William J. Dobson
| William J. Dobson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
William Joel Dobson March 2, 1973 North Kingstown, Rhode Island, United States |
| Alma mater |
Middlebury College (AB) Harvard University (AM) Harvard Law School (JD) |
| Occupation | Journalist, author |
| Notable credit(s) |
Slate magazine, Politics and Foreign Affairs Editor (present) Foreign Policy, Managing Editor (2004–2008) Newsweek International, Senior Editor for Asia Foreign Affairs, Associate Editor |
| Website |
www |
William J. "Will" Dobson is an American journalist and author who writes frequently on foreign affairs and international politics. He is currently the Politics and Foreign Affairs Editor for Slate.[1]
Early life
Dobson was born on a naval base in North Kingston, Rhode Island. His father, W. Joel Dobson, was a Lt. Commander in the U.S. Navy. His mother, Barbara Joyce Dobson, is an English teacher.
Dobson grew up in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and attended Spartanburg Day School. He received a Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude from Middlebury College. He later earned a master's degree in East Asian Studies from Harvard University and a Juris Doctor cum laude from Harvard Law School. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife and two children.[2]
Career
From 2004 to 2008, Dobson was the Managing Editor of Foreign Policy magazine. During his tenure at Foreign Policy, the magazine was nominated for a National Magazine Award five years in a row – the only magazine of its size to receive five consecutive nominations – and won the top prize twice.[3]
Previously, he served as the Senior Editor for Asia at Newsweek International and as Associate Editor at Foreign Affairs.[1] He has also been a Visiting Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.[4]
During the height of the Arab Spring, he wrote daily pieces on modern authoritarianism for the Washington Post’s editorial page.[2] While reporting from Cairo, Dobson wrote the first account of the Egyptian military’s torture of female protestors in Tahrir Square.
Dobson’s first book, The Dictator's Learning Curve[5] was published by Doubleday in 2012. The non-fiction book is an analysis of modern authoritarianism and has been reviewed by various media.[6]
Awards
Dobson was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2006.[7] In 2003, he was named the U.S. Rapporteur for the World Economic Forum’s East Asia Summit.[8] The Singapore International Foundation awarded him a Distinguished Visitor Fellowship in 2008.[9] The East-West Center awarded him a Senior Journalist Fellowship for Southeast Asia (2006) and an Asia-Pacific Journalism Fellowship (2008). Dobson was a Knight Media Fellow (2003) to the Salzburg Global Seminar, and later a Freeman Fellow in U.S.-East Asian Relations (2007).[10]
Middlebury College recognized him with an Alumni Achievement Award in 2011.[11] Dobson is also a 1994 Truman Scholar.[12]
Published works
- The Dictator’s Learning Curve, (Doubleday; 2012). ISBN 978-0385533355]
Articles
- The East Is Crimson, Slate, May 23, 2012
- Why China Wishes Chen Would Just Go Away, Slate, May 2, 2012
- Dictatorship for Dummies, Tunisia Edition, The Washington Post, January 23, 2011
- 'The Military is above the Nation', The Washington Post, March 15, 2011
- ‘Another dictatorship, just with new faces’ for Egypt, The Washington Post, March 16, 2011
- ‘Worse than our Worst Nightmare during Mubarak,' The Washington Post, March 17, 2011
- Where are the dictator’s helpers? The Washington Post, March 18, 2011
- One Woman’s Fight to Preserve a Russian Forest, The Washington Post, March 24, 2011
- The Opposition Dictators Deserve, The Washington Post, April 16, 2011
- Why I am Glad bin Laden Lived to See the Arab Spring, The Washington Post, May 5, 2011
- In Venezuela, Fighting for the Chance to Run: ‘He will annihilate that one leader,’ The Washington Post, May 15, 2011
- Imagining a World Without Dictators, The Washington Post, August 26, 2011
- Why Gaddafi was the quintessential 20th-century dictator, The Washington Post, October 21, 2011
- In Russia, Fires—and politicians—are bringing down forests, The Washington Post, August 13, 2010
- China’s Jittery Leaders, The New Republic, March 3, 2011
- A Victory for Democratic Foreign Policy, The New Republic, May 3, 2011
- The Day Nothing Much Changed, Foreign Policy, August 8, 2006
- Tunisia’s Lessons for Repressive Regimes, U.S. News & World Report, January 20, 2011
- Global Democracy over a Barrel, Boston Globe, May 14, 2009
Media appearances
Dobson has provided commentary for various news organizations, including CNN, CBS, MSNBC, PBS NewsHour,[13] National Public Radio, and Voice of America.
References
- 1 2 "Who We Are". Slate. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
- 1 2 "Author List". Lippencot Massie McQuilken. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
- ↑ "About". William J. Dobson. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
- ↑ Dobson, William (May 16, 2009). "Saviors and Survivors". Financial Times. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
- ↑ The Dictator’s Learning Curve
- ↑ Publishers Weekly, BusinessWeek and Foreign Policy magazine
- ↑ Young Global Leader
- ↑ "EAST ASIA ECONOMIC SUMMIT 2003 ASIA AGENDA MONITOR" (PDF). World Economic Forum. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
- ↑ "SIF Distinguished Visitors". Singapore International Foundation. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ↑ "Newsletter". Salzburg Global Seminar. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ↑ "2010-2011 Events" (PDF). Middlebury College. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ↑ "Truman Scholarship". Herald-Journal. August 3, 1994. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ↑ "William Dobson on Egypt's 'Quick', 'Dynamic' Process". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved 1 June 2012.