Bio: (1920–1910) American sociologist. Inkeles received his B.A. and M.A. from Cornell University and his Ph.D. from Columbia University. He lectured at Harvard University and Stanford University.

Alex Inkeles devoted much of his scholarly career to the comparative analysis of social structures, with particular emphasis on the sociology of the Soviet Union. His work spanned political behavior, modernization, social psychology, and national character, and he frequently served as a consultant on national development in countries such as China, Bulgaria, and Poland. In his later years, his research turned toward the social organization of an emerging global society and toward cross-national comparative studies.

In Becoming Modern, Inkeles advanced a theory of modernization that highlighted a strong positive relationship between education and a country’s economic development. He argued that while economic growth benefits from the broader skills and capacities fostered by education, educational expansion itself is driven by its contribution to both individual well-being and societal progress. Central to this perspective is the assumption that education functions fundamentally as a process of socialization, shaping the attitudes and competencies necessary for participation in modern society.

Main works

Public Opinion in Soviet Russia: A Study in Mass Persuasion (1950);

How the Soviet System Works (1956);

The Soviet Citizen (1959);

Prospects for Change in the Soviet Union (1959); 

Russia and the U.S.A.: Problem in Comparative Sociology (1963); 

What Is Sociology (1964); 

Becoming Modern (1974); 

Exploring Individual Modernity (1983); 

National Character (1997);

One World Emerging? (1998).