About Dr. Keren Yarhi-Milo

Dr. Keren Yarhi-Milo serves as the dean of Columbia’s School of International Public Affairs (SIPA) and holds the Adlai E. Stevenson Professorship, advancing her research and leadership in international security, foreign policy, and decision-making.

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.

“Inside the Situation Room”

In September 2025, Yarhi-Milo and Secretary Hillary Clinton released an edited volume titled Inside the Situation Room: The Theory and Practice of Crisis Decision-Making, which features foremost practitioners and scholars. The volume was published by Oxford University Press. Yarhi-Milo is also 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.

“Inside the Situation Room” was inspired by a Columbia course of the same name that Yarhi-Milo and Secretary Clinton have co-taught since 2023. Each fall, the course of nearly 400 students, chosen through a competitive application, discusses the psychological biases that influence crisis decision-making. Class sessions cover the role of advisors, emotions, reputation, domestic public opinion, along with many other factors. The class also merges 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.”

Thought Leadership

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 coauthored an op-ed in The New York Times with Secretary Hillary Clinton on the perils of getting too personal in foreign policy. She coauthored an essay in The Atlantic on what the intelligence failures of the 1973 Yom Kippur War teach us about the October 7th 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 Foreign Affairs, including most recently an essay entitled The Price of Unpredictability: How Trump’s Foreign Policy Is Ruining American Credibility, 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.

Institute of Global Politics

In 2023, Yarhi-Milo founded and launched the Institute of Global Politics (IGP), a world-class institute at Columbia SIPA alongside 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.

Each Fall since 2023, Yarhi-Milo has co-taught the course Inside the Situation Room with Secretary Clinton. The course of nearly 400 students, chosen through a competitive application, discusses the psychological biases that influence crisis decision-making. Class sessions cover the role of advisors, emotions, reputation, domestic public opinion, and other factors, and merges 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 the edited volume, edited by Yarhi-Milo and Secretary Clinton, released in September 2025.

Education and other experience

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 later completed her post-doctoral work at Harvard’s Belfer Center. She joined the faculty at Columbia in 2019 after more than a decade spent at Princeton University as a Professor.