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Gift of Kathe Weil Jervis
Robert "Bob" Jervis (1940-2021) was an American political scientist and professor whose work centered on political psychology and international relations. He was born in New York City on April 30th, 1940, to Herman and Dorothy (Bing) Jervis. As a child, he attended the Ethical Culture Fieldston School in Manhattan before leaving New York City for Oberlin, where he earned a B.A. in 1962. On a 1961 student trip to the Soviet Union he met educational researcher and teacher Kathe Weil (1942-2026), and they married in 1967.
After earning his Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley in 1968, he was appointed Assistant Professor (1968-1972) and later Associate Professor (1972-1974) of Government at Harvard University. In 1974 he became a Professor of Political Science at UCLA before returning to New York City in 1980 to accept a position as Professor at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, where he remained until his death in 2021.
At Columbia, he was named the Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of International Politics and worked in the Saltzman Institute for War and Peace Studies. He led the International Society of Political Psychology and the American Political Science Association, co-founded the International Security Studies Forum, and co-edited the journal Cornell Studies in Security Affairs. He also served as special advisor to the CIA and spent 20 years as the head of the organization's Historical Review Panel. Jervis is the author of over 100 publications, including 8 books. His research explored theories of cooperation and conflict, decision-making, perception, the security dilemma, and nuclear policy. His work is considered deeply influential in the fields of international relations and political psychology.
Sources:
• How I Got Here (2020), by Robert Jervis, H-Diplo Essay #198 in the series "Learning the Scholar's Craft: Reflections of Historians and International Relations Scholars."
• Robert Jervis Profile (2021), Columbia SIPA website.
• Roundtable: Remembering Robert Jervis (2022), discussion chaired by Francis J. Gavin, Texas National Security Review.
• Robert Jervis Curriculum Vitae (undated), Columbia SIPA website.
• Robert Jervis: remembering the dean of intelligence studies (2022), by J.J. Wirtz, Intelligence and National Security Vol. 37, Issue 5.
• Herman Jervis Obituary (30 November 2004), New York Times.
• Kathe Jervis Obituary (17 May 2026), New York Times.
• The Jervis Effect: The Scholarship and Legacy of Robert Jervis (2026), edited by Richard H. Immerman, Stacie E. Goddard, and Diane N. Labrosse, Columbia University Press
This collection was stored at the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies while being processed.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Robert Jervis Papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Collection was processed and finding aid was written by Wilhelmine Coste of The Winthrop Group, spring 2026, with funding from the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies.
Related collections at the RBML include the
This collection consists of documents relating to Robert Jervis's work as a political science researcher, international relations advisor, and working professor. The majority are research files, including annotated copies of publications, typed or handwritten notes on research concepts and events, newspaper and magazine clippings, and printed internet message board correspondence. Papers also include drafts, teaching materials, meeting minutes, proposals, reports, and a small amount of professional correspondence. The collection also includes a small amount of personal material relating to Jervis's education, wife Kathe, and family, as well as some photographs.
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
A list of the books found in Jervis's office at the time of his death was created by SIWPS Coordinator O.G. Grinberg. The list is available by emailing rbml@columbia.edu. These books are not included in the collection but the list may provide useful context for future researchers.
This series contains Jervis's research notes and concept files, arranged into three subseries.
This subseries consists of Jervis's working research files, which he grouped by concept or topic. Where possible, original folder titles have been maintained, with the exception of expanding acronyms and shorthand. Partially illegible words are indicated with a likely first letter and an em dash (i.e., K--). Where folder titles were difficult to read, or where notes were written directly on folders, part or all of the original folder is included alongside the contents.
This subseries consists of Jervis's unfiled research notes and annotated publications, grouped by topic. Groupings and folder titles were imposed by the processing archivist.
This subseries consists of unfiled research notes, annotated publications, and Jervis's own publications and drafts which could not be sorted into Subseries 2.
This series contains materials relating to Jervis's career as a political scientist, teaching professor, and intelligence advisor, arranged into three subseries.
This subseries encompasses materials Jervis used or created related to his work as a teaching professor, including course packs, lecture notes, and assigned readings. Folder titles follow naming conventions used by Jervis and mostly refer to course codes.
This subseries contains materials acquired or created by Jervis as part of his work as a CIA consultant and head of the agency's Historical Review Panel, including meeting minutes, correspondence, and notes and drafts relating to Jervis's Iran post-mortem report.
This subseries contains materials acquired or created by Jervis as part of his involvement in multidisciplinary projects including the proposed Columbia Center of Intelligence and Cyber Studies, Columbia University Press, the Woodrow Wilson Center Cold War International History Project, the Defense Science Board, and the Berkeley campus Free Speech Movement.