Robin Wright
Robin Wright, a contributing writer and columnist, has written for The New Yorker since 1988. Her first piece on Iran won the National Magazine Award for best reporting. A former correspondent for the Washington Post, CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, and the Sunday Times of London, she has reported from more than a hundred and forty countries. She is also a distinguished fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She has been a fellow at the Brookings Institution and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, as well as at Yale, Duke, Dartmouth, and the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Wright received the U.N. Correspondents Association Gold Medal for international coverage, and the Overseas Press Club Award for the “best reporting in any medium requiring exceptional courage and initiative,” for her coverage of African wars. The American Academy of Diplomacy named her journalist of the year for “distinguished reporting and analysis of international affairs.” She also won the National Press Club Award for diplomatic reporting and has been the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation grant.
Wright is the author of several books, including “The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran,” “Sacred Rage: The Wrath of Militant Islam,” and “Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East,” which was selected by the New York Times and the Washington Post as one of the most notable books of 2008. Her book, “Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World,” was selected as the best book on international affairs by the Overseas Press Club.
An Iranian Woman Finds Her Might, in “The Smallest Power”
Both the subject and the makers of this animated short discover their identities and a new love of their nation.
What It Takes to Give Palestinians a Voice
A new poll conducted during war in Gaza and escalating tensions in the West Bank allows Palestinians to tell the world what they want for their future.
The U.S. Confronts Middle Eastern Militias but Not Iran’s Long Game
Strikes against weapons depots and operations centers in Iraq and Syria will not diminish Iran’s determination to expel the U.S. from the Middle East.
How Ten Middle East Conflicts Are Converging Into One Big War
The U.S. is enmeshed in wars among disparate players in Israel, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.
What Comes After Panda Diplomacy?
Biden meets with President Xi as U.S.-China relations get less warm and fuzzy.
Israel May Decimate Hamas, but Can It “Win” This War?
The scale of the violence, death, and destruction has triggered alarm about a wider regional conflict.
Freedom for Five Americans Doesn’t End Flash Points with Iran
The prisoner exchange will almost certainly not stop an Iranian tactic that has spanned more than four decades.
What the Wars and Crises of 2022 Foreshadow for 2023
Tyrants and thugocrats have tightened their hold amid challenges to democracies, but they face problems, too.
Brittney Griner’s Swap for the “Merchant of Death” Is Just the Latest Deal
The average number of Americans detained abroad has risen by nearly six hundred per cent during the past decade.
Iran Arms Russia in the War in Ukraine
Tehran has deepened its alliance with Putin amid widespread protests at home.
Iran’s New Protest Generation
Even before the recent round of demonstrations, young Iranians were pushing against the regime’s restrictive social norms.
Iran’s Protests Are the First Counter-Revolution Led by Women
Women are still defying and dying in an uprising that is historically unique for being centered on women’s freedom.
Iran’s Ferocious Return to the Belligerent Policies of the Revolution’s Early Days
The country’s new President, Ebrahim Raisi, is cracking down on women, arming Russia, and playing hardball with the U.S. on nuclear diplomacy.
Putin Expands His War as Biden Tries to Rally the U.N.
The world body has proved weak and dysfunctional in solving existential crises.
Ayatollah Khomeini Never Read Salman Rushdie’s Book
The notorious fatwa has a complicated history that still plays out, decades later, in Iran’s politics and relations with the U.S.
Biden Caters to Autocrats and Draws Battle Lines in the Middle East
The President rallied Israel and key Arab nations as diplomacy on Iran’s nuclear program falters.
The West Débuts a New Strategy to Confront a Historic “Inflection Point”
In Madrid this week, NATO laid out a bold plan for military expansion in response to Putin’s war. But can its member states overcome political divisions at home?
A “New Era” of NATO Expansion Deepens the Divide Between Russia and the West
Finland and Sweden will join the alliance, spurring debate about the move’s long-term consequences.
Ukraine Is Now America’s War, Too
The U.S. is leading a new coalition of “nations of good will” as the goal expands from supporting Ukraine to weakening Russia and outlasting Putin.
The New Nuclear Reality
Russia’s war in Ukraine has reawakened fears about the bomb—and endangered the principle of deterrence.
An Iranian Woman Finds Her Might, in “The Smallest Power”
Both the subject and the makers of this animated short discover their identities and a new love of their nation.
What It Takes to Give Palestinians a Voice
A new poll conducted during war in Gaza and escalating tensions in the West Bank allows Palestinians to tell the world what they want for their future.
The U.S. Confronts Middle Eastern Militias but Not Iran’s Long Game
Strikes against weapons depots and operations centers in Iraq and Syria will not diminish Iran’s determination to expel the U.S. from the Middle East.
How Ten Middle East Conflicts Are Converging Into One Big War
The U.S. is enmeshed in wars among disparate players in Israel, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.
What Comes After Panda Diplomacy?
Biden meets with President Xi as U.S.-China relations get less warm and fuzzy.
Israel May Decimate Hamas, but Can It “Win” This War?
The scale of the violence, death, and destruction has triggered alarm about a wider regional conflict.
Freedom for Five Americans Doesn’t End Flash Points with Iran
The prisoner exchange will almost certainly not stop an Iranian tactic that has spanned more than four decades.
What the Wars and Crises of 2022 Foreshadow for 2023
Tyrants and thugocrats have tightened their hold amid challenges to democracies, but they face problems, too.
Brittney Griner’s Swap for the “Merchant of Death” Is Just the Latest Deal
The average number of Americans detained abroad has risen by nearly six hundred per cent during the past decade.
Iran Arms Russia in the War in Ukraine
Tehran has deepened its alliance with Putin amid widespread protests at home.
Iran’s New Protest Generation
Even before the recent round of demonstrations, young Iranians were pushing against the regime’s restrictive social norms.
Iran’s Protests Are the First Counter-Revolution Led by Women
Women are still defying and dying in an uprising that is historically unique for being centered on women’s freedom.
Iran’s Ferocious Return to the Belligerent Policies of the Revolution’s Early Days
The country’s new President, Ebrahim Raisi, is cracking down on women, arming Russia, and playing hardball with the U.S. on nuclear diplomacy.
Putin Expands His War as Biden Tries to Rally the U.N.
The world body has proved weak and dysfunctional in solving existential crises.
Ayatollah Khomeini Never Read Salman Rushdie’s Book
The notorious fatwa has a complicated history that still plays out, decades later, in Iran’s politics and relations with the U.S.
Biden Caters to Autocrats and Draws Battle Lines in the Middle East
The President rallied Israel and key Arab nations as diplomacy on Iran’s nuclear program falters.
The West Débuts a New Strategy to Confront a Historic “Inflection Point”
In Madrid this week, NATO laid out a bold plan for military expansion in response to Putin’s war. But can its member states overcome political divisions at home?
A “New Era” of NATO Expansion Deepens the Divide Between Russia and the West
Finland and Sweden will join the alliance, spurring debate about the move’s long-term consequences.
Ukraine Is Now America’s War, Too
The U.S. is leading a new coalition of “nations of good will” as the goal expands from supporting Ukraine to weakening Russia and outlasting Putin.
The New Nuclear Reality
Russia’s war in Ukraine has reawakened fears about the bomb—and endangered the principle of deterrence.