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David S. Mason

American political scientist

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 30, 2025
Entity authorityQ5239384 ↗
Source-derived summary

David Stewart Mason (born November 23, 1947) is the Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Butler University in Indianapolis. His most recent book, The End of the American Century (Rowman & Littlefield, 2008) explores the interrelated dimensions of America's domestic and international decline. That book has been translated and published in China, by the Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House.

Mason was born in Washington, D.C. in 1947; received his B.A. in Government from Cornell University in 1969; his M.A. in International Affairs from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in 1971; and his Ph.D. in Political Science from Indiana University Bloomington in 1978.

Mason has received research grants from the National Science Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, the National Council for Soviet and East European Research, the International Research and Exchanges Board, and the Social Science Research Council.

External links

Butler University page about Dr.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “David S. Mason” as american political scientist. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around David, Mason and American.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1947, 2008, 1969, 1971—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1947-11-23. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with David, Mason and American providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “David S. Mason”, the useful work is to connect “american political scientist” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 30, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q5239384. VIAF identifies the subject as 24667403. The Library of Congress control number is n84202118. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1947, 2008, 1969 and 1971.

Critical limits

Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
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Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

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  2. Expand the search: follow David S. Mason primary sources, David S. Mason archive and David research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “David S. Mason” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.