# Nathan Leites

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**Nathan Leites** (July 10, 1912, in [Saint Petersburg](/source/Saint_Petersburg) – 1987) was an American [sociologist](/source/Sociology) and [political scientist of](/source/Political_science) Russian origins.[1] Leites earned his doctorate in 1935 at the [University of Freiburg](/source/University_of_Freiburg). After emigrating to the United States, he joined the [Rand Corporation](/source/Rand_Corporation) in 1949 and earned himself a reputation as a knowledgeable analyst of the system of government of the [Soviet Union](/source/Soviet_Union). He also taught at the [University of Chicago](/source/University_of_Chicago). He is considered to be the initiator of the operational code approach to the analysis of foreign relations.[2] His selected works were published in 1977 by Sage as *Psychopolitical analysis : selected writings of Nathan Leites*.[3]

## Publications

### Books

- *The Operational Code of the Politburo* McGraw Hill, New York, 1951.According to WorldCat, the book is held in 610 libraries[4]
- *On the Game of Politics in France*, [Stanford University Press](/source/Stanford_University_Press), 1959.
- *Rebellion and authority; an analytic essay on insurgent conflicts* Chicago, Markham Pub. Co.,1970 (with Charles Wolf) < According to WorldCat, the book is held in 533 libraries[5]
- *A Study of bolshevism.* : Glencoe, Ill., Free Press [1953]

### Articles

- Trends in Twentieth Century Propaganda, in *Psychoanalysis and the Social Sciences,* I, [International Universities Press](/source/International_Universities_Press), New York, 1947. With Ernst Kris.
- Some Psychological Hypotheses on Nazi Germany, *Journal of Social Psychology*, XXVI, 1947; XXVII, 1948; XXVIII, 1948.

### Reports

- *The Language of Politics*, Stewart, New York, 1949. With Harold Laswell.
- *The Political meaning of the Kostov Trial in Sofia, Bulgaria, December 1949,* The RAND Corporation, RM-371, April 1950.
- *The Operational Code of the Politburo*, The RAND Corporation, P-206, August 1950. Also published by McGraw Hill, New York, 1951.
- *Some useful passages from Lenin and Stalin*, The RAND Corporation, RM-569, March 1951.
- *Stalin as an Intellectual,* The RAND Corporation, P-408, May 1953. Also published in *World Politics,* VI, 1953.
- *A Study of Bolschevism*, The RAND Corporation, R-239, May 1953.
- *The Stalinist Heritage in Soviet Foreign Policy,* The RAND Corporation, RM-1003, May 1953.
- *The Statutes of the Communist Party: Democratic Facade and Totalitarian Reality,* The RAND Corporation, RM-1004, May 1953.

#### With Elsa Bernaut

- *Ritual of Liquidation: the Case of the Moscow Trials,* The RAND Corporation, RM-977, February 1954. With Elsa Bernaut.
- *The Kremlin's Horizon*, The RAND Corporation, RM-3506-ISA, March 1963.
- *The "Europe" of the French*, The RAND Corporation, P-4584-ISA, June 1965.
- *The New Economic Togetherness: American And Soviet Reactions*, The RAND Corporation, R-1369-ARPA, December 1973.
- *What Soviet Commanders Fear From Their Own Forces*, The RAND Corporation, P-5958, May 1978.
- *Soviet Style in War,* The RAND Corporation, R-2615-NA, April 1982.
- *Soviet Style in Management,* The RAND Corporation, R-3128-NA, July 1984.

## References

1. ["Nathan Leites Is Dead at 75; Was Expert on Soviet Union (Published 1987)"](https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/10/obituaries/nathan-leites-is-dead-at-75-was-expert-on-soviet-union.html?pagewanted=). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220416205055/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/10/obituaries/nathan-leites-is-dead-at-75-was-expert-on-soviet-union.html?pagewanted=) 2022-04-16 at the Wayback Machine.

1. *The Operational Code of the Politburo,* 1951.

1. [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2818240)

1. [WorldCat item record](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1737989)

1. [WorldCat item record](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/66537)

## External links

- [Guide to the Nathan Leites Papers 1931-1955](https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/scrc/findingaids/view.php?eadid=ICU.SPCL.LEITESN) at the [University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center](https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/scrc/)

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