Charles King

Charles King is Professor of International Affairs and Government at Georgetown University, where he previously served as chairman of the faculty of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, the country's premier school of global affairs. 

King's research has focused on nationalism, ethnic politics, transitions from authoritarianism, urban history, and the relationship between history and the social sciences. He is the author or editor of seven books, including Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth of Modern Istanbul (W. W. Norton, 2014); Odessa: Genius and Death in a City of Dreams (W. W. Norton, 2011), which received the National Jewish Book Award; and The Ghost of Freedom: A History of the Caucasus (Oxford University Press, 2008), which was named "History Book of the Year" by the Moscow Times. His work has been translated into more than ten languages. 

King's research has been supported by the Social Science Research Council, the International Research and Exchanges Board, and the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies. In 2012-13 he was a Fellow of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He has also held visiting appointments at the University of Michigan and Bosphorus University in Istanbul, where he was a Fulbright Scholar. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. 

A frequent speaker and commentator on global affairs, King has published essays in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and other major newspapers; in magazines such as Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy; and in web-based media such as The Daily Beast and the Christian Science Monitor. His broadcast appearances have included National Public Radio's "Morning Edition," MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show," CNN, the BBC, and other venues. He is a three-time recipient of professor-of-the-year honors from Georgetown students and has received both the School of Foreign Service Dean's Medal and McGuire Medal, the highest awards for service to the school and its students. 

A native of the Ozark hill country, King holds a bachelor's degree in history and philosophy from the University of Arkansas and a master's and doctorate in Russian studies and politics from Oxford University, where he was a Marshall Scholar.