Vaknin, Samuel, 1961-

Samuel Vaknin (1961– ) has limited publicly available information about his life and education; his identifiable profile rests mainly on a substantial body of writing across several fields. Twenty-eight of his works are held in the collection, spanning a wide range of subjects: from Russian Roulette: Russia's Economy in Putin's Era, an observation of the transitional economy, to Narcissistic and Psychopathic Leaders, Terrorists and Freedom Fighters, and Crime and Corruption, which analyze political psychology and public issues, as well as Essays on God and Freud and encyclopedic works on philosophy and economics. His writing is marked by clear theses and careful conceptual exposition, and he habitually brings psychological concepts to bear on power and institutions, giving his arguments a strongly critical and diagnostic tone. His work will appeal to readers interested in political psychology, corruption, and post-Soviet transition.