Robert D. Blackwill
International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Experience
Robert D. Blackwill is the Henry A. Kissinger senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. As deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser for strategic planning under President George W. Bush, Ambassador Blackwill was responsible for government-wide policy planning to help develop and coordinate the mid- and long-term direction of American foreign policy. He served as presidential envoy to Iraq and was the administration’s coordinator for U.S. policies regarding Afghanistan and Iran. Ambassador Blackwill went to the National Security Council (NSC) after serving as the U.S. ambassador to India from 2001 to 2003, and is the recipient of the 2007 Bridge-Builder Award for his role in transforming U.S.-India relations. Prior to reentering government in 2001, he was the Belfer lecturer in international security at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. From 1989 to 1990, Ambassador Blackwill was special assistant to President George H.W. Bush for European and Soviet affairs, during which time he was awarded Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit by the Federal Republic of Germany for his contribution to German unification. Earlier in his career, he was the U.S. ambassador to conventional arms negotiations with the Warsaw Pact, director for European affairs at the NSC, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, and principal deputy assistant secretary of state for European affairs. The author and editor of many articles and books on transatlantic relations, Russia and the West, the Greater Middle East, and Asian security, Amb. Blackwill is a contributor to the Financial Times, a member of the Trilateral Commission and the Aspen Strategy Group, and on the board of Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. His latest book, coauthored with Belfer Center Director Graham Allison, is titled Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master’s Insights on China, the United States, and the World (MIT Press, February 2013).
AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin
March 1, 2013
"Lee Kuan Yew, Grand Master of Asia"
Op-Ed, National Interest
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School and Robert D. Blackwill, International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Graham Allison and Robert Blackwill comment on the future of China and its possibilities. They note: "Only one individual has been called 'mentor' by Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese leader who initiated China’s march to the market, and its new leader Xi Jinping. Only one individual has been called upon for counsel about these developments by every U.S. president from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama. That individual is Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of Singapore."
(AP Photo)
February 25, 2013
"Lee Kuan Yew's China"
Op-Ed, Project Syndicate
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School, Robert D. Blackwill, International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Ali Wyne, Associate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Graham Allison and Robert D. Blackwill spotlight Lee Kuan Yew in their latest book, Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World.
February 19, 2013
"Be Wary of Rising China, Says Lee Kuan Yew"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, The Australian
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School, Robert D. Blackwill, International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Ali Wyne, Associate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Read an excerpt in The Australian from a new book on the founding father of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, by Belfer Center Director Graham Allison and Ambassador Robert D. Blackwill, with Belfer Center Associate Ali Wyne. The book is titled: Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World.
(AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)
February 16, 2013
"Will China Ever Be No. 1"
Op-Ed, Foreign Policy
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School and Robert D. Blackwill, International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Will China continue to grow three times faster than the United States to become the No. 1 economy in the world in the decade ahead? Does China aspire to be the No. 1 power in Asia and ultimately the world? As it becomes a great power, will China follow the path taken by Japan in becoming an honorary member of the West? Graham sAllison and Robert Blackwill suggest that while nobody knows the answer to these questions, the person they believe should be consulted for an answer is Lee Kuan Yew.
February 14, 2013
"Seek the Wisdom of Lee Kuan Yew"
Op-Ed, Politico
By Robert D. Blackwill, International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
Graham Allison and Robert Blackwill provide a preview of their latest book, "Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World."
Wikimedia Foundation
February 13, 2013
"Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew Talks America's Strengths And Weaknesses"
Op-Ed, Forbes
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School, Robert D. Blackwill, International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Ali Wyne, Associate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Both in the United States and abroad, many influential observers argue that the U.S. is in systemic decline. Not so, says Lee Kuan Yew, the sage of Singapore. Lee is not only a student of the rise and fall of nations. He is also the founder of modern Singapore. As prime minister from 1959 to 1990, he led its rise from a poor, small, corrupt port to a first-world city-state in just one generation.
AP Photo/Kin Cheung
February 2, 2013
"India is a Nation of Unfulfilled Greatness"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, The Times of India
By Robert D. Blackwill, International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Ali Wyne, Associate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
Read an excerpt in The Times of India from a new book on Lee Kuan Yew by Belfer Center Director Graham Allison and Ambassador Robert D. Blackwill, with Belfer Center Associate Ali Wyne. The book is titled: Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World.
February 2013
Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World
Book
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School, Robert D. Blackwill, International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Ali Wyne, Associate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
When Lee Kuan Yew speaks, presidents, prime ministers, diplomats, and CEOs listen. Lee, the founding father of modern Singapore and its prime minister from 1959 to 1990, has honed his wisdom during more than fifty years on the world stage. Almost single-handedly responsible for transforming Singapore into a Western-style economic success, he offers a unique perspective on the geopolitics of East and West. This book gathers key insights from interviews, speeches, and Lee's voluminous published writings and presents them in an engaging question and answer format.
January 28, 2013
"Considering China? It Pays to Listen to Lee"
Op-Ed, Financial Times
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School and Robert D. Blackwill, International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Graham Allison and Robert Blackwill analyze strategist Lee Kuan Yew's views on China's economic and political prominence.
(AP Photo/RIA-Novosti,
Dmitry Astakhov,
Presidential Press Service)
October 30, 2011
"10 Reasons Why Russia Still Matters"
Op-Ed, Politico
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School and Robert D. Blackwill, International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Russia is still a player whose choices affect our vital interests in nuclear security and energy writes Graham Allison and Robert D. Blackwill
