accra, Ghana, 1974-76
Visiting Associate Professor in Social Sciences, United States
Military Academy, 1971-74
Senior Political Officer for Pakistan and Afghanistan, 1969-71
Analyst for India, 1968-69
Deputy Principal Officer and Political Officer, Lahore, Pakistan,
1965-68
Student in South Asian Studies, University of Pennsylvania, 1964-65
Political Officer, New Delhi, India, 1961-64
Student in Hindi and Urdu, Foreign Service Institute, 1960-61
Vice Consul, Bombay, India, 1958-60
Program Officer, International Educational Exchange Service,
Department of State, 1956-58
Military
United States Army, 1952-54
Other
Consultant: National Foreign Estimate Center; Department of State;
United States Information
Agency; Development Committee, American Institute of Indian Studies;
Asia Foundation;
Asia Society; Georgetown University Center for Strategic and
International Studies;
Middle East Institute; National Defense University; Frost and
Sullivan; National Bureau for
Asian Research, Unocal Corporation among others.
Expert Witness: House Committee of Foreign Affairs, Subcommittees
on Asia and the Pacific and
on Human Rights and International Organizations.
American Institute of Bangladesh Studies: Chairman of Founding
Committee, 1983-84; President,
1984-2000.
American Institute of Pakistan Studies: Trustee, 1988-2002, Member,
Executive Committee, 1991-
93; President, 1993-1999.
Middle Atlantic Region, Association of Asian Studies: Member,
Advisory Council, 1986-1988,
1995-97; Member, Executive Committee, 1988-89, 1994-95 ; Treasurer,
1989-92; Vice
President, 1992-93; President, 1993-1994.
Co-chairman, South Asia Panel, National Council on Foreign Languages
and International Studies,
1980-81.
Director, Juniata Summer Seminar in India (under Fulbright-Hays
grant), 1986.
Grantee, American Institute of Pakistan Studies, 1987.
Grantee (with Syedur Rahman), United States Institute of Peace,
1988-1990.
Member, Editorial Board, International Journal of Punjab Studies.
Lecturer at a number of universities and institutions including
the Foreign Service Institute,
Radcliffe College, Harvard University, Columbia University, University
of Pennsylvania,
University of Cincinnati, Pennsylvania State University, Wilkes
University, National
Defense University, Army War College, Dhaka University, Jehangirnagar
University,
College of William and Mary, Towson University, Juniata College,
and the United States
Military Academy.
Lectures at a number of professional clubs such as Rotary Clubs
in Huntingdon; Mountain Top PA;
Karachi, Islamabad, and Dhaka.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
American Foreign Service Association, 1957-
Association for Asian Studies, 1965-2006
Bengal Studies Conference, 1982-
Middle East Institute, 1982-1999
National Seminar on Pakistan and Bangladesh, Columbia University,
1969-74 (seminar, funded by
the Ford Foundation, was discontinued in 1974).
Pakistan Studies Development Committee, 1969-75
Research Committee on the Punjab, 1965-1995; Member, Executive
Committee, 1986-1990.
PUBLICATIONS
Books
The Jana Sangh, a Biography of an Indian Political Party (Philadelphia:
University of
Pennsylvania Press, 1969, and Bombay: Oxford University Press,
1971).
District Voting Trends in India: a Research Tool (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1969).
Bangladesh: a New Nation in an Old Setting (Boulder CO: Westview
Press, 1984).
From Martial Law to Martial Law: Politics in the Punjab, 1919-1958
(Boulder CO: Westview
Press, 1985, and Lahore: Vanguard Press, 1985). An edited and
annotated translation of
Martial Law-se Martial Law-tak (Urdu) by Syed Nur Ahmad.
Zia's Pakistan: Politics and Stability in a Frontline State (Boulder
CO: Westview Press, 1985, and
Lahore: Vanguard Press, 1986). Editor and contributor.
Government and Politics in South Asia (Boulder CO: Westview Press,
1987, and Lahore: Vanguard
Press, 1988). With Yogendra K. Malik, Charles H. Kennedy, and
Robert C. Oberst.
