Robert Rotberg

Adjunct Professor of Public Policy
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Program Director,
Program on Intrastate Conflict, Conflict Prevention and Conflict Resolution
Office Address
124 Mt. Auburn - Suite 190-143
Mailing Address
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Mailbox 121
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact
Phone: 617-496-2258
Fax: 491-8588
Email: Robert_Rotberg@ksg.harvard.edu
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Profile

Robert I. Rotberg is Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and President, World Peace Foundation. He was Professor of Political Science and History, MIT; Academic Vice President, Tufts University; and President, Lafayette College. He is the author and editor of numerous books and articles on US foreign policy, Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, most recently Battling Terrorism in the Horn of Africa (2005), When States Fail: Causes and Consequences (2004), State Failure and State Weakness in a Time of Terror (2003), Ending Autocracy, Enabling Democracy: The Tribulations of Southern Africa 19602000 (2002), Peacekeeping and Peace Enforcement in Africa: Methods of Conflict Prevention (2001), Truth v. Justice: The Morality of Truth Commissions (2000), Creating Peace in Sri Lanka: Civil War and Reconciliation (1999), Burma: Prospects for a Democratic Future (1998), War and Peace in Southern Africa: Crime, Drugs, Armies, and Trade (1998), Haiti Renewed: Political and Economic Prospects (1997), Vigilance and Vengeance: NGOs Preventing Ethnic Conflict in Divided Societies (1996), From Massacres to Genocide: The Media, Public Policy and Humanitarian Crises (1996), and The Founder: Cecil Rhodes and the Pursuit of Power (1988, new ed. 2002).

Courses

Spring

  • PAL-264 Leadership and Governance: The Politics of Contemporary Africa

Fall

  • PAL-265 Leadership, Democracy and Conflict: The Politics of the Developing World

