Nisan Oren (z“l) was Professor of International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a formative figure in shaping the department’s early identity. A specialist in European history, political theory, and the development of modern diplomacy, he bridged history and political science in his teaching and research. As chair of the Department of International Relations and later director of the Leonard Davis Institute, Oren played a central role in building Israeli scholarship in the field and positioning it within global debates. Through his leadership and mentorship, he trained generations of students and left a lasting institutional and intellectual legacy.

Selected works:

• Bulgarian Communism: The Road to Power 1934-1944 (Columbia, 1971)
• Revolution administered : agrarianism and communism in Bulgaria (Johns Hopkins, 1973)
• Intellecttuals in Politics (Magnes, 1984, ed) [Hebrew]