Second edition: (Boulder CO: Westview Press, 1990). Third edition:
(Boulder CO:
Westview Press, and Lahore: Pak Book Corportation, 1993). Fourth
edition: (Boulder CO,
1998). Fifth edition: Boulder CO, 2002).
Historical Dictionary of Bangladesh (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow
Press, 1989). Second edition:
(Metuchen NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1996). Third edition: (Lanham
MD: Scarecrow Press, and
New Delhi: Vision Books, 2004) With Syedur Rahman.
Pakistan: Authoritarianism in the 1980s (Lahore: Vanguard Press,
1992). Editor with Syed Razi
Wasti and contributor.
Pakistan Under the Military: Eleven Years of Zia ul-Haq (Boulder
CO: Westview Press and
Karachi: Pak Book Corporation, 1990). With Shahid Javed Burki.
Pakistan 1997 (Boulder CO: Westview Press, 1997). Editor with
Charles H. Kennedy.
Pakistan 2000 (Lanham MD: Lexington Books, and Karachi: Oxford
University Press, 2000).
Editor with Charles H. Kennedy.
Pakistan on the Brink (Lanham MD: Lexington Books, and Karachi:
Oxford University Press,
2004). Editor.
Diaries of Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan, 1966-1972 (Karachi:
Oxford University Press,
2007). Edited and annotated by Craig Baxter.
Articles and Chapters in Collected Works
"Germany's Christian Democratic Party," Social Science,
XXX:1 (January, 1955).
"The Jana Sangh: a Brief History," in Donald E. Smith,
editor, South Asian Politics and Religion
(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1966).
"Pakistan Votes - 1970," Asian Survey, XI:3 (March,
1971).
"Pakistan: the Failure of Political Negotiations," Asian
Survey, XII:5 (May, 1972). Pseudonym:
David Dunbar.
"Pakistan and Bangladesh," in Richard F. Staar, editor,
1973 Yearbook of International Communist
Affairs (Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1973).
"The People's Party vs. the Punjab 'Feudalists'," Journal
of Asian and African Studies, VII:3-4
(July-October, 1973). Also in J. Henry Korson, editor, Contemporary
Problems of Pakistan
(Leiden: Brill, 1974).
"Pakistan," in Richard F. Staar, editor, 1974 Yearbook
on International Communist Affairs
(Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1974).
"Bhutto - Two Years On," The World Today, XXX:1 (January,
1974). Pseudonym: David Dunbar.
"India and Pakistan," in Gregory Henderson, Richard
Ned Lebow, and John G. Stoessinger, editors,
Divided Nations in a Divided World (New York: David McKay, 1974).
"Constitution-Making: the Development of Federalism in Pakistan," Asian
Survey, XIV:12
(December, 1974).
"The Rise and Fall of the Bharatiya Kranti Dal in Uttar
Pradesh," in Myron Weiner and John
Osgood Field, editors, Electoral Politics in the Indian States,
Volume IV: Party Systems
and Cleavages (Delhi: Manohar, 1975).
"Resources for the Study of Pakistan," in Maureen L.P.
Patterson and Martin Yanuck, editors,
South Asia Library Resources: Papers from the Boston Conference
(Zug: Inter
Documentation [Bibliotheca Asiatica II], 1975).
"Socio-Economic Indicators of the People's Party Vote in
the Punjab: a Study at the Tehsil Level,"
Journal of Asian Studies, XXXIV:4 (August, 1975). With Shahid
Javed Burki. Also in W.
Howard Wriggins, editor, Pakistan in Transition (Islamabad: University
of Islamabad Press,
1975).
"Studies in the Development of Muslim Separatism," in
W. Eric Gustafson, editor, Pakistan and
Bangladesh: Bibliographic Essays in the Social Sciences (Islamabad:
University of
Islamabad Press, 1976).
"The 1937 Election and the Sikandar-Jinnah Pact," by
Sir Khizr Hayat Khan Tiwana, edited by
Craig Baxter, Panjab Past and Present, X:2 (October, 1976).
