Anne Applebaum is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, award-winning journalist, and Staff Writer for The Atlantic. She is a Senior Fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, where she examines the challenges and opportunities of global political and economic change through the lens of world history. Her work is definitive in documenting the history of authoritarianism and its contemporary resurgence, establishing her as a foremost commentator on geopolitics and democracy.
Her historical scholarship is considered foundational to understanding 20th-century authoritarianism. Her book Gulag: A History, which narrates the Soviet concentration camp system using recently opened Russian archives, won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction. She is the only author to win the prestigious Duff Cooper Prize twice, for Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine and Iron Curtain. Her most recent New York Times bestseller, Autocracy, Inc., analyzes the global network of modern dictatorships.
With over 15 years as a columnist for The Washington Post and extensive international reporting for The Economist, Applebaum’s insights are highly valued by policymakers and global media. Her commentary scrutinizes the media manipulation, propaganda, and criminal exploitation that influence global affairs, a core theme explored in her book Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism, which was listed by Barack Obama as one of his favorite reads. As an acclaimed keynote speaker, Applebaum is sought after by major universities and global forums. Her expertise is critical for understanding the risks and opportunities of today's political and economic climate, including US-European relations and the politics of Russia, Ukraine, and Central Europe. Her authoritative perspective provides both deep historical context and up-to-the-minute analysis vital for leaders navigating global volatility and the shifting dynamics of democracy and autocracy.
