Roger D. Petersen

About the Author

Roger D. Petersen is a distinguished political scientist and author renowned for his incisive analyses of conflict, emotion, and strategy in international relations. With a PhD from the University of Chicago, he has held faculty positions at prestigious institutions, including MIT, where he explores the psychological and social dynamics that shape warfare and intervention. Petersen's work bridges political theory and empirical research, offering fresh perspectives on how emotions influence decision-making in high-stakes geopolitical arenas. His seminal book, Western Intervention in the Balkans: The Strategic Use of Emotion in Conflict (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics), exemplifies his approach, dissecting the role of sentiment in the turbulent politics of the 1990s Balkans. Through rigorous scholarship and accessible prose, Petersen continues to illuminate the human elements driving global conflicts, making complex ideas relevant to scholars and policymakers alike.