"Union or Partition: Some Aspects of Politics in the Punjab,
1936-45," in Lawrence Ziring, Ralph
Braibanti, and W. Howard Wriggins, editors, Pakistan: the Long
View (Durham: Duke
University Press, 1977).
"Bangladesh Votes - 1978 and 1979," Asian Survey, XXI:4
(April, 1981). With M.
Rashiduzzaman.
"National Target for South Asian Specialists," published
by South Asia Regional Studies,
University of Pennsylvania, for National Council on Foreign Languages
and International
Studies. With Richard D. Lambert.
"Bangladesh at Ten: and Appraisal of a Decade of Political
Development," The World Today, 38:2
(February, 1982).
"Bangladesh," The Washington Quarterly, V:2 (Spring,
1982).
"Background Paper on Pakistan," New York, The Asia
Society, December, 1982. Prepared for the
visit of President Muhammad Zia ul-Haq of Pakistan.
"Pakistan and Bangladesh," in Frederick L. Shiels,
editor, Ethnic Separatism and World Politics
(Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1984).
"Democracy and Authoritarianism in South Asia," Journal
of International Affairs, 38/2 (Winter,
1985).
Articles in The Encyclopedia of Asian History (New York: Charles
Scribner's, 1987). Edited by
Ainslie T. Embree.
"Pakistan and the Gulf," in Thomas Naff, editor, Gulf
Security in the Iran-Iraq War (Washington:
National Defense University Press, 1985).
"India's Relations with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran," in
Hafeez Malik, editor, Soviet-American
Relations with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran (London: Macmillan,
1986, and New York:
St. Martin's Press, 1986).
"Continuing Problems in Bangladesh," Current History,
85:290 (March, 1986).
"Pakistan under Zia ul-Haq," in David H. Partington,
editor, The Middle East Annual: Issues and
Events, Volume 5, (1985), (Boston: G.K. Hall, 1986).
"People's Republic of Bangladesh," in George E. Delury,
editor, World Encyclopedia of Political
Systems and Parties (New York: Facts on File, 1987).
"India and Pakistan: Continued Conflict or Emerging Cooperation?" Journal
of South Asian and
Middle Eastern Studies, XI:1 and 2 (Fall/Winter, 1987).
"Bangladesh," in Robert H. Taylor, editor, Handbook
on Asia and the Pacific (New York: Facts on
File, 1990).
"Bangladesh Military: Political Institutionalization and
Economic Development," in Charles H.
Kennedy and David Louscher, editors, Asian and African Military
Regimes (Leiden: Brill,
1991). With Syedur Rahman. Also in Journal of Asian and African
Studies, XXVI: 1-2
(1991).
"A New Pakistan Under a New and Changed Bhuttoism?" Middle
East Insight, VI:4 (Winter,
1989).
"The Struggle for Development in Bangladesh," Current
History, December, 1989.
"Zia ul-Haq and the Afghan Connection," in Adam Garfinkle,
Friendly Tyrants (New York: St.
Martin's Press, and London: Macmillan, 1991).
"Domestic Politics" and "The International Environment," in
Shahid Javed Burki and Craig Baxter,
eds., Pakistan Under Military Rule: A Decade of Zia ul-Haq (Boulder:
Westview Press,
1991, and Lahore: Pak Publications, 1991).
"Pakistan," in Academic American Encyclopedia (Hawleyville,
CT: Grolier, 1991).
"Bangladesh in 1990: Another New Beginning?" Asian
Survey XXXI:2 (February 1991)
"Bangladesh Votes-1991: Asian Survey XXXI:8 (August 1991).
With Syedur Rahman.
"Bangladesh in 1991," Collier's Encyclopedia Yearbook,
1992.
"Bangladesh in 1991," Funk and Wagnall's Encyclopedia
Yearbook, 1992.
"Bangladesh in 1991: a Parliamentary System," Asian
Survey XXXII:2 (February 1992).
