Martin Gelin is a journalist and award-winning author of seven books on American politics and culture, published in Sweden, and two books published internationally. For two decades, he worked as the U.S. Correspondent for Dagens Nyheter, a national newspaper in Sweden, and covered four presidential elections.

He has written features, reviews and commentary for The Guardian, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, The New York Times, New York Magazine, Foreign Policy, Slate, The Daily Beast, The New Republic, The Independent, The Prospect, Boston Review, The LA Review of Books, Granta Magazine and Harvard’s Nieman Lab, among others.

Martin Gelin has been interviewed by the BBC, CNN, NPR, The Guardian, L’Express, Monocle, Quartz, Byline Times and The Times of India, among others, and he’s a regular commentator on foreign affairs for Swedish TV and radio.

His two recent books were finalists for the August Prize, Sweden’s highest literary honor. He has also been awarded literary awards from The Swedish Academy, The Stockholm Prize and The Johan Hansson Prize for previous books. His work has been translated to seven languages, including Chinese and French.

After two decades in New York, he now lives in Paris, where he covers foreign affairs for international media. He is also the president of the Anglo-American Press Association, the oldest international press organization in Paris.

An experience public speaker, he has held more than 100 talks on foreign affairs, culture and democracy, at Columbia University, New York University, The Jaipur Literary Festival, The American Library in Paris, University of Hong Kong, Uppsala University, The Royal Library in Copenhagen, The Swedish Institute of International Affairs, the Nordic Council and the Swedish parliament.  

As a U.S. Correspondent for international media, he interviewed and profiled three presidents, and met with major names in politics, tech and culture, including Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bryan Stevenson, Bill Gates, Don Delillo, Zadie Smith and Martin Scorsese.

Praise for the Swedish edition of Why Soft Power Matters in Hard Times

“A mesmerizing and informative defense of globalization and diversity.” – Ulrika Knutsson, Dagens Nyheter

“A very exciting book” – Morten Kjaerom, Director of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute

“Gelin investigates the significance of soft power, particularly culture, in geopolitics. With a curious and critical eye, he recounts how the Gulf states transform oil revenue into soccer teams, museums, and art biennials, and how China spends billions on propaganda.” - Aftonbladet

“He skillfully provides the reader with the keys to understanding the game behind the state-funded export of Korean culture and depicts in a gripping manner how the art world becomes a pawn in a game where Qatar and Saudi Arabia pump money into successful attempts to wash away associations with dictatorship and oppression.” - GP

“A striking example of how soft power affects security policy … His message is particularly relevant in our time, when greater focus must be placed on national security, and also on the importance of culture in that context.” – Svenska Dagbladet

"Cultural resilience has become a hot topic. Global conflicts and shifts in power are not just matters of military strength and economics: A significant part of the struggle takes place through culture, values, and shared narratives. This is happening quite openly in Ukraine, where attacks on the country’s culture and identity have become part of the war. But it’s also happening behind the scenes, where cultural influences can creep into our daily lives through apps and algorithms—and it’s important to be aware of this. That is why I am truly delighted that we can welcome Martin Gelin to the Royal Library of Copenhagen for an afternoon dedicated to literature and culture.”

- Bente Skovgaard Kristensen, director of the Copenhagen Royal Library, KGL Bibliotek.