William J. Dobson

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.{{cite web|title=Author List|url=http://www.lmqlit.com/author-display.php?art=William+J.+Dobson|publisher=Lippencot Massie McQuilken|accessdate=May 31, 2012}}

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.{{cite web|title=About|url=http://www.williamjdobson.com/?page_id=48|publisher=William J. Dobson|accessdate=May 31, 2012}}

Previously, he served as the Senior Editor for Asia at Newsweek International and as Associate Editor at Foreign Affairs.{{cite web |title=Who We Are |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/briefing/staff/2001/10/slate_s_masthead_who_we_are.html |accessdate=May 31, 2012 |publisher=Slate}} He has also been a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.{{cite news|last=Dobson|first=William|title=Saviors and Survivors|url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/78d02bf2-40dc-11de-8f18-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1wUJl6Yxb|accessdate=May 31, 2012|newspaper=Financial Times|date=May 16, 2009}}

During the height of the Arab Spring, he wrote daily pieces on modern authoritarianism for the Washington Post’s editorial page. 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[http://www.williamjdobson.com/ The Dictator’s Learning Curve] was published by Doubleday in 2012. The non-fiction book is an analysis of modern authoritarianism and has been reviewed by various media.[http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-385-53335-5 Publishers Weekly], [https://web.archive.org/web/20120519034220/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-17/book-review-the-dictators-learning-curve-by-william-dobson BusinessWeek] and [https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/05/30/the_dictators_are_smarter_than_you_think?page=0,0 Foreign Policy] magazine The Washington Post, New York Times, Financial Times, and Publishers Weekly were among those giving positive reviews.{{Cite web |title=The Dictator's Learning Curve by William J. Dobson: 9780307477552 {{!}} PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/202794/the-dictators-learning-curve-by-william-j-dobson/ |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=PenguinRandomhouse.com |language=en-US}}

Dobson was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2006.[http://www.weforum.org/community/forum-young-global-leaders Young Global Leader] In 2003, he was named the U.S. Rapporteur for the World Economic Forum's East Asia Summit.{{cite web|title=EAST ASIA ECONOMIC SUMMIT 2003 ASIA AGENDA MONITOR|url=https://members.weforum.org/pdf/WEF_Singapore_Report_03.pdf|publisher=World Economic Forum|accessdate=May 31, 2012}} The Singapore International Foundation awarded him a Distinguished Visitor Fellowship in 2008.{{cite web|title=SIF Distinguished Visitors|url=http://www.sif.org.sg/programme_details.php?id=4|publisher=Singapore International Foundation|accessdate=June 1, 2012}} The East-West Center awarded him a Senior Journalist Fellowship for Southeast Asia (2006) and an [http://www.eastwestcenter.org/seminars-and-journalism-fellowships/journalism-fellowships Journalism Fellowship] (2008). Dobson was a [http://www.salzburgglobal.org/current/sim.cfm?nav=knightfellowships Knight Media Fellow] (2003) to the Salzburg Global Seminar, and later a [http://www.salzburgglobal.org/current/sessions-b.cfm?IDSpecial_Event=2821 Freeman Fellow] in U.S.-East Asian Relations (2007).{{cite web|title=Newsletter|url=http://www.salzburgglobal.org/images/eview/may09/eview.html|publisher=Salzburg Global Seminar|accessdate=1 June 2012}}

Middlebury College recognized him with an [http://www.middlebury.edu/alumni/mcaa/awards Alumni Achievement Award] in 2011.{{cite web|title=2010-2011 Events|url=http://www.middlebury.edu/media/view/288498/original/2010-11events.pdf|publisher=Middlebury College|accessdate=1 June 2012}} Dobson is also a 1994 Truman Scholar.{{cite news|title=Truman Scholarship|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19940803&id=gIQgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=O88EAAAAIBAJ&pg=3210,442774|accessdate=1 June 2012|newspaper=Herald-Journal|date=August 3, 1994}}

• [https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12791/defending-democracy-age-sharp-power Defending Democracy in an Age of Sharp Power], (Johns Hopkins University Press; 2023).

