Robert Jervis (April 30, 1940 – December 9, 2021) was an American political scientist who was the Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of International Politics in the Department of Political Science at Columbia University. Jervis was co-editor of the Cornell Studies in Security Affairs, a series published by Cornell University Press.

He is known for his contributions to political psychology, international relations theory, nuclear strategy, and intelligence studies. According to the Open Syllabus Project, Jervis is one of the most-frequently cited authors on college syllabi for political science courses.

Early life and education

Robert Jervis was born in New York City in 1940. He earned a BA from Oberlin College in 1962. At Oberlin, he developed an interest in nuclear strategy, and was influenced by Thomas Schelling’s Strategy of Conflict and Glenn Snyder’s Deterrence and Defense. In 1962, he began graduate work at University of California, Berkeley, where he studied under Glenn Snyder. He received a PhD from UC Berkeley in 1968.

Career

From 1968 to 1972, he was an assistant professor of government at Harvard University and was an associate professor from 1972 to 1974. According to Jervis, Schelling brought him to Harvard. At Harvard, he developed a close friendship with Schelling and Kenneth Waltz. Charles Glaser described Jervis's work on the security dilemma as "among the most important works in international relations of the past few decades."

According to Jack 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." According to Thomas J. Christensen and Keren 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."

Jervis was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. In 2006 he was awarded the NAS Award for Behavior Research Relevant to the Prevention of Nuclear War from the National Academy of Sciences. Jervis was the recipient of the 1990 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order. Together they had two daughters, Alexa and Lisa. He is honored at Columbia University with an annual conference bearing his name.

Selected publications

Books

  • The Logic of Images in International Relations (Princeton, 1970)
  • Perception and Misperception in International Politics (Princeton, 1976)
  • The Illogic of American Nuclear Strategy (Cornell, 1985)
  • The Meaning of the Nuclear Revolution (Cornell, 1989)
  • System Effects: Complexity in Political and Social Life (Princeton, 1997)
  • American Foreign Policy in a New Era (Routledge, 2005)
  • Why Intelligence Fails: Lessons From The Iranian Revolution And The Iraq War (Cornell, 2010)
  • How Statesmen Think: The Psychology of International Politics (Essay Collection) (Princeton, 2017)

Articles

References

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Further reading

  • Immerman, Richard H., Stacie E. Goddard, and Diane N. Labrosse, eds. (2025). The Jervis Effect: The Scholarship and Legacy of Robert Jervis. New York: Columbia University Press. .
  • H-Diplo. Tribute to the Life, Scholarship, and Legacy of Robert Jervis: Part I.
  • H-Diplo. Tribute to the Life, Scholarship, and Legacy of Robert Jervis: Part II
  • Davis, James W., ed. (2013). Psychology, strategy and conflict: perceptions of insecurity in international relations. New York: Routledge. .
  • Utter, Glenn H. and Charles Lockhart, eds. (2002). American Political Scientists: A Dictionary (2nd ed.). .
  • Teaching and Research Practices, Views on the Discipline, and Policy Attitudes of International Relations Faculty at U.S. Colleges and Universities