Merwin Crawford Young, born 1931 in Philadelphia PA, was a professor of political science and African studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1963 until 2004. His scholarly work focused on the development of democracy and statehood in post-colonial Africa and the role played by cultural pluralism in the formation of political culture.
Young completed his BA at the University of Michigan in 1953 and his doctorate from Harvard University in 1963. He began teaching at University of Wisconsin-Madison that same year. Young served two terms as director of the African Studies Program and twice served as the chair of the Department of Political Science. From 1992-1993 he served as acting dean of the College of Letters and Science.
Young produced numerous books and articles analyzing the political environment of post-colonial Africa, including "The Politics of Cultural Pluralism" in 1976, "The African Colonial State in Comparative Perspective" in 1994, and "The Postcolonial State in Africa" in 2012.
Young's many graduate students went on to occupy academic and diplomatic positions in the United States and across the continent of Africa and he held visiting professorships at Makerere University in Kampala and National University of Zaire in Lubumbashi.
Young retired in 2004 but remained active as professor emeritus and continued to contribute heavily to research in his field for a decade after his retirement. He passed away in January of 2020.
