Keren Yarhi-Milo

Dr. 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. She is a world-renowned and award-winning expert in international security and crisis decision-making and the youngest dean in SIPA’s history. Yarhi-Milo joined the tenured faculty at Columbia University in 2019 after a decade at Princeton University. Before becoming dean in July 2022, Yarhi-Milo served for two years as director of SIPA’s Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies.

As a scholar and professor, Yarhi-Milo bridges the worlds of academia and policy, focusing predominantly on how leaders make foreign policy decisions regarding the use of force. Her work draws on cutting-edge methods and theoretical insights from psychology, organizational theory, and behavioral economics. Her research also delves into the complexities of signaling and (mis)perception in world politics, threat assessments and intelligence analysis, the role of secrecy and deception in foreign policy, and the importance of face-to-face diplomacy. She is the author of two award-winning 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) and has published extensively in the top academic journals in the field of political science. 

Yarhi-Milo is one of the world’s foremost scholars on the psychology of leadership and decision-making, making her a sought-after voice in the public arena. She recently coauthored an essay in The Atlantic on what the intelligence failures of the 1973 Yom Kippur War teach us about the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks. She also coauthored an op-ed in The New York Times with her counterpart at Princeton, Dean Amaney Jamal, on the need for greater civil discourse on campuses. She is a frequent contributor to the print edition of Foreign Affairs, including most recently an essay entitled The Credibility Trap: Is Reputation Worth Fighting For (July/August 2024 issue), on why reputations for resolve are so difficult to maintain, and Why Smart Leaders Do Stupid Things: Is Foreign Policy Rational? (November/December 2023 issue), on why leaders do not always act rationally.

In 2023, Yarhi-Milo founded and launched the Institute of Global Politics (IGP), a new, world-class institute at Columbia SIPA with a faculty advisory board chaired by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Building on the accomplishments of its inaugural year, IGP brings people together across geographic and political divides, creates a space for open dialogue across ideological differences, inspires new and policy-relevant ideas, and advances necessary conversations to build the foundation for impactful solutions addressing some of today's most pressing challenges. In March 2024, IGP launched its Women’s Initiative, centered around four main pillars: women's economic opportunity, women's health, women's safety and security, and women's leadership, democracy, and human rights. 

During the fall of 2023, Yarhi-Milo co-taught the course Inside the Situation Room with Secretary Clinton. The course of 380 students, chosen through a competitive application, discussed the psychological biases that influence crisis decision-making. Class sessions covered the role of advisors, emotions, reputation, domestic public opinion, and other factors, and merged some of the major theories of international relations with prominent historical case studies and insights from the Secretary’s own time as a decision maker “inside the Situation Room.” The theme of the course inspired an edited volume, edited by Yarhi-Milo and Secretary Clinton and featuring leading practitioners and scholars, forthcoming with Oxford University Press.

Yarhi-Milo is a series editor of Princeton Studies in International History and Politics from Princeton University Press. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Yarhi-Milo earned her PhD at the University of Pennsylvania and a BA, summa cum laude, from Columbia University. She grew up in Israel, where she served in the IDF intelligence while completing mandatory military service. While in Israel, she worked with several NGOs promoting peace in the Middle East, including the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation. She lives in New York City with her husband and two sons.

Education

• Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
• B.A., summa cum laude, in Political Science from Columbia University

Honors and Awards

• 2022 International Studies Association’s Emerging Scholar Award
• 2016 Furnnis Award
• Co-Winner of the 2016 DPLST Book Prize