Graham Allison
Graham Allison is the Douglas Dillon Professor of Government at Harvard University, where he has taught for over five decades. A prominent political scientist and leading national security analyst, Allison specializes in nuclear weapons, Russia, China, and high-stakes decision-making. He is renowned for his pioneering work on bureaucratic decision-making during crises in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Allison served as the Founding Dean of Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and as Director of its Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, consistently ranked the world’s top university-affiliated think tank. Under his leadership, the Kennedy School expanded from a small program into a major professional school for public policy and government. Allison has also held key government positions, including Assistant Secretary of Defense, and has advised U.S. Secretaries of Defense under every administration from Reagan through Obama.
Graham Allison Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
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Douglas Dillon Professor of Government
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Founding Dean and Director
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Founding Dean
Academic History
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Ph.D., Political Science
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B.A., M.A., Philosophy, Politics and Economics
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B.A., History, Magna cum Laude
GOVERNMENT CAREER
Graham Allison served as Assistant Secretary of Defense during the first Clinton Administration and as Special Advisor to the Secretary of Defense under President Reagan.
He has been a member of the Secretary of Defense’s Advisory Board under every Secretary from Caspar Weinberger to James Mattis.
Allison holds the unique distinction of receiving the Distinguished Public Service Medal twice—first from Secretary Weinberger and later from Secretary William Perry.
He has also served on the Advisory Boards of the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and the Director of the CIA.
EARLY CAREER & PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP
During his tenure as Dean of the Harvard Kennedy School, Allison expanded the school’s size by 400% and its endowment by 700%.
He organized the Commission on America’s National Interests, was a founding member of the Trilateral Commission, and served as a Director of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Allison has also held corporate directorships, including Getty Oil Company, Natixis, Loomis Sayles, Hansberger, Taubman Centers, Joule Unlimited, and Belco Oil and Gas, and served on advisory boards for Chase Bank, Chemical Bank, Hydro-Quebec, and the International Energy Corporation.
Deeply involved in U.S. defense policy, he advised the Pentagon in the 1960s and has been a longstanding consultant for the RAND Corporation.
PUBLICATIONS & BOOKS
Allison is a prolific author whose work has significantly influenced public policy and international relations.
He co-authored Remaking Foreign Policy (1976) with Peter L. Szanton, shaping the Carter administration’s foreign policy approach.
His notable books include Destined (2017), a national and international bestseller; Lee Kuan Yew (2013), a bestseller in the U.S. and abroad; and Nuclear Terrorism, recognized by The New York Times as one of the “100 most notable books of 2004.”
His seminal work, Essence of Decision (1971), remains an all-time classic in political science, with over 500,000 copies in print.