Since the 1970s, Allison has also been a leading analyst of U.S. national security and defense policy, with a special interest in nuclear weapons and terrorism.

President Bill Clinton awarded Allison the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, for "reshaping relations with Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan to reduce the former Soviet nuclear arsenal".

Allison directed the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs from 1995 until 2017, when he was succeeded by former U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter.

[12][13][14] In March 2019, the Journal of Chinese Political Science dedicated a special issue to the topic,[15] suggesting power transition narratives do appear to matter with regard to domestic perception.

[20] Allison has also been a member of the Board of Trustees for the lobbying group USACC (United States-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce).

He was a special advisor to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger for three years in the second term of office of Ronald Reagan.

The editor also made "supposedly problematic edits" based heavily on work of other scholars affiliated with the Belfer Center.