Professor Graham Allison, Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

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 Kennedy School from 1977-1989, under his leadership a small, undefined program grew twenty-fold to become a major professional school of public policy and government. Dr. Allison served as Assistant Secretary of Defense in the first Clinton Administration and Special Advisor to the Secretary of Defense under President Reagan. 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 later by Secretary Bill Perry. He served as a member of the Defense Policy Board for Secretaries Weinberger, Carlucci, Cheney, Aspin, Perry and Cohen. He currently serves on the advisory boards of the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and the head of the CIA. Dr. Allison's latest book (2013), Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master’s Insights on China, the United States and the World (co-authored with Robert Blackwill), has been a bestseller in the U.S. and abroad. His previous book, Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe, is now in its third printing and was selected as one of The New York Times "100 most notable books of 2004"; and his first book, Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis (1971), ranks among the bestsellers in 20th century political science with more than 400,000 copies in print.

Research Assistant Skills: The Research Assistant will assist the Director of the Belfer Center in conducting research on central challenges in US foreign policy today, addressing topics ranging from nuclear nonproliferation to terrorism. Applicants should have some knowledge of international affairs and be focused, perceptive, quick to find articles, and effective at extracting key proposition

Research Assistant Reflection:

As Professor Allison's RA, I worked on an op-ed comparing China's behavior in the South China Sea territorial disputes to the United States' conduct in the Western Hemisphere under the Monroe Doctrine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I also worked closely with his full-time research assistants as I conducted preparatory research on this topic and wrote Professor Allison memos summarizing my research. Doing so was a fun and rewarding experience, as I have learned how to drill down on the most significant facts and quotes that most succinctly and vividly illustrates current foreign policy problems. I had to keep track of the news quite closely for this job, and consequently have had the experience of following a strategically important issue as it developed on the ground.

-Bella Wang ’14

Apply to work with Professor Allison here.