Graham T. Allison is Douglas Dillon Professor of Government and Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. From 1977-1989, Allison served as Dean of the Kennedy School. In the first term of the Clinton Administration, Allison served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy and Plans, where he coordinated Department of Defense strategy and policy toward Russia, Ukraine, and the other states of the former Soviet Union. His publication Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis (1971) was recently released in an updated and revised second edition (1999) and ranks among the best-sellers in political science with more than 350,000 copies in print. Other publications include Avoiding Nuclear Anarchy: Containing the Threat of Loose Russian Nuclear Weapons and Fissile Material (1996),Realizing Human Rights: From Inspiration to Impact (2000), and Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe (2004).

Blog Entries by Graham Allison

The Transfer of Power in Russia

Posted March 17, 2008 | 02:15 PM (EST)


Though the outcome of the presidential election in Russia was a foregone conclusion, many questions remain about when and how which powers will be transferred from whom to whom.

Partial answers to some of the questions about Russia's presidential succession are provided in the March 7 article in The Moscow...

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Six Unanswered Questions on Iran's Nuclear Program

Posted February 22, 2008 | 04:02 PM (EST)


In August 2007, Iran and the IAEA agreed to a work plan that included questions Iran was to answer by the end of the year. Once these final questions were answered, it was understood that Iran's nuclear file would be closed. The December 2007 NIE, however, raised new questions about...

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North Korean Nuclear Accountability Now

Posted September 28, 2007 | 05:14 PM (EST)


As speculation swirls around Israel's air-strike against a site deep inside Syria that is reported to have received nuclear weapons-related material from North Korea, the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear program resume in Beijing today. The most important and urgent message the US should be sending to Kim...

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Will Bush's Tragedy Trap His Successor in Iraq?

Posted September 7, 2007 | 04:40 PM (EST)


The essence of Greek tragedy is that protagonists move inexorably to a climax the audience can anticipate before the characters discover their fate. As the curtain rises for Washington's battle over Iraq, Congressional leaders must reject the role President Bush has scripted for them in his Iraq tragedy. Otherwise, in...

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Iran's Nuclear Bomb: Acquiesce or Attack?

Posted January 27, 2007 | 05:48 PM (EST)


The top line at Davos this year is euphoria about the performance of global economies and financial markets and confidence that 2007 will bring more of the same. Beneath the surface optimism, however, a deeper unease has emerged repeatedly about Iran--and specifically about Iran's nuclear bomb.

However the war...

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Starting Point for a Discussion on Iran's Nuclear Advances

Posted August 23, 2005 | 01:00 AM (EST)


What should be our objective in the case of Iran? No Iranian nuclear bomb. Relative to a nuclear-armed Iran, all other issues are subordinate.

The same cascade of centrifuges Iran seeks for "peaceful purposes" -- producing low-enriched fuel for reactors -- could also produce highly-enriched uranium to fuel nuclear bombs....

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