Stéphane Courtois

Stéphane Courtois, born on November twenty-fifth, nineteen forty-seven, is a prominent French historian and university professor. He serves as a director of research at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and is a professor at the Catholic Institute of Higher Studies (ICES) in La Roche-sur-Yon. Courtois is also known for directing a collection that specializes in the history of communist movements and states.

One of his most significant contributions to historical literature is 'The Black Book of Communism,' published in nineteen ninety-seven. This influential and controversial work has been translated into numerous languages and has sold millions of copies worldwide. In the book's first chapter, Courtois posits that Communism and Nazism share similarities as totalitarian systems, asserting that Communism was responsible for the deaths of approximately one hundred million people in the twentieth century. His comparisons have sparked considerable debate, particularly regarding the accuracy of his figures and the events he chooses to highlight.

In addition to his research at CNRS, Courtois is affiliated with the Géode group at Paris West University Nanterre La Défense, where he studies democracy. He co-founded the journal 'Communisme' with Annie Kriegel in nineteen eighty-two and is an active member of the Cercle de l'Oratoire think tank. His academic journey began with a Maoist ideology from nineteen sixty-eight to nineteen seventy-one, but he later evolved into a staunch advocate for democracy, pluralism, and the rule of law.