Robin B. Wright is an American

foreign affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...

analyst, author and journalist who has covered wars, revolutions and uprisings around the world. She writes for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issue ...

'' and is a fellow of the

U.S. Institute of Peace The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American federal institution tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training to individuals in diplomacy, mediation, and other peac ...

and the

Woodrow Wilson Center The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (or Wilson Center) is a quasi-government entity and think tank which conducts research to inform public policy. Located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Wash ...

. Wright has authored five books and coauthored or edited three others.

Early life

Wright was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She attended Pres Fleuris—Les Roches in Bluche-sur-Sierre, Switzerland. A graduate of the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, she is the daughter of L. Hart Wright, a University of Michigan law professor and Phyllis Wright, a dancer and actress. She lives in Washington, D.C.

Career

Wright received an

Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship The Alicia Patterson Foundation (APF) program was established in 1965 in memory of Alicia Patterson, who was the editor and publisher of ''Newsday'' for nearly 23 years before her death in 1963. Fellowship The Foundation provides competitive, one- ...

in 1975 to live in Africa and write about the dismantling of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

's African empire. Wright has reported from more than 140 countries on seven continents for ''The New Yorker'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'', The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'', ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...

'', ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, wh ...

'' of London, ''

Foreign Policy A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through ...

'' (2011–2019), ''

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...

'', CBS News, ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

'', and others. She did several tours as a foreign correspondent based in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, and as a roving foreign correspondent in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

. She formerly covered U.S. foreign policy and national security for ''The Washington Post''. She is currently a columnist for ''The New Yorker'.'' Wright has been a fellow at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, t ...

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...

, the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Smithsonian's Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in e ...

, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the

University of California at Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the Un ...

, and the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

. Wright's book ''Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion across the Islamic world'' (2011) was selected as the Best Book on International Affairs by the

Overseas Press Club The Overseas Press Club of America (OPC) was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member, as was the war correspondent Peggy Hull. The club seeks to maintain a ...

in 2011. Among her other books, ''Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East'' (2008) was selected by both ''The New York Times'' and ''The Washington Post'' as one of the most notable books of the year. As an analyst, Wright has appeared on NBC's ''

Meet the Press ''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the longest-running program on American television, though the current format bears little resemblance to the debut episode on November 6, 1947. ...

'', ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...

'', and '' Nightly News''; CBS's ''

Face the Nation ''Face the Nation'' is a weekly news and morning public affairs program airing Sundays on the CBS radio and television network. Created by Frank Stanton in 1954, ''Face the Nation'' is one of the longest-running news programs in the history ...

'', ''Morning News'' and ''

Evening News Evening News may refer to: Television news *''CBS Evening News'', an American news broadcast *'' ITV Evening News'', a UK news broadcast *''JNN Evening News'', a Japanese news broadcast *''Evening News'', an alternate name for '' News Hour'' in so ...

''; and ABC's '' This Week'' and ''

Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News' Late night television in the United States, late-night television news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States with a franchised formula to other network ...

', among many other programs.

Awards and honors

*1976: Overseas Press Club Bob Considine Award for "best reporting in any medium requiring exceptional courage and initiative" for the ''

Christian Science Monitor Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...

s coverage of the

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

n war. *1989:

National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

for reportage from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

in ''

'' *2001:

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Institute for the Study of Diplomacy Weintal Prize "for most distinguished diplomatic reporting" in the ''Washington Post'' *2003:

U.N. Correspondents Association The United Nations Correspondents Association (U.N. Correspondents Association), or UNCA, was founded in New York City in 1948. It has over 250 members today. It presents the annual UNCA Excellence in Journalism Awards. The purpose of the awards ...

Gold Medal for analysis and coverage of international affairs *2004: National Press Club award for diplomatic reporting *2004:

American Academy of Diplomacy The American Academy of Diplomacy is a private, nonprofit, non-partisan, elected organization whose active membership is limited to men and women who have held positions of high responsibility in crafting and implementing American foreign policy. ...

journalist of the year for "distinguished reporting and analysis of international affairs" *2015, May 2: honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from her alma mater, the University of Michigan. She is the recipient of a

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 50 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.0 billion and p ...

grant.

Bibliography

* * *Robin Wright, ''In the Name of God: The Khomeini Decade'', Simon & Schuster (October 1989)
''Booknotes'' interview of Wright
about ''In the Name of God'', (November 19, 1989) *Robin Wright and Doyle McManus, ''Flashpoints: Promise and Peril in a New World'', Ballantine Books (December 22, 1992) *Robin Wright, ''The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran'' (2000) * *Robin Wright, ''Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East'', Penguin Press (2008) , a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' Notable Book in 2008 and one of ''

''’
“Best Books of 2008”
*Robin Wright (editor), ''The Iran Primer: Power, Politics, and U.S. Policy'', United States Institute of Peace Press (December 1, 2010) *Robin Wright,
Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World
' Simon & Schuster (July 19, 2011) *Robin Wright (editor),
The Islamists are Coming: Who They Really Are
' United States Institute of Peace Press (April 2012) *

References

External links

Robin Wright BooksRobin Wright Blog
analysis of international affairs and current crises
The Iran Primer: Power, Politics, and US Policy
website for book edited by Robin Wright * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Robin Living people American women journalists American non-fiction writers American foreign policy writers Place of birth missing (living people) The Washington Post people University of Michigan alumni 1948 births 21st-century American women writers