Alexander George contributed to what the Institute is today

Left to Right: Political sociologist Seymour Martin Lipset, a member of USIP's Board of Directors; Alexander George; and former Institute Executive Vice President Harriet Hentges, at a special reception hosted by the Institute to honor George on August 29, 1996.

The Institute was deeply saddened this week to learn of the passing of its good friend and long-time collaborator Alexander George, Graham H. Stuart Professor Emeritus of International Relations at Stanford University. George died on August 16 at the age of 86.

Alexander George was a leader in the study of political psychology and the development of case study methodology in foreign policy analysis. His concepts of coercive diplomacy and escalation control have become essential contributions to the field.

George began his conflict management studies in the 1960s at the RAND Corporation as part of research on the Vietnam war. His analyses of the Vietnam conflict, the Reagan administration’s diplomatic policies, and the 1991 Persian Gulf War influenced and informed scholars and practitioners around the world.

Alex was a two term distinguished senior fellow in the Institute’s Jennings Randolph program after his retirement from Stanford in 1990. He used his time to promote groundbreaking studies on the gap between theory and practice in foreign policy. That work has been highly influential in the foreign affairs community and helped build the Institute’s standing as a center of research on international conflict management.

His many books include Forceful Persuasion: Coercive Diplomacy as an Alternative to War and Bridging the Gap: Theory and Practice in Foreign Policy, both of which were published by the Institute Press.

“Alex was a gem of a man,” said Institute President Richard Solomon. “He was an outstanding and creative political scientist, a lively and stimulating colleague, and a man who mentored many, many younger scholars and practitioners during his long and distinguished career. He will be sorely missed, but his contributions will endure in his writings and his influence on the many individuals who had the privilege of knowing him.”