W. Scott Thompson was an international politics scholar and former U.S. foreign affairs official who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as one of the original members of the institute’s Board of Directors. Professor Thompson’s career included positions at the Defense Department, the U.S. Information Agency, and, for many years, on the faculty of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. As a scholar abroad, in the Philippines, Thailand and elsewhere, he wrote and advised governments on strategies to improve governance by reducing official corruption.

Professor Thompson served on USIP’s board from 1986 until 1993. A prolific writer and book author, he co-edited a 1991 volume for the Institute, Approaches to Peace: An Intellectual Map.