Ben Judah (born 1988) is a British journalist and author of This Is London and Fragile Empire. Since February 2024, he has been a political adviser to David Lammy, who became Foreign Secretary in July 2024.

Ben Judah

Early and personal life

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The son of author Tim Judah[1] and Rosie Whitehouse, he was born in London.[2] He is of Baghdadi Jewish descent.[3] He spent a portion of his childhood in the Balkans[1] before returning to London where he was educated at the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle. He attended the University of Oxford.[4]

Judah is married to journalist Rosie Gray.[5]

Career

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Judah began his career as a journalist covering the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, the 2010 Kyrgyz Revolution and the 2011 Tunisian Revolution and reported from the Caucasus, Siberia, Central Asia and Xinjiang.[6][7][8] [9][10][11][12] [non-primary source needed]

From 2010 to 2012, Judah was a policy fellow in London at the European Council on Foreign Relations, a think-tank.[13] He has also been a visiting fellow at the European Stability Initiative in Istanbul.[14][failed verification] From 2017 to 2020, he was a research fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington D.C.[15] Judah was a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a think tank in Washington, D.C., from 2020 to 2024.[16]

Judah has written for various progressive and conservative think-tanks on foreign affairs including the Center for American Progress (CAP) and Policy Exchange.[17][18] His work has also featured at the German Council on Foreign Relations.[19] Judah has written on foreign affairs for numerous publications including The New York Times and The Sunday Times. He has been a guest on CNN, BBC News and Channel 4 News and was a contributing writer for Politico Europe.[20] He has interviewed and profiled French President Emmanuel Macron, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak.[21][22][23]

Judah has written three books. His first, Fragile Empire (2013), a study of Vladimir Putin's Russia, was published by Yale University Press.[24][25] His second, This Is London, was published by Picador in 2016. The book was longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-fiction 2016 and shortlisted for the Ryszard Kapuscinski Award for Literary Reportage 2019.[26][27] This Is London brought Judah to the attention of MP David Lammy.[28] His third book This is Europe was published by Picador in 2023.[citation needed]

Political career

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In February 29, 2024, Judah was announced as a political adviser to David Lammy, who became Foreign Secretary that July. According to the New Statesman, Judah shaped Lammy's doctrine of "progressive realism" and raised Lammy's profile domestically and internationally.[28][29]

Awards and recognition

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In 2015, he was commended for the Feature Writer of the Year award at the British Press Awards.[30]

Judah's name appeared on the Forbes 30 under 30 Europe list in 2016.[31]

In 2024, the New Statesman named Judah as one of the 50 most influential people shaping the UK's progressive politics.[28]

Bibliography

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Books

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  • Fragile Empire. Yale University Press. 2013. ISBN 978-0300205220.
  • This Is London. Picador. 2016. ISBN 9781447272441.
  • This is Europe: The Way We Live Now. Picador. 2023. ISBN 9781447276265.

Selected articles

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References

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  1. ^ a b Clibbon, Jennifer. "Snowden, Syria, Vladimir Putin's 'Cold Peace' with the West | CBC News".
  2. ^ "Ben Judah: Labour's new voice on Europe". TheArticle. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  3. ^ Judah, Ben. "Ben Judah: The last of our synagogues". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  4. ^ "Ben Judah feels like a stranger in his native London". The Spectator. 6 February 2016.
  5. ^ Palmer, Anna; Sherman, Jake (2 September 2019). "POLITICO Playbook: Trump's 'lost summer'". POLITICO. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  6. ^ Judah, Ben (April 2011). "From Carthage to Kasserine". Standpoint Magazine. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  7. ^ Judah, Ben (9 April 2010). "Blood in the Streets of Bishkek". Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  8. ^ Judah, Ben (October 2009). "Moscow: Putin's Empire Strikes Out". Standpoint Magazine. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  9. ^ Judah, Ben (October 2008). "Caucasus: Diary, August–September, 2008". Standpoint Magazine. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  10. ^ "Hunting the Lynx with the Old Believers | Standpoint". Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  11. ^ "Tajikistan: In Search of the Yeti | Standpoint". Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  12. ^ "Xinjiang: Taming China's Wild West | Standpoint". Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  13. ^ "Ben Judah". European Council on Foreign Relations. 9 March 2012.
  14. ^ "Ben Judah – About ESI – ESI". www.esiweb.org.
  15. ^ "Experts – Ben Judah – Hudson Institute". www.hudson.org. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Ben Judah". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  17. ^ Sutton, Trevor; Judah, Ben (26 February 2021). "Turning the Tide on Dirty Money". Center for American Progress. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  18. ^ "A "Washington Strategy" for British Diplomacy". Policy Exchange. February 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  19. ^ Vallée, Shahin; Judah, Ben (2 September 2021). "International Corporate Tax Reform". DGAP: German Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  20. ^ "Ben Judah: 30 under 30". Forbes. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  21. ^ Judah, Ben (2 February 2017). "Exclusive interview: Emmanuel Macron on Brexit, le Pen and the teacher who became his wife". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  22. ^ Judah, Ben (4 February 2018). "The Magazine Interview: Imran Khan, the former playboy cricketer and would-be PM of Pakistan". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  23. ^ Judah, Ben (5 May 2015). "Maharajah of the Yorkshire Dales". Politico. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  24. ^ Feinberg, Richard (November 2013). "Fragile Empire: How Russia Fell In and Out of Love with Vladimir Putin". Foreign Affairs. 92 (6).
  25. ^ Tismaneanu, Vladimir (May 2014). "Reviewed Work: Fragile Empire: How Russia Fell In and Out of Love with Vladimir Putin by Ben Judah". International Affairs. 90 (3): 725–727.
  26. ^ Oliver, Tim (1 May 2016). "This Is London: Life and Death in the World City Ben Judah" (PDF). International Affairs. 92 (3): 737–738. doi:10.1111/1468-2346.12627.
  27. ^ "This is London by Ben Judah". www.panmacmillan.com. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  28. ^ a b c "The left power list 2024". New Statesman. 4 June 2024. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  29. ^ Bloom, Dan (29 February 2024). "All eyes on the police". Politico. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  30. ^ "Press Awards". Archived from the original on 26 June 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  31. ^ "Ben Judah, 27". Forbes. 18 January 2016. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2020.