Graham T. Allison

American political scientist

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July 20, 2026

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Graham T. Allison is an American political scientist known for popularizing the concept of the Thucydides trap. This term describes a dangerous situation where a dominant power's fear of a rising power can lead to inevitable war. Allison's work, particularly his analysis of the Cuban Missile Crisis, also introduced the bureaucratic politics approach to understanding public policy. This approach emphasizes that policy outcomes result from bargaining among government actors with diverse interests and positions, rather than from a single rational decision-maker.12

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bureaucratic politics approach
…of bureaucratic politics begin with Graham T. Allison’s 1969 article in The American Political Science Review, “Conceptual Models and the Cuban Missile Crisis,” although this work built on earlier writings by Charles Lindblom, Richard Neustadt, Samuel Huntington, and others. Allison provides an analysis of the Cuban missile crisis that contrasts…
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…of bureaucratic politics begin with Graham T. Allison’s 1969 article in The American Political Science Review, “Conceptual Models and the Cuban Missile Crisis,” although this work built on earlier writings by Charles Lindblom, Richard Neustadt, Samuel Huntington, and others. Allison provides an analysis of the Cuban missile crisis that contrasts…
Read More