 stephen martin walt (born july 2, 1955) is an american professor of international affairs at harvard university's john f. kennedy school of government. among his most prominent works are origins of alliances and revolution and war. he coauthored the israel lobby and u.s. foreign policy with john mearsheimer. ==early life and education== walt was born in los alamos, new mexico, where his father, a physicist, worked at los alamos national laboratory. walt's mother was a teacher. the family moved to the bay area when walt was about eight months old. walt grew up in los altos hills. walt pursued his undergraduate studies at stanford university. he first majored in chemistry with an eye to becoming a biochemist. he then shifted to history, and finally to international relations. after attaining his b.a., walt began graduate work at uc berkeley, graduating with a m.a in political science in 1978, and a ph.d. in political science in 1983. ==career== walt taught at princeton university and the university of chicago, where he served as master of the social science collegiate division and deputy dean of social sciences. he is now academic dean at the john f. kennedy school of government at harvard university, where he holds the robert and renee belfer professorship in international affairs. ===other professional activities=== walt has been a resident associate of the carnegie endowment for international peace, a guest scholar at the brookings institution, and a consultant for the institute of defense analyses, the center for naval analyses, and the national defense university. he serves on the editorial boards of foreign policy, security studies, international relations, and the journal of cold war studies, and as co-editor of the cornell studies in security affairs, published by cornell university press. he was elected a fellow in the american academy of arts and sciences in may 2005. he spoke at
1955_births 20th-century_American_writers 21st-century_American_writers American_foreign_policy_writers American_political_scientists John_F._Kennedy_School_of_Government_faculty Living_people People_from_Los_Alamos_County,_New_Mexico Political_realists Stanford_University_alumni University_of_California,_Berkeley_alumni University_of_Chicago_faculty