• [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/202794/the-dictators-learning-curve-by-william-j-dobson/ The Dictator’s Learning Curve], (Doubleday; 2012). {{ISBN|978-0385533355}}

• [https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/the-mandarin-in-the-machine/ The Mandarin in the Machine], Journal of Democracy, October 2022
• [https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/a-glimpse-of-the-way-forward/ A Glimpse of the Way Forward], Journal of Democracy, July 2020
• [https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2013/03/hugo-chavezs-legacy-the-former-venezuelan-president-was-not-the-typical-south-american-strongman.html The Ghost of Hugo Chavez], Slate, March 6, 2013
• [https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2012/12/russia-adoption-ban-putin-shows-his-unpopularity-by-picking-on-orphans.html Putin the Pitiful], Slate, December 28, 2012
• [http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2012/05/harvard_and_the_chinese_communist_party_top_chinese_officials_are_studying_at_elite_u_s_universities_in_large_numbers_.html The East Is Crimson], Slate, May 23, 2012
• [http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2012/05/chen_guangcheng_and_exile_why_china_is_desperate_to_get_him_out_of_the_country_.html Why China Wishes Chen Would Just Go Away], Slate, May 2, 2012
• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/23/AR2011012300267.html Dictatorship for Dummies], Tunisia Edition, The Washington Post, January 23, 2011
• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/the-military-is-above-the-nation/2011/03/04/ABYTfcW_blog.html 'The Military is above the Nation'], The Washington Post, March 15, 2011
• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/another-dictatorship-just-with-new-faces-for-egypt/2011/03/04/ABf3aAd_blog.html ‘Another dictatorship, just with new faces’ for Egypt], The Washington Post, March 16, 2011
• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/worse-than-our-worst-nightmare-during-mubarak/2011/03/17/ABF8vUl_blog.html ‘Worse than our Worst Nightmare during Mubarak,'] The Washington Post, March 17, 2011
• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/where-are-the-dictators-helpers/2011/03/17/ABE3Zrq_blog.html Where are the dictator’s helpers?] The Washington Post, March 18, 2011
• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/one-womans-fight-to-preserve-a-russian-forest/2011/03/24/AB5takQB_blog.html One Woman’s Fight to Preserve a Russian Forest], The Washington Post, March 24, 2011
• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/the-opposition-dictators-deserve/2011/04/15/AFcxTnlD_blog.html The Opposition Dictators Deserve], The Washington Post, April 16, 2011
• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/why-im-glad-bin-laden-lived-to-see-the-arab-spring/2011/05/05/AFTe2JwF_blog.html Why I am Glad bin Laden Lived to See the Arab Spring], The Washington Post, May 5, 2011
• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/he-will-annihilate-that-one-leader/2011/05/15/AFRwSG4G_blog.html In Venezuela, Fighting for the Chance to Run: ‘He will annihilate that one leader,’] The Washington Post, May 15, 2011
• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-would-a-dictator-free-world-look-like-actually-not-so-free/2011/08/25/gIQAn7mJgJ_story.html Imagining a World Without Dictators], The Washington Post, August 26, 2011
• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-gaddafi-was-the-quintessential-20th-century-dictator/2011/10/21/gIQANkTb4L_story.html Why Gaddafi was the quintessential 20th-century dictator], The Washington Post, October 21, 2011
• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/12/AR2010081205317.htm In Russia, Fires—and politicians—are bringing down forests]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, The Washington Post, August 13, 2010
• [http://www.tnr.com/article/world/magazine/84505/china-middle-east-communism-democracy China’s Jittery Leaders], The New Republic, March 3, 2011
• [http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/87789/osama-bin-laden-obama-jimmy-carter-foreign-policy A Victory for Democratic Foreign Policy], The New Republic, May 3, 2011
• [https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2006/08/08/the_day_nothing_much_changed The Day Nothing Much Changed], Foreign Policy, August 8, 2006
• [https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2011/01/20/tunisias-lessons-for-repressive-regimes Tunisia’s Lessons for Repressive Regimes], U.S. News & World Report, January 20, 2011
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090517115908/https://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/05/14/global_democracy_over_a_barrel/ Global Democracy over a Barrel], The Boston Globe, May 14, 2009

Dobson has appeared and provided commentary for various news organizations, including C-SPAN,{{Cite web |title=William J. Dobson {{!}} C-SPAN.org |url=https://www.c-span.org/person/?1021712/WilliamJDobson |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=www.c-span.org}} PBS NewsHour,{{cite web |title=William Dobson on Egypt's 'Quick', 'Dynamic' Process |url=http://video.pbs.org/video/1857679581 |accessdate=June 1, 2012 |publisher=PBS NewsHour}} CNN, CBS, MSNBC, National Public Radio, and Voice of America.

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Category:American male journalists

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Category:Harvard Law School alumni