"Bangladesh: A Parliamentary Democracy if You Can Keep It," Current
History, March, 1992.
"How Will Pakistan Fare with Bill Clinton," The Friday
Times (Lahore), December 17-23, 1992.
"Bangladesh in 1992," Collier's Encyclopedia Yearbook,
1993.
"Bangladesh in 1992," Funk and Wagnall's Encyclopedia
Yearbook, 1993.
"History," in Pakistan, a Country Study (Washington:
Library of Congress, 1994).
"History," in Afghanistan, a Country Study (Washington:
Library of Congress, 1997, available only
online).
"Bangladesh in 1993," Collier's Encyclopedia Yearbook,
1994.
"Bangladesh in 1993," Funk and Wagnall's Encyclopedia
Yearbook, 1994.
"Bangladesh," in Encyclopedia of Political Systems
and Political Parties (New York: Facts on File,
third edition, 1995).
"Sheikh Mujibur Rahman," New Dictionary of National
Biography (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2004).
"Bangladesh in 1994," Collier's Encyclopedia Yearbook,
1995.
"Bangladesh in 1994," Funk and Wagnall's Encyclopedia
Yearbook, 1995.
"The American Institute of Pakistan Studies," The News
(Islamabad), April 4, 1995.
"Democracy and Authoritarianism in South Asia Revisited," Asian
Studies (Jahangirnagar
University, Bangladesh), 1995.
"Bangladesh: Can Democracy Survive?" Current History,
95:600 (April 1996).
"A Second Two Nation Theory," Holiday (Dhaka), August
30, 1996.
"Has the System Failed?" Dawn (Karachi), August 14,
1997.
"Bangladesh War of Independence," The Encyclopedia
of Political Revolutions (Washington DC:
Congressional Quarterly Press, 1998).
"Pakistan," Collier's Encyclopedia, 1999.
"Bangladesh," Collier's Encyclopedia, 1999.
"Political Development in Pakistan," in Hafeez Malik,
editor, Pakistan: Founders' Aspirations and
Today's Realities (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Articles on Bangladesh in Encarta Encyclopedia, 2002.
Articles on Bangladesh and Pakistan, Encyclopedia of Modern Asia,
2002.
"Governance," in Donald Johnson, editor, Teacher's
Guide to India (New York: Asia Society,
2004.
“Bangladesh,” in Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes
Against Humanity (Farmington Hills MI:
Macmillan Reference USA, 2004).
“Bangladesh’s Foreign Relations,” in Devin
T. Hagerty, editor, South Asia in World Politics
Lanham MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2004).
“Tajuddin Ahmed,” New Dictionary of National Biography,
Oxford: Oxford University Press,2005
.(in the on-line additions).
“Bangladesh,” and “Pakistan,”in James
V. DeFronzo, editor, Revolutionary Movements in World
History from 1750 to the Present (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2006).
Conference Papers at meetings of the Asia Society, Association
for Asia Studies, Middle Atlantic
Region of the Association for Asian Studies, Middle East Institute,
University of Wisconsin South
Asia Conferences, and University of Pennsylvania South Asia Regional
Studies among others.
Op-ed Pieces
Los Angeles Times, August 19, 1988.
Los Angeles Times, November 23, 1988.
Television Interviews
WTAJ. Altoona PA
WPSX, State College PA
Book Reviews
In Journal of Asian Studies, Pacific Affairs, The Annals of the
American Academy of Political and
Social Science, South Asia in Review, Foreign Service Journal,
Middle East Journal, Journal of
Asian History, Journal of Asian and African Studies, Studies
in Comparative International
Development, International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies,
Pakistan Studies Newsletter.
NON-ACADEMIC POSITIONS
Trustee, J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital Foundation, 2003-
Member, Huntingdon Rotary Club, 1982- ; president , 1995-1996.
Member, Blair Country chapter, Sons of the American Revolution
Member, Society of Mayflower Descendants
Member, Huntingdon Presbyterian Church, 1984-, Member of the
Session
