John Mueller

John Mueller is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and a senior professor emeritus at The Ohio State University, where he is affiliated with the political science department. He is a leading expert on terrorism, national security and the tendency of governments and societies to exaggerate security threats and overreact to them.

Mueller is the author or co-author of numerous books on war, risk and U.S. foreign policy. With Mark G. Stewart, he wrote “Chasing Ghosts: The Policing of Terrorism” (2016), “Terror, Security, and Money” (2011), “Overcoming Overreaction: Reducing Fears of Terrorism” (2020) and “The Stupidity of War: American Foreign Policy and the Case for Complacency” (2021). His other books include “Overblown,” “Atomic Obsession,” “Retreat from Doomsday” and “The Remnants of War,” which received the Lepgold Prize for best book in international relations.

Mueller has published widely in leading academic journals and major public outlets and has served as a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Guggenheim Fellow and a recipient of grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He has also received multiple teaching awards.