Olavi Rudolf Holsti (August 7, 1933 – July 2, 2020) was a Finnish-American political scientist and academic.
He held the position of George V. Allen Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Duke University.
He was noted for his writings on international affairs, American foreign policy, content analysis, decision-making in politics and diplomacy, and crises.
[3] Holsti worked at Stanford University as an instructor in the Department of Political Science (1962–1965), the research coordinator and associate director of Studies in International Conflict and Integration (1962–1967) and assistant professor in the Department of Political Science, (1965–1967).
[6] A state is presumed to be implacably hostile, and contra-indicators of that are ignored and are dismissed as propaganda ploys or signs of weakness.