Jon Western, Carol Hoffmann Collins ’63 professor of international relations and Five College professor of international relations at Mount Holyoke College, died on January 29, 2022, at the age of 58 from a sudden cardiac event. He was one of the foremost scholars on humanitarian intervention, the responsibility to protect, and international statebuilding, as well as a wonderful teacher. His passing is a significant loss for the discipline.
Jon graduated from Macalester College with a BA in political science and Russian area studies and earned an MPP from the Institute of Public Policy Studies at the University of Michigan. He then entered public service, first as a Presidential Management Fellow and then as an analyst in the US State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research, where he initiated and led the Bosnian war crimes collection unit. He received national attention in 1993 when he and other analysts resigned to protest US policy in Bosnia.
Jon subsequently shifted to academia, earning a PhD in political science from Columbia University, during which time he was also Director of the Dayton Upgrade Project at the United States Institute of Peace. He then secured what he always said was his dream job as a professor at Mount Holyoke College, where he published, taught, and served with distinction for over 20 years.
He was the author of numerous books, articles, and chapters, including Selling Intervention and War: The Presidency, the Media, and the American Public (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005), a foundational work on how governments win public support for military intervention. At the time of his death, Jon was finishing a biography of Dorothy Fosdick, titled “The Woman in the Room: Dorothy Fosdick and the Rise of American Power in the 20th Century.” Jon also prided himself in building community among IR scholars. He held various leadership positions at the International Studies Association, was one of the early contributors to the Duck of Minerva blog, and served as the Director of the Five College International relations Program for over a decade.
At Mount Holyoke College, Jon taught courses on human rights to hundreds of students, emphasizing to them that they should always prioritize their values and stand up for their beliefs. At the same time, he was always quick to point out that he learned more from his students than they did from him. The nature of his Five College position meant he was also able to bring his expertise and passion to classrooms at Amherst, Smith, and Hampshire Colleges, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Jon was dedicated to the success of Mount Holyoke College and served in many leadership roles, including as Dean of Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs from 2016-2020.
Jon’s sudden passing has left a large hole in the community that will be impossible to fill. His loss will be felt by all that knew and loved him, and we want to extend our deepest sympathies to his wife, Jenny Urff, and their sons, Charley Western and Alex Western, to whom he was utterly devoted. ■