Media Expertise

Robert Rotberg 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
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "Africa's Troubled Leadership and What to do About It." Fletcher Forum of World Affairs 31.2 (Summer 2007): 149-164.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "On Improving Nation-State Governance." Dædalus CXXXVI (Winter 2007): 151-155.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "Renewing Good Leadership: Overcoming the Scourges of Africa." Africa Policy Journal 1 (Spring 2006): 1-3.
  • Book Chapters
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "Apology, Truth Commissions, and Intrastate Conflict." Taking Wrongs Seriously: Apologies And Reconciliation. Ed. Elazar Barkan and Alexander Karn. Stanford University Press, 2006, 33-49.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "The Challenge of Weak, Failing, and Collapsed States." Leashing the Dogs of War: Conflict Management in a Divided World. Ed. Chester A. Crocker, Fen Osler Hampson, and Pamela R. Aall. U.S. Institute of Peace Press, 2007, 83-94.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "Nigeria: Elections and Continuing Challenges." Beyond Humanitarianism: What You Need to Know About Africa and Why It Matters. Ed. Princeton N. Lyman and Patricia Lee Dorff. Council on Foreign Relations, 2007, 29-44.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "Repressive, Aggressive, and Rogue Nation-States: How Odious, How Dangerous?" Worst of the Worst: Dealing with Repressive and Rogue Nations. Ed. Robert I. Rotberg. Brookings Institution, 2007, 1-39.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "Winning the African Prize for Repression: Zimbabwe." Worst of the Worst: Deadling with Repressive and Rogue Nations. Ed. Robert I. Rotberg. Brookings Institution, 2007, 166-192.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "La Guerra Contra el Terrorismo: Corazones, Mentes y Derechos Humanos." La Protección Internacional de los Derechos Humanos: Un Reto en el Siglo XXI. Ed. Ana X. Covarrubias Velasco and Daniel Ortega Nieto. El Colegio de México: Centro de Estudios Internacionales, 2007, 249-266.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "The Role of Leadership in Overcoming Poverty and Achieving Security in Africa." Too Poor for Peace? Global Poverty, Conflict, and Security in the 21st Century. Ed. Lael Brainard and Derek Chollet. Brookings Institution Press, 2007, 119-127.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "The Failure and Collapse of Nation States." Staatszerfall und Governance. Ed. Marianne Beisheim and Gunnar Folke Schuppert. Nomos Publishers, 2007, 59-97.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "Renewing the Afghan State." Building a New Afghanistan. Ed. Robert I. Rotberg. Brookings Institution, 2007, 1-21.
  • Books
    • Rotberg, Robert I. A Leadership for Peace: How Edwin Ginn Tried to Change the World. Stanford University Press, 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. Africa: Progress & Problems: Governance and Leadership in Africa. Mason Crest Publishers, 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I., and Rachel M. Gisselquist. Strengthening African Governance: Ibrahim Index of African Governance: Results and Rankings. World Peace Foundation, 2007.
  • Edited Volumes
    • Rotberg, Robert I., ed. Israeli and Palestinian Narratives of Conflict: History's Double Helix. Indiana University Press, 2006.
    • Rotberg, Robert I., ed. Building a New Afghanistan. Brookings Institution, 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I., ed. Worst of the Worst: Dealing with Repressive and Rogue Nations. Brookings Institution, 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I., ed. State Failure and State Weakness in a Time of Terror. Brookings Institution, 2003.
  • Magazine and Newspaper Articles
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "Edwin Ginn: Brief Life of a Peace Activist: 1838-1914." Harvard Magazine (September/October 2006): 41-42.
  • Op-Eds
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "Politics and Power in Zimbabwe." Boston Globe, March 26, 2008.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "Bangladesh's Model." Chicago Tribune, February 17, 2008.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "Standing Up to Mugabe." Boston Globe, December 22, 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "Myanmar's Leaders Are Not Immune to Pressure." Chicago Tribune, December 2, 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "S.A. 'Solid' Performance but Major Deficiencies - Index." Southern Africa Report, October 12, 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "Playing Favorites on Dictators Robs U.S. of High Ground." Chicago Tribune, October 7, 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "China's Mixed Role in Africa." Boston Globe, June 23, 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "A Nation in Decay: A New Zimbabwe." Mail & Guardian (Zimbabwe), April 25, 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "Nigeria Neglect Carries Cost." Baltimore Sun, April 20, 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "Losing the War in Afghanistan." Boston Globe, April 2, 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "Darfur." Young Europeans for Security (YES) website, January 29, 2007.
  • Research Papers/Reports
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "Africa's Successes: Evaluating Accomplishment." Program on Intrastate Conflict, Belfer-WPF Report 43, November 20, 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I., and Rachel M. Gisselquist. "Ibrahim Index of African Governance." Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution, www.moibrahimfoundation.org (online version), September 25, 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. “Reforming Political Leadership: Methods and Incentives, or Can Avarice Be Tamed?” KSG Center for Public Leadership Prospecting Group, March 6, 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. “Weak, Failing, and Collapsed States." Centre for Defense and Strategic Studies, Canberra, Australia (by video conference), February 27, 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "Governance, Islam, and Terrorism in Africa." Department of State Conference on Islam and Terrorism in Africa, February 23, 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. “The Consequences of Nation State Failure for World Order." Symposium on 21st Century Leadership Challenges and the Vision to Confront Them, University of Minnesota Center for Integrative Leadership, February 5, 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. "Nigeria: Elections and Continuing Challenges." Council on Foreign Relations, 2007.
  • Reviews
    • Rotberg, Robert I. Review of Before Haiti: Race and Citizenship in French Saint-Domingue, by John D. Garrigus. Choice, December 2006.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. Review of Mandela: The Authorized Portrait, by Mike Nicol, et al. Choice, 44.12 August 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. Review of South Africa: The First Man, the Last Nation, by R.W. Johnson. Choice, 44.9 May 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. Review of Haiti, Rising Flames from Burning Ashes: Haiti the Phoenix, by Pierre Hyppolite. Choice, 44.6 February 2007.
    • Rotberg, Robert I. Review of The Cult of Rhodes: Remembering an Imperialist Africa, by Paul Maylam. Kronos, 32 2007: 272-274.