Rescheduled Patron Event
Dr. Keren Yarhi-Milo
Dean, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs
PATRON EVENT
In person only
June 4, 2024
6:30- 8:00pm
Location: Consulate General of Germany
871 United Nations Plz
New York, NY 10017
ABOUT THE TOPIC
How decision-makers use or threaten to use force is very relevant, given the recent wars in Ukraine and now in Israel and Gaza. Both wars involve intelligence failures and raise the issue of rationality, deterrence, and misperceptions in international politics. This lecture will address the psychological factors -- including cognitive biases, groupthink, and loss aversion -- that shape decision-making among our adversaries. How do we explain recent decisions to use force? What is the role of domestic politics, reputations for resolve, and public opinion in shaping these decisions? And how can we deter our adversaries going forward?
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Keren Yarhi-Milo is the dean of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and the Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of International Relations. In early September 2023, Dean Yarhi-Milo and Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton launched the Institute of Global Politics (IGP), a new hub to connect the world’s leading policymakers, political leaders, practitioners, and scholars, IGP will be part of Columbia University’s School for International and Public Affairs.
Yarhi-Milo’s books, Who Fights for Reputation? The Psychology of Leaders in International Conflict (Princeton, 2018) and Knowing The Adversary: Leaders, Intelligence Organizations, and Assessments of Intentions in International Relations (Princeton, 2014), are recognized as two of the most outstanding books in foreign policy and for making exceptional contributions to the study of national and international security. Using psychology, organizational theory, and behavioral economics, Yarhi-Milo explores the complicated contexts that surround decision making, signaling, and perception in international relations. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A., summa cum laude, from Columbia University in 2003.