- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Former Secretary of Defense Mattis Visits Belfer Center

Fall/Winter 2019-2020

The Belfer Center was honored to host former Secretary of Defense James Mattis this fall for an afternoon of conversations related to applied history and statesmanship.

Mattis, a four-star General and former CENTCOM commander who served as President Trump’s first Secretary of Defense, spoke with Harvard Kennedy School faculty, fellows, and students about the right—and wrong—ways to apply analogs and precedents to illuminate policy choices.

Mattis is known for his voluminous personal collection of works on statecraft, war, and diplomacy, and he drew frequently on such scholarship in his government service. Mattis recently published a memoir covering his decades of public service, Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead.

Former Belfer Center Director Graham Allison, who is building an Applied History program at Harvard Kennedy School, moderated events during Mattis’s visit.

Learn more about the Applied History Project at belfercenter.org/AppliedHistory.

For more information on this publication: Belfer Communications Office
For Academic Citation:

"Former Secretary of Defense Mattis Visits Belfer Center." Belfer Center Newsletter, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School. (Fall/Winter 2019-2020).

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