Roger Edward Kanet, professor of political science and international studies at the University of Miami, passed away in Fort Myers, Florida on January 31, 2024.
Kanet was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on September 1, 1936. Coming of age during the beginning of the Cold War, he became one of the foremost scholars on the Soviet Union and the communist bloc. Kanet was raised in Russellville, Ohio and attended St. Xavier High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the Berchmanskolleg in Pullach-bei-München, Germany in 1960, where he credited his interest in Soviet and Russian studies to Fathers Falk and Hegy. In 1961, he earned a bachelor’s degree in arts from Xavier University and went on to earn a master’s degree from Lehigh University in 1963, and a master’s and PhD from Princeton University in 1965 and 1966 respectively.
That same year, Kanet began his distinguished academic career as assistant professor at the University of Kansas, where he served until 1969. Promoted to associate professor, he moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), serving in that position from 1973 until 1978 before being promoted to professor. During his time there, Kanet served as Director of Graduate Studies (1975-1978), Department Head (1984-1987), Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Director of International Programs and Studies (1989-1997).
A beloved and respected educator, Kanet was regularly included in the UIUC’s “List of Excellent Teachers” from 1974 until 1995. He earned the Burlington Northern Faculty Achievement Award for outstanding teaching and research (1989), the Department of Political Science’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (1984), the Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (1981), and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (1981). In addition, Kanet served as a Joint Senior Fellow at the Research Institute on Communist Affairs and Russian Institutions at Columbia University (1972-1973), as a Fellow at the American Council of Learned Societies (1972-1973, 1978), as an IREX Fellow in Hungary and Poland (1976), as a NATO Faculty Fellow (1977), and as an Associate of the UIUC’s Center for Advanced Study (1981-1982).
With the collapse of communism, Kanet joined many of his fellow “Sovietologists’’ and quickly adapted his expertise to the rapidly changing international landscape. The once-impenetrable Soviet Union was now a cluster of 15 independent republics that set out on varying paths towards democratization. Germany was once again reunified, and the central European nations that had fallen behind the Iron Curtain soon dismantled their communist dictatorships, replacing them with multi-party democracies and capitalist economies. Soon, Kanet became an eminent scholar on the new national and international dynamics emerging in Russia and the former communist countries in Europe. An academic transition like this one would have been difficult for many, but Kanet’s expansive knowledge and experience allowed him to adjust seamlessly to the new realities in the world.
A prolific author, Kanet was the author of several books, including Russia, Re-Emerging Great Power (2007), The New Security Environment: The Impact on Russia, Central and Eastern Europe (2005), Resolving Regional Conflicts (1998), Post-Communist States in the World Community (1998), The Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation (1997), The Soviet Union and the Developing Nations (1974), and The Behavioral Revolution and Communist Studies (1971). In addition, he was the editor and co-editor of 19 books, including From Superpower to Besieged Global Power: Restoring World Order after the Failure of the Bush Doctrine (2008), Coping with Conflict after the Cold War (1996), Soviet Foreign Policy in Transition (1992), The Cold War as Cooperation (1991), and Limits of Soviet Power in the Developing World (1989). In addition, he was the author of over 175 articles published in scholarly journals or books.
Although years later he would fondly recall his years at Urbana-Champaign, in 1997, Kanet made his way from icy Illinois to sunny South Florida, serving as professor of international studies at the University of Miami (UM) in Coral Gables, Florida. From 1997 until 2000, he served as dean of UM’s School of International Studies.
Kanet was a member of the American Association of the Advancement of Slavic Studies, the International Studies Association, where he served as chair of the American-Soviet Relations section (1990-1992), and the International Council for Central and Eastern European Studies, where he was the program chair for the First World Congress and member of the program committee of the Second, and Seventh World Congresses.
During a career spanning six decades, Kanet oversaw 41 successful PhD dissertations through 2019 and served on another 23 committees. He was beloved by his colleagues and students and was known for his humility, humor, sharp wit, and jovial demeanor.
Kanet is survived by Joan Alice Edwards, his wife of 60 years, his daughters, Suzanne Elise and Laurie Alice, grandsons Christopher and Zachary, granddaughters Elizabeth and Emily, and sisters Kay and Gail.
