Graham Allison

Douglas Dillon Professor of Government
Director,
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Strengthening Democratic Institutions
Office Address
Littauer-368
Mailing Address
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Mailbox 53
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact
Phone: 617-496-6099
Fax: 617-495-1905
Email: graham_allison@Harvard.Edu
Assistant
Meghan Van Orden (617-496-6098)
Graham Allison

Profile

Graham Allison is Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Douglas Dillon Professor of Government at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. As "Founding Dean" of the modern School of Government, under his leadership, from 1977 to 1989, a small, undefined program grew twenty-fold to become a major professional school of public policy and government. Dr. Allison has served as Special Advisor to the Secretary of Defense under President Reagan and as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy and Plans under President Clinton, where he coordinated DOD strategy and policy towards Russia, Ukraine, and the other states of the former Soviet Union. He has the sole distinction of having twice been awarded the Department of Defense's highest civilian award, the Distinguished Public Service Medal, first by Secretary Cap Weinberger and second by Secretary Bill Perry. He served as a member of the Defense Policy Board for Secretaries Weinberger, Carlucci, Cheney, Aspin, Perry and Cohen. Dr. Allison's first book, Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis (1971), recently released in an updated and revised second edition (1999), ranks among the best-sellers in 20th century political science with more than 400,000 copies in print. His latest book, Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe, published in 2004, is now in its third printing, and was selected by the New York Times as one of the "100 most notable books of 2004."

Courses

Spring

  • IGA-201 Central Challenges of American Foreign Policy

Media Expertise

Graham Allison welcomes media inquiries on the following subjects:

Additional experts may be found by clicking on each subject listed. You may contact faculty directly or if you need assistance contact the Communications Office at 617-495-1115.

Research

Research for a complete list of faculty citations from 2001 - present, please visit the Harvard Kennedy School Research Report Online.

Selected Publication Citations:

  • Academic Journals
    • Allison, Graham, Joseph Cirincione, William C. Potter, and John Mueller. "Apocalypse When?" National Interest (November/December 2007).
    • Allison, Graham. "Assesssing the Terrorist Threat." Current 488 (December 2006): 31-35.
  • Book Chapters
    • Allison, Graham. "Institution Builder." Guardian of the Presidency: The Legacy of Richard E. Neustadt. Ed. Matthew J. Dickinson, Elizabeth A. Neustadt, and Doris Kearns Goodwin. Brookings Institution Press, 2007, 121-148.
  • Op-Eds
    • Allison, Graham. "Bush's U-turn Toward Common Sense: Talks with Iran Signify that the Administration has Finally Abandoned a Failed Part of its Foreign Policy." Los Angeles Times, July 19, 2008.
    • Allison, Graham. "Time to Bury a Dangerous Legacy." Daily Star (Bangladesh), May 5, 2008.
    • Allison, Graham, and Robbie Diamond. "Averting an Energy Crisis." Boston Globe, April 29, 2008.
    • Allison, Graham. "Nuclear Attack a Worse-Case Reality?" Washington Times, April 23, 2008.
    • Allison, Graham. "Reading the Tea Leaves in Pakistan." Boston Globe, February 21, 2008.
    • Graham, Allison. "And Now the Deluge." International Herald Tribune, February 21, 2008.
    • Allison, Graham. "What About the Nukes?" Newsweek, December 28, 2007.
    • Allison, Graham, and Eric Rosenbach. "Rethinking U.S. Foreign Policy." Globe and Mail, December 5, 2007.
    • Allison, Graham. "How American Can Prevent Terrorists from Striking with a Nuclear Weapon." Union Leader, November 8, 2007.
    • Allison, Graham. "Talking Through a Nuclear Staredown." Boston Globe, October 27, 2007.
    • Allison, Graham. "North Korean Nuclear Accountability Now." HuffingtonPost.com, September 28, 2007.
    • Allison, Graham. "No Choice -- Withdrawal Starts in '08." Los Angeles Times, September 11, 2007.
    • Allison, Graham. "Will Bush's Tragedy Trap His Successor in Iraq?" HuffingtonPost.com, September 7, 2007.
    • Allison, Graham. "Fast Action Needed to Avert Nuclear Terror Strike on U.S." Baltimore Sun, July 2, 2007.
    • Allison, Graham. "Iran's Nuclear Bomb: Acquiesce or Attack?" HuffingtonPost.com, January 27, 2007.
  • Research Papers/Reports
    • Carter, Ashton B., William J. Perry, Graham Allison, et al. "Reducing Nuclear Threats and Preventing Nuclear Terrorism." National Security Advisory Group, October 19, 2007.