author
Quincy Wright
1890–1970
A pioneering scholar of war, peace, and international law, he helped shape how the modern world studies conflict between nations. His writing combines deep historical knowledge with a clear concern for how international order might be made more stable and humane.
1 Audiobook
Prize Money
by Quincy Wright
About the author
Born in Medford, Massachusetts, in 1890, Quincy Wright became one of the leading American thinkers on international law and international relations. He studied at Lombard College and the University of Illinois, then built much of his career at the University of Chicago, where he taught for decades and became widely known for his broad, comparative approach to world politics.
Wright is especially remembered for A Study of War (1942), a major work that brought together history, law, politics, and social science to examine why wars happen and how they might be prevented. He also led the University of Chicago's Causes of War project, and his scholarship helped establish security studies and international relations as serious academic fields.
For readers today, his work stands out for its ambition: he did not look at war as a single event, but as a problem shaped by institutions, law, economics, and human choices. That big-picture way of thinking gave his books lasting influence well beyond his own era.