A passing of significant note. Our mentor – Richard Rosecrance – passed away in his 93rd year. He was our mentor but also one to many others, indeed to generations of graduate students – at UC Berkeley, Cornell, UCLA, and the Kennedy School at Harvard. While the last few years left him less able to exercise his academic wit and mastery, he was a guiding light in international relations for years.

Dick was an unmatched researcher. Just some of his books underscore how prolific and varied his work: 

• Action and Reaction in World Politics  (1963)
• Defence of the Realm: British Strategy in the Nuclear Epoch (1967)
• The Future of the International Strategic System (editor, 1972)
• The Rise of the Trading State: Commerce and Conquest in the Modern World (1986)
• America’s Economic Resurgence: A Bold New Strategy (1990)
• The Domestic Bases of Grand Strategy (co-editor, 1993)
• The Costs of Conflict: Prevention and Cure in the Global Arena (co-editor, 1999); 
• The Rise of the Virtual State: Wealth and Power in the Coming Century (1999)
• The New Great Power Coalition: Toward a World Concert of Nations (editor, 2001).
• No More States?: Globalization, National Self-Determination, and Terrorism (co-editor, 2006)
• Power and Restraint: A Shared Vision for the US-China Relationship (co-editor, 2009)
• History and Neorealism (co-editor, 2010)
• The Resurgence of the West: How a Transatlantic Union Can Prevent War and Restore the United States and Europe (2013)
• The Next Great War?: The Roots of World War I and the Risk of U.S.-China Conflict (co-editor, 2015)
• International Politics: How History Modifies Theory (co-author, 2018)

This partial list embodies seminal contributions to the fields of security, foreign policy, and international political economy. These works emphasize the roles of both domestic and international forces, reflect an interest in history and the forces for change in world politics. They also reveal an interest in applying social science to develop strategies for dealing with these challenges.  Understanding the implications of modernization and the potential to produce greater prosperity and avoid war and chaos was a major focus of his career.  He was a student of world affairs who thought about the implications of current events and what puzzles they posed to our conventional understanding.

The above list also encapsulates a productive career that extended for more than five decades into his mid-80s and includes two books and four edited volumes produced following his retirement from full-time teaching.

The wide-ranging set of his writings constitutes only part of his impact on the field.  Dick encouraged and empowered his students.  He would point out lacunae and understudied portions of the field, but he was equally interested in his students’ views of the burning questions that animated them.  He relished hearing and discussing contrasting views and supported students working on approaches that differed from his own.  Among his students are prominent realists, liberal internationalists, and constructivists.  In his support of his students and his interest in the work of younger scholars, Dick was one to send the elevator back down.

His interest in and his examination of international relations extended over his long life. We were honored to be his students and colleagues and to be with him in the classroom. 

We mourn his passing. We miss his wit, wisdom, intellectual prodding, and encouragement.

Image Credit: Belfer Center  

This Joint Post with Arthur A Stein originally appeared at the Substack, Alan’s Newsletter

https://open.substack.com/pub/globalsummitryproject/p/a-notable-passing?r=bj&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true