Read more about Samantha Power, influencer of Obama's Libya policy

The human-rights activist as presidential adviser

Samantha Power

The New York Times reports that Samantha Power, J.D. '99—former executive director of the Harvard Kennedy School's Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, and now at the National Security Council—has an important influence on President Barack Obama's policy toward U.S. military involvement in Libya. 

Read Jennifer Leaning's review of Power's acclaimed book, "A Problem from Hell": America and the Age of Genocide. Harvard Magazine also published "Fixing Foreign Policy," an essay adapted from Power's 2005-2006 Maurine and Robert Rothschild Lecture (delivered under the auspices of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study)—a critique of the country's international engagements at the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Finally, Power's Harvard Law School Class Day address from 2010 is available as well.

Related topics

You might also like

Five Questions with Nancy Gibbs and Thomas E. Patterson

The Washington Post laid off more than a third of its journalists. Does this signal a new era for newsrooms?

Harvard Magazine Questionnaire: The True Cost of Grade Inflation

A faculty committee is recommending changes to grading at Harvard College to limit an overabundance of A's. Add your voice to the conversation.

A New Landscape Emerges in Allston

The innovative greenery at Harvard’s Science and Engineering Complex

Most popular

The True Cost of Grade Inflation at Harvard

How an abundance of A’s created “the most stressed-out world of all.”

Harvard’s Epstein Probe Widened

The University investigates ties to donors, following revelations in newly released files.

What Bonobos Teach Us About Female Power and Cooperation

A Harvard scientist expands our understanding of our closest living relatives.

Explore More From Current Issue

Older man in a green sweater holds a postcard in a warmly decorated office.

How a Harvard Hockey Legend Became a Needlepoint Artist

Joe Bertagna’s retirement project recreates figures from Boston sports history.

A woman in a black blazer holds a bottle of beer.

Introductions: Mallika Monteiro

A conversation with a beer industry executive

Three climbers seated on a snowy summit, surrounded by clouds, appearing contemplative.

These Harvard Mountaineers Braved Denali’s Wall of Ice

John Graham’s Denali Diary documents a dangerous and historic climb.