Robert Jervis | |
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| Born | (1940-04-30)April 30, 1940 |
| Died | December 9, 2021(2021-12-09) (aged 81) |
| Academic background | |
| Education | |
| Influences | |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Political science |
| Institutions | |
| Doctoral students | |
| Influenced | Shiping Tang |
Robert Jervis (April 30, 1940 – December 9, 2021) was an Americanpolitical scientist who was the Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of International Politics in the Department of Political Science atColumbia University. Jervis was co-editor of theCornell Studies in Security Affairs, a series published byCornell University Press.
He is known for his contributions topolitical psychology,international relations theory,nuclear strategy, andintelligence studies.[1][2] According to theOpen Syllabus Project, Jervis is one of the most-frequently cited authors on college syllabi for political science courses.[3]
Robert Jervis was born in New York City in 1940.[4][5] He earned a BA fromOberlin College in 1962. At Oberlin, he developed an interest in nuclear strategy, and was influenced byThomas Schelling’sStrategy of Conflict andGlenn Snyder’sDeterrence and Defense.[5][6][7] In 1962, he began graduate work atUniversity of California, Berkeley, where he studied underGlenn Snyder. He received a PhD fromUC Berkeley in 1968.[8]
From 1968 to 1972, he was an assistant professor of government atHarvard University and was an associate professor from 1972 to 1974. According to Jervis, Schelling brought him to Harvard.[5] In 1974, Jervis was a candidate for the tenured chair vacated byHenry Kissinger when he started working in theRichard Nixon administration, but the Government department at Harvard did not consider Jervis qualified.[9] At Harvard, he developed a close friendship with Schelling andKenneth Waltz.[5] From 1974 to 1980, he was a professor of political science at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles. He was a member of the Columbia University faculty from 1980 until his death in 2021. He was a member of theArnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies in theSchool of International and Public Affairs. He was president of theAmerican Political Science Association in 2000–2001.[8]
Jervis consulted for theCIA.[5]
He worked on perceptions and misperceptions in foreign policy decision making. Jervis played a key role in introducing insights from psychology to International Relations scholarship.[10]Charles Glaser described Jervis's work on the security dilemma as "among the most important works in international relations of the past few decades."[11]
According toJack Snyder, "Jervis's body of thought can be categorized in terms of five interrelated themes: communication in strategic bargaining, perception and misperception in international politics, cooperation in anarchy, the nuclear revolution, and complex system effects and unintended consequences."[12] According to Thomas J. Christensen andKeren Yarhi-Milo, "in seeking to understand both behavior and outcomes in world affairs, Jervis championed the role of individuals’ perceptions and formative experiences rather than just broad political, social, and economic forces... [His] work was always rooted in the complexities of actual decision-making by real people with quirks and flaws."[13]
Jervis was a member of theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science, theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences, and theAmerican Philosophical Society.[14] In 2006 he was awarded theNAS Award for Behavior Research Relevant to the Prevention of Nuclear War from theNational Academy of Sciences.[15] He participated in the 2010 Hertog Global Strategy Initiative, a high-level research program on nuclear proliferation.[16]
In 2021, he was elected member of the U.S.National Academy of Sciences.[17] Jervis was the recipient of the 1990University of LouisvilleGrawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order.[18]
Jervis met his wife Kathe (née Weil) Jervis in 1961 on a student trip to the Soviet Union.[19] Together they had two daughters, Alexa and Lisa.[19]Lisa Jervis is a co-founder ofBitch magazine.[20]
In the early 1960s, while studying for his PhD in Political Science at the University of California at Berkeley, Jervis participated in the Free Speech Movement.[19]
Jervis died oflung cancer in his Manhattan home on December 9, 2021, at the age of 81.[7][21] He is honored atColumbia University with an annual conference bearing his name.[22]
Books
Articles
Newly elected members and their affiliations at the time of election are: … Jervis, Robert; Adlai Stevenson Professor of Political Science, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York City, entry in member directory:"Member Directory". National Academy of Sciences. RetrievedJuly 4, 2021.
