Biography
Yarhi-Milo graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in political science in 2003, [3] [4] and then worked with several NGOs promoting peace in the Middle East.
Yarhi-Milo earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. [5] She completed her post-doc at Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and a pre-doc fellow at the Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University. [6] [7] She was a student of Robert Jervis. Her dissertation won the Kenneth Waltz Award for the best dissertation in the field of International Security and Arms Control in 2010. She also received awards for the study of political science from the Smith Richardson Foundation,Arthur Ross Foundation,and Abram Morris Foundation. [8]
She began working at Princeton University in 2009 as an assistant professor and then associate professor of Politics and International affairs at the Princeton School of International and Public Affairs before joining Columbia University in 2019. [9] [10] [11] [12]
Her 2016 book,Knowing The Adversary:Leaders,Intelligence Organizations,and Assessments of Intentions in International Relations, received the Edgar S. Furniss Book Award and was a co-winner of the 2016 DPLST Book Prize,Diplomatic Studies Section of the International Studies Association. [13] [14] Her book Who Fights for Reputation? The Psychology of Leaders in International Conflict (2019) earned the Best Book Award on Foreign Policy from the American Political Science Association and won the Biennial Best Foreign Policy Book Award from the International Studies Association. [15] [16]
In the Fall of 2021,Yarhi-Milo and Senior Research Scholar Peter Clement helped launch the new Emerging Voices in National Security and Intelligence program at Columbia University. The pilot program was created in “hopes to funnel more women,racial and ethnic minorities,and first-generation Columbia students into the national security and intelligence fields.” [17] [18]
In May 2022,Yarhi-Milo was appointed as the next Dean of the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University. She replaced Interim Dean Thomas Christensen and took office in July 2022. [12] [19]
In 2022,Yarhi-Milo won the Emerging Scholar Award from the International Studies Association (ISA),an annual award that recognizes “early- to mid-career scholars who have made an unusually significant contribution to the field of security studies.” [20] She is best known for her scholarship about credibility and reputation,as well as her study of the psychology of leaders. She is also known for coining the theoretical framework "selective attention thesis". [21] [22]
In mid-2023,Yarhi-Milo was named the Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of International Relations. The position had last been held by Robert Jervis,a mentor to Yarhi-Milo. [23]
In 2023,Yarhi-Milo co-founded and launched the Institute of Global Politics (IGP) at Columbia SIPA along with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. [24] [25] [26]
Each Fall,Yarhi-Milo co-teaches the course Inside the Situation Room with Secretary Clinton. The course,which is offered to Columbia undergraduates and SIPA students by application,discusses the psychological biases that influence crisis decision-making. [27] [28] The theme of the course led to the development of an edited volume,Inside the Situation Room:The Theory and Practice of Crisis Decision-Making,edited by Yarhi-Milo and Secretary Clinton. The volume was published by Oxford University Press,published inon September 15,2025,and includes contributions from leading scholars and practitioners in the field. [29]
Yarhi-Milo is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). [30] In October 2025,she was one of three panelists at a CFR event. [31]
Yarhi-Milo serves on the Joint CC-GS Committee on Instruction,the University Senate,and as chair of the Arts and Sciences subcommittee regarding the CC and GS reconfiguration proposal. [12] She also serves on the Executive Committee and President's Cabinet for the Office of the President at Columbia University. [32]
Written Works
Yarhi-Milo has written and co-authored articles and essays for magazines and newspapers,including The Atlantic , The New York Times , Foreign Affairs , The Washington Post,International Organization ,and International Security . [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] She is also on the editorial advisory board of Political Science Quarterly (PSQ). [38]
Yarhi-Milo has also published three books.
- 2014 —Knowing The Adversary:Leaders,Intelligence Organizations,and Assessments of Intentions in International Relations [39]
- 2018 —Who Fights for Reputation? The Psychology of Leaders in International Conflict [40]
- 2025 —Inside the Situation Room:The Theory and Practice of Crisis Decision-Making [41]
