IR Specialist Tenured

Stephen P. Rosen '74, an expert in international conflict and the study of war, accepted a tenured position in the Government Department last week.

Rosen, who has been an associate professor of government since 1990, said he was thrilled by the offer, which he accepted last Thursday.

"Most of my adult life I've been around here," said Rosen, who received his Ph.D. in political science from Harvard in 1979. "This is my intellectual home. It's sort of a childhood dream to get tenure here."

Rosen, who has taught a class on war and politics and two junior seminars, took a circuitous route to academia after spending eight years working in Washington, D.C.

He worked in the Department of Defense and with the National Security Council.

"I realized what I enjoyed doing most was writing books and taking time to do research. There was a lot of bureaucratic infighting," he recalls.

Rosen recently published a book on Indian society and the Indian army, titled Social Structures and Strategies. He won the Edgar Furniss Prize from Ohio State University for his first book, Winning the Next War, which was published in 1991.

Rosen is currently working on a new project on nonrational aspects of strategic behavior.

Professor of Government Kenneth A. Shepsle, chair of the department, said Rosen's appointment fills a void in the department.

"We have probably the finest collection of international relations scholars in the country. The field is divided into to subfields: international economy and security studies," Shepsle said. "We're incredibly strong in the first. We need to continue to build in the second. Steve is the first step in that direction."

Shepsle also praised Rosen's teaching skills. Students did too; Rosen's recent CUE Guide scores were 4.8, 4.7 and 4.9.

"He's good at teaching undergraduates about international politics. He's good at teaching graduate students about teaching," Shepsle said. "He's young and entergetic and will be a very contributing member of the senior faculty."

Rosen said he has chosen to specialize in the study of war because of its universal relevance.

"It seemed to me to be a subject of continuing importance, intellectually and practically," he said.

He also said that the subject is an important one for undergraduates to study.

"Harvard undergraduates are more likely than average undergraduates to play leading roles in the communities and societies after they graduate," Rosen said. "They're going to be members of the political elite, making decisions of whether to send troops into combat."

But Harvard graduates will be hampered in their decision-making, because most will not serve in the military, he said.

"They're going to be making serious decisions about the lives of their countrymen," Rosen said. "They need a better historical and intellectual basis for making decisions on when war is useful, what war is like.

But Harvard graduates will be hampered in their decision-making, because most will not serve in the military, he said.

"They're going to be making serious decisions about the lives of their countrymen," Rosen said. "They need a better historical and intellectual basis for making decisions on when war is useful, what war is like.