Reflections from Steven Pinker

Andy was one of my greatest intellectual influences. After I wrote a short blog post citing a few historical declines of violence, he got in touch and sent me the 2005 Human Security Report. I saw the graph he adapted from PRIO and UCDP on the decline of battle-related deaths since 1946 and was stunned — like many before and since, I had been ignorant of this major development in human history. It was perhaps the biggest inspiration for my book The Better Angels of Our Nature, which in turn led to Enlightenment Now, and a major turn in my career.

Andy also tutored me in the ideas, methods, mores, and gossip in the field of international relations, commented on drafts, coauthored an article with me in Slate (“The world is not falling apart,” during the rise of ISIS), and shared his analysis of trends in war, peace, and human security. I am grateful for all of these.

Andy was not just intellectually stimulating, but was good natured and good company, and was driven by a strong moral purpose: making “human security”—the well-being of women, men, and children—the focus of international relations as an academic field and a global priority. The world should be grateful for his scholarship, writing, and influence.

- Steven Pinker, 3 March 2021