Robin B. Wright (born August 22, 1948), is an American

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

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 magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' and is a fellow of the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Woodrow Wilson Center. Wright has authored five books and coauthored or edited three others.

Early life

Wright was born and raised in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

. She attended Pres Fleuris—Les Roches in Bluche-sur-Sierre, Switzerland. A graduate of the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

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

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

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

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', '' The New York Times Magazine'', ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'', ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday 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 N ...

'' of London, ''

Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

'' (2011–2019), ''

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

'', 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 both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...

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

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, and as a roving foreign correspondent in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. 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,

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 above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

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

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

, the

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., with operations in Europe, South Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East, as well as the United States. Foun ...

, the University of California at Santa Barbara, and the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. 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 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'', '' The Today Show'', and '' Nightly News''; CBS's ''

Face the Nation ''Face the Nation'' is a weekly news and Sunday morning talk show, morning public affairs program airing Sundays on the CBS radio and Television broadcasting, television network. Created by Frank Stanton (executive), Frank Stanton in 1954, ''Fa ...

'', ''Morning News'' and '' Evening News''; and ABC's '' This Week'' and ''

Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News (United States), 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 franchis ...

', 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 Monitors coverage of the

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

n war. *1989: National Magazine Award for reportage from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

in ''

'' *2001:

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Institute for the Study of Diplomacy Weintal Prize "for most distinguished diplomatic reporting" in the ''Washington Post'' *2003: U.N. Correspondents Association Gold Medal for analysis and coverage of international affairs *2004: National Press Club award for diplomatic reporting *2004: American Academy of Diplomacy 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 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 Doyle McManus (born May 5, 1953) is an American journalist, columnist (for the ''Los Angeles Times''), Document Number: A188862699. who appears often on Public Broadcasting Service's ''Washington Week''. Early life Doyle Daniel McManus is t ...

, ''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'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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 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