Nichols (born December 7, 1960) is an academic specialist on international affairs, currently a professor at the U.S.
Naval War College and at the Harvard Extension School.
His work deals with issues involving Russia, nuclear weapons, and national security affairs.
He was previously a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, and the John F.
Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.His most recent book is The Death of Expertise (Oxford University Press, 2017), a study of why people mistrust established knowledge and how this damages democratic stability.