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Obituary

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Michael Nicholson

Michael Nicholson, Professor of International Relations since 1993, who died on 4 October aged 67, was the pre-eminent European scholar in the formal analysis of war and conflict and the possibility of peaceful resolutions of disputes, and was also immensely respected in north America.

Indicative of his standing was the recent award of the Lewis Fry Richardson gold medal for lifetime achievement from the European Consortium for Political Research. Michael was its first recipient, and was hugely pleased when informed about it shortly before he became ill.

He was born and grew up in Yorkshire. He went up to Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1953, achieving a double first in Economics. He gained his PhD in Economics in 1963, also from Trinity.

Michael published seven books between 1970 and 1998, including Conflict Analysis (1971) and Rationality and the Analysis of the International Conflict (1992). He was a founder member of the British International Studies Association.

He was Subject Chair at Sussex from 1993-96, during which time his administrative skills became legendary, so much so that his office became known as “the black hole”.

Michael gave as much time and care to teaching first-year students as he did to those doing research. He was a wonderful colleague - kind, thoughtful, stimulating and encouraging, especially to younger faculty members.

John MacLean
Senior Lecturer in International Relations, SOC