Gideon Rachman

Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator, Financial Times

Gideon Rachman’s weekly FT column on international politics is renowned for its penetrating and timely analysis of global affairs. He has reported for the FT from all over the world. Before joining the FT in 2006, he worked for The Economist for 15 years in a range of jobs, including as a foreign correspondent in Brussels, Bangkok and Washington and as business editor. Gideon’s most recent book is ‘The Age of The Strongman: How the Cult of the Leader Threatens Democracy around the World‘ (2022). In this book, he finds global coherence in the chaos of the new nationalism, leadership cults and hostility to liberal democracy. His prior book was ‘Easternisation: War and Peace in the Asian Century‘ – this illustrated how the growing wealth of Asia nations is transforming the international balance of power. The Sunday Times called it as “masterly account” and the Daily Telegraph called it “superb“. Paul Kennedy of Yale University commented – “This really is one of those works where you can say you wished our political leaders had read and pondered its great implications.”