Benedict Anderson
Anglo-Irish scholar who theorized nations as imagined communities.
Benedict Richard O'Gorman Anderson was an Anglo-Irish political scientist and historian who spent his career teaching in the United States. He is most famous for his 1983 work *Imagined Communities*, which examined how nationalism arises. A polyglot with a deep focus on Southeast Asia, he held the Aaron L. Binenkorb Professorship of International Studies, Government & Asian Studies at Cornell University.
Born on August 26, 1936, in Kunming, China, to an Irish and Anglo-Irish father and an English mother, his father worked for the Chinese Maritime Customs. His ancestry includes the Anderson family of Ardbrake, Bothriphnie, Scotland, who settled in Ireland in the early 1700s, and his mother’s family came from Lancaster. His maternal grandfather, Trevor Bigham, served as Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police from 1914 to 1931. One of his grandmothers, Lady Frances O'Gorman, was from the Gaelic Mac Gormáin clan of County Clare and was the daughter of Major Purcell O'Gorman, an Irish Home Rule MP whose own father, Nicholas Purcell O'Gorman, was involved with the United Irishmen during the 1798 Rising and later became Secretary of the Catholic Association. Anderson also had roots in County Waterford through his O'Gorman side, and his middle names came from Richard O'Gorman, a cousin of Major Purcell O'Gorman and a leader of the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848.
To avoid the Japanese invasion during the Second Sino-Japanese War, his family moved to California in 1941, then to Ireland in 1945. He attended Eton College, winning the Newcastle Scholarship, and later King’s College, Cambridge. During the Suez Crisis at Cambridge, he became an anti-imperialist, which shaped his later Marxist and anti-colonialist thinking.
After earning a classics degree from Cambridge in 1957, he went to Cornell University, focusing on Indonesia and receiving his Ph.D. in government in 1967 under Southeast Asian scholar George Kahin. The violence following the September 1965 coup attempt that brought Suharto to power deeply disillusioned him; he wrote that it “felt like discovering that a loved one is a murderer.” While still a graduate student, he anonymously co-wrote the “Cornell Paper” with Ruth T. McVey, which challenged the official Indonesian government’s account of the 30 September Movement and the subsequent anti-Communist purges of 1965–66. The paper was widely circ
- born
- August 26, 1936, Kunming, China
- died
- December 13, 2015, Batu, Indonesia
- field
- Political science, history
- nationality
- Anglo-Irish
- known_for
- Imagined Communities (1983), Cornell Paper
Lore & Background
Anderson was born in Kunming, China, to an Irish and Anglo-Irish father and English mother. His family moved to California in 1941 to avoid the Japanese invasion, then to Ireland in 1945. He studied at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, where he became an anti-imperialist during the Suez Crisis. He earned a classics degree from Cambridge in 1957 before attending Cornell University, concentrating on Indonesia and receiving his Ph.D. in government in 1967. His doctoral advisor was Southeast Asian scholar George Kahin.
While a graduate student at Cornell, Anderson anonymously co-wrote the 'Cornell Paper' with Ruth T. McVey, which disputed the official Indonesian government's accounts of the abortive coup of the 30 September Movement and the subsequent anti-Communist purges of 1965–1966. The paper was widely disseminated by Indonesian dissidents. As a result, Anderson was expelled from Indonesia in 1972 and banned from reentering until 1998. He was fluent in Indonesian, Javanese, Thai, Tagalog, and major European languages.
Anderson taught at Cornell until his retirement in 2002, becoming professor emeritus of International Studies. He died in his sleep in Batu, Indonesia, on December 13, 2015, while correcting proofs of his memoir *A Life Beyond Boundaries*. He was survived by his two adopted sons of Indonesian origin.
Reader's Guide
Anderson's significance rests primarily on his 1983 book *Imagined Communities*, which reoriented the study of nationalism. He defined a nation as 'an imagined political community [that is] imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign,' arguing that nationalism emerged in the late 18th century, first in the Western Hemisphere, not Europe. He identified print capitalism as a key factor enabling people to imagine shared communities across distances. Anderson's work challenged Marxist and liberal thinkers who underestimated nationalism's power, noting that 'unlike most other isms, nationalism has never produced its own grand thinkers.' His analysis of nationalism as an imitative, transportable model influenced subsequent scholarship on nation-state building. Additionally, his 'Cornell Paper' provided a critical counter-narrative to official Indonesian accounts of the 1965–1966 purges, leading to his expulsion and underscoring the political risks of his scholarship. His legacy endures in both academic theories of nationalism and Southeast Asian studies.
Did You Know?
- Anderson was born in Kunming, China, to an Irish and Anglo-Irish father and English mother.
- He co-wrote the 'Cornell Paper' anonymously with Ruth T. McVey, disputing Indonesia's official story of the 30 September Movement.
- He was expelled from Indonesia in 1972 and banned from reentering until 1998.
- Anderson died in Batu, Indonesia, while correcting proofs of his memoir *A Life Beyond Boundaries*.
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