Graham Allison

Graham Allison is the Douglas Dillon Professor of Government at Harvard University, where he has taught for more than five decades. Allison is an analyst of national security, with expertise in nuclear weapons, Russia, China, and decision-making. He is known for coining the concept of the Thucydides Trap, a theory that examines the structural stress and potential for conflict when a rising power threatens to displace a ruling power. His book, "Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's Trap?" became a bestseller in the United States and internationally, and has been described as required reading for policymakers, academics, and journalists.

Allison's influence in political science began with his first book, "Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis," which is among the bestselling works in the field. In this book, he developed the organizational process model and the bureaucratic politics model, which have shaped the study of decision-making in political science and international relations. His other works include "Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe," selected by The New York Times as one of the 100 most notable books of its year, and "Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States and the World," a bestseller in the United States and abroad.

Allison has served in senior roles in the U.S. government, including as Assistant Secretary of Defense, where he received the Defense Department's highest civilian award, the Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, for his work in reducing the former Soviet nuclear arsenal. This effort resulted in the safe return of more than 12,000 tactical nuclear weapons from former Soviet republics and the elimination of more than 4,000 strategic nuclear warheads previously targeted at the United States. He also served as Special Advisor to the Secretary of Defense and is the only individual to have twice received the Distinguished Public Service Medal.

As founding dean of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, Allison led the transformation of the program into a major professional school of public policy and government. He later directed the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, which has been ranked as the top university-affiliated think tank globally. Allison is a founding member of the Trilateral Commission and a director of the Council on Foreign Relations. He has served on advisory boards for the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and the Director of the CIA. Allison continues to contribute to global security and U.S.-China relations, participating in forums such as the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos and the Munich Security Conference.