Robert Irwin Rotberg (born April 11, 1935) is an academic from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

who served as President of the

World Peace Foundation The World Peace Foundation or WPF, created in 1910, is a philanthropic foundation for research into peace processes affiliated with The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Alex de Waal is the director , having become directo ...

(1993–2010). A professor in governance and foreign affairs, he was director of the Program on Intrastate Conflict, Conflict Prevention, and Conflict Resolution at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

(1999–2010), and has served in administrative positions at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

and

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 18 ...

. In 2003–2004, he served as a member of the Secretary of State's Advisory Panel on Africa, and was a Presidential appointee to the Council of the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

. In 2007 at the Kennedy School, he directed the establishment of the Index for African Governance, to help evaluate leaders for the

Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership The Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, also known as the Ibrahim Prize, is an annual prize awarded to a former African Executive Head of State or Government on criteria of good governance, democratic election and respect of te ...

, awarded annually by the

Mo Ibrahim Foundation The Mo Ibrahim Foundation is an African non-grant foundation founded in 2006 by businessman Mo Ibrahim. Headquartered in London and Dakar, Senegal, it works to strengthen governance and leadership in Africa through its key initiatives: * Ibra ...

. A trustee of

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

, Rotberg is a visiting professor at the

College of Europe The College of Europe (; ; ) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with three campuses in Bruges, Belgium; Warsaw, Poland; and Tirana, Albania. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 as a result of the 1948 Congress of ...

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. In 2013 Rotberg became the Fulbright Research Chair in Political Development at the

Balsillie School of International Affairs The Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) is a centre for advanced research and teaching on global governance and international public policy, located in Waterloo, Ontario. As one of the largest social sciences initiatives in Canada, ...

Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County, Ontario, Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto, but it is n ...

, Canada.

Early life and education

Rotberg earned his undergraduate degree in history at

in 1955. He obtained his doctorate at

St Antony's College St Antony's College is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in intern ...

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

while on a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

. He also did graduate studies at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

Career

His academic career in United States institutions has included Professor of Political Science and History,

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

; Academic Vice President of

; and President of

. In 1970, he was a founding co-editor of the ''Journal of Interdisciplinary History'' and continues in that position. At the turn of the twentieth century, Rotberg was director of the Program on Intrastate Conflict, Conflict Prevention, and Conflict Resolution (1999–2010) at

. He was director of the

from 1993 to 2010 and later given the title of ''emeritus'' president. In 2014, Rotberg was defeated by Suzie Barry in his bid to become Selectman of

Lexington, Massachusetts Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by ...

. In February 2016, he crafted local legislation that would "prohibit the manufacture, sale, ownership, or possession of assault weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines in the Town of Lexington". This measure was unanimously opposed by the town's Board of Selectmen, Chief of Police, and Town Counsel.

Bibliography

Rotberg is the author and editor of numerous books and articles on US foreign policy,

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, most recently: *Africa Emerges (2013) *Transformative Political Leadership: Making a Difference in the Developing World (2012) *"Worst of the Worst": Dealing with Repressive and Rogue Nations (2007) *A Leadership for Peace: How

Edwin Ginn Edwin Ginn (February 14, 1838 – January 21, 1914) was an American publisher, peace advocate and philanthropist. Biography Ginn was born in Orland, Maine, on February 14, 1838, into a Universalist farming family who were descendants of earl ...

Tried to Change the World (2007) *Building a New Afghanistan (2007) *Governance and Leadership in Africa (2007) *Israeli And Palestinian Narratives of Conflict: History's Double Helix (2006) *Battling Terrorism in the Horn of Africa (2005) *When States Fail: Causes and Consequences (2004) **The Failure and Collapse of Nation-States: Breakdown, Prevention, and Repair
PDF; 690 KB
*State Failure and State Weakness in a Time of Terror (2003) **Failed States, Collapsed States, Weak States: Causes and Indicators
PDF; 90 KB
*Ending Autocracy, Enabling Democracy: The Tribulations of Southern Africa 1960–2000 (2002) *Peacekeeping and Peace Enforcement in Africa: Methods of Conflict Prevention (2001) *Truth v. Justice: The Morality of Truth Commissions (2000) *Creating Peace in Sri Lanka: Civil War and Reconciliation (1999) *Burma: Prospects for a Democratic Future (1998) *War and Peace in Southern Africa: Crime, Drugs, Armies, and Trade (1998) *Haiti Renewed: Political and Economic Prospects (1997) *Vigilance and Vengeance: NGOs Preventing Ethnic Conflict in Divided Societies (1996) *From Massacres to Genocide: The Media, Public Policy and Humanitarian Crises (1996) *The Founder: Cecil Rhodes and the Pursuit of Power (1988, new ed. 2002) * Christian Missions and the Creation of Northern Rhodesia (1965) * The Rise of Nationalism in Central Africa (1965)

Index of African Governance

Under the direction of Professor Rotberg and supported by the

, an Index of African Governance was created in 2007. It ranks all 48 sub-Saharan African countries according to quality of governance. In conjunction,

Mo Ibrahim Sir Mohammed Fathi Ahmed Ibrahim (; born 3 May 1946) is a Sudanese-British billionaire businessman. He worked for several telecommunications companies, before founding Celtel, which, when sold, had over 24 million mobile phone subscribers i ...

has created the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, a prize larger in monetary value than the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

and thought to be the largest monetary prize awarded worldwide at $5 million initial payment plus an additional $200,000 per year for the lifetime of the recipient. The results of the Index, which since 2009 has been compiled by African researchers and institutions, will help the Ibrahim Prize selection committee choose winners. The Prize will provide recognition, awards and pensions for "honest, capable African heads of state" after they leave office. Awards were made in 2007 and 2008.

References

External links

World Peace FoundationMo Ibrahim FoundationRobert Rotberg Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rotberg, Robert I. 1935 births Living people Oberlin College alumni Princeton University alumni Tufts University faculty MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences faculty Harvard Kennedy School faculty American Rhodes Scholars Presidents of Lafayette College Academic staff of the College of Europe American Africanists