The FP Twitterati 100

A who's who of the foreign-policy Twitterverse in 2011.

BY FOREIGN POLICY | JUNE 20, 2011

These days, everyone from the Dalai Lama to Bill Gates is on Twitter, the microblogging platform founded in 2006. During breaking news events like the death of Osama bin Laden or for following the Arab uprisings, it's become an invaluable tool for keeping up to speed. But for many, it's still just another place to promote their own work, rather than engaging in a more natural give-and-take. So how do you tell who's really worth following? FP's got you covered. Here are 100 Twitter users from around the world who will make you smarter, infuriate you, and delight you -- 140 characters at a time.

POLITICIANS AND DIPLOMATS

Danny Ayalon (@DannyAyalon) — Deputy foreign minister of Israel.

Carl Bildt (@carlbildt) — Swedish foreign minister and one of the most candid diplomats around.

Husain Haqqani (@husainhaqqani) — Pakistani ambassador to the United States; fierce advocate of tolerance and healthy bilateral relations.

Stephen Harper (@pmharper) — Prime minister of Canada; prefers overtime to shootouts when breaking an ice-hockey stalemate.

Boris Johnson (@MayorOfLondon) — London's outspoken and colorful mayor; Telegraph columnist.

Birgitta Jónsdóttir (@birgittaj) — Member of the Icelandic parliament; outspoken WikiLeaks supporter.

Paul Kagame (@PaulKagame) — President of Rwanda and Twitter fanatic.

Khalid Al Khalifa (@khalidalkhalifa) — Foreign minister of Bahrain.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen (@AndersFoghR) — Secretary-general of NATO.

Dmitry Rogozin (@DRogozin) — Russian ambassador to NATO; says the darnedest things.

Alec Ross (@AlecJRoss) — Senior advisor for innovation in the office of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Alexander Stubb (@alexstubb) — Finnish minister for Europe and trade; peace enthusiast.

Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) — Indian politician and former undersecretary-general at the United Nations.

SOUTH ASIA

C. Christine Fair (@CChristineFair) — Georgetown University assistant professor, dog lover, and sharp-tongued South Asia expert.

Henry Foy (@HenryJFoy) — New Delhi-based correspondent for Reuters.

Mohammed Hanif (@mohammedhanif) — Brilliant Pakistani novelist.

Huma Imtiaz (@HumaImtiaz) — Pakistani journalist based in Washington, D.C.

Saad Mohseni (@saadmohseni) — Afghan-Australian media tycoon based in Dubai.

Nitin Pai (@acorn) — Indian blogger and editor of Pragati -- the Indian National Interest Review.

Arif Rafiq (@pakistanpolicy) — Pakistani-American analyst, consultant, and blogger based in New York.

Nahal Toosi (@nahaltoosi) — Associated Press correspondent in Islamabad.

Declan Walsh (@declanwalsh) — AfPak correspondent for the Guardian.

Omar Waraich (@OmarWaraich) — Freelance journalist based in Islamabad.

Mosharraf Zaidi (@mosharrafzaidi) — Pakistani newspaper columnist and development consultant; Maple Leafs fanatic.

THE MIDDLE EAST

Issandr El Amrani (@arabist) — Writer and analyst based in Cairo.

Aluf Benn (@alufbenn) — Editor and columnist for Haaretz.

Andy Carvin (@acarvin) — Senior strategist at NPR and curator par excellence of the Arab Spring.

Martin Chulov (@martinchulov) — Middle East correspondent for the Guardian.

Golnaz Esfandiari (@GEsfandiari) — Iran reporter and blogger for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, based in Washington, D.C.

Kevin Flower (@KMFlower) — Jerusalem bureau chief for CNN.

Amira Al Husseini (@JustAmira) — Cat-loving Middle East editor for Global Voices, based in Bahrain.

Hussein Ibish (@Ibishblog) — Blogger and senior research fellow for the American Task Force on Palestine.

Gregory D. Johnsen (@gregorydjohnsen) — Yemen expert at Princeton University.

Dalia Mogahed (@DMogahed) — Cairo-born director of the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center and Gallup Center for Muslim Studies.

Eman Al Nafjan (@Saudiwoman) — Saudi Arabia's most prominent female blogger.

Ahmed Al Omran (@ahmed) — The original Saudi blogger; recent Columbia School of Journalism graduate.

Mina Al-Oraibi (@AlOraibi) — Reporter for the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat.

Sultan Al Qassemi (@SultanAlQassemi) — Prominent Emirati columnist, investor, and art aficionado; go-to source for breaking news from the Arab world.

Shmuel Rosner (@rosnersdomain) — Editor and columnist for the Jerusalem Post.

Mahmoud Salem (@Sandmonkey) — Foul-mouthed Egyptian revolutionary blogger and son of a former ruling-party parliamentarian, based in Cairo.

Yigal Schleifer (@YigalSchleifer) — Former Turkey correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor.

Lara Setrakian (@Lara) — Reporter for Bloomberg and ABC News. Currently based in Dubai.

Brian Whitaker (@Brian_Whit) — Middle East editor for the Guardian and a keen analyst of regional politics and trends.

Ben Wedeman (@bencnn) — Roving Middle East correspondent for CNN; first Western reporter to enter Libya during the uprising.

AFRICA

Scott Baldauf (@baldaufji) — Africa bureau chief for the Christian Science Monitor.

Ian Birrell (@ianbirrell) — Former deputy editor at the Independent and David Cameron speechwriter; now a columnist and the co-founder of Africa Express music project.

Howard French (@hofrench) — Former New York Times correspondent in Africa and China.

Rebecca Hamilton (@bechamilton) — Sudan correspondent and author of Fighting for Darfur.

Andrew Mwenda (@AndrewMwenda) — Managing editor of Uganda's Independent magazine; aid critic.

 

MKEARLEY

11:19 PM ET

June 19, 2011

The FP Twitterati 100

The Middle East without Mona El Tahawy (@monaeltahawy) ? She could be the most important one.

 

SJC

12:37 AM ET

June 20, 2011

Why no academics?

I have to question the fact that there are no academics on this list, other than the ones who write for FP. Don't you think that is i a little weird. I mean, it's great that some current ministers/government types tweet, but they're not going to say anything interesting, provocative or new.

On the other hand, there are some great IR academic tweeters out there. The international studies association has such a list: http://twitter.com/#!/isanet/following/people

I hate to say it, but it's possibly a much better FP list than the heavily bureaucratic/wonkish one here.

Goes to show you how influence is changing....

 

JESSHEEHAN

1:31 PM ET

June 21, 2011

Academic Twitterati

There are a few out of Princeton - in addition to @SlaughterAM, there is @PrincetonLISD (Princeton think tank with experts on Middle East, Afghanistan, etc.) @kramdas and @WilsonSchool. Plus @Joe_Nye over at Harvard, @BRRubin for Afghansitan info and @cshirky on social media.

 

GEORGE D

3:35 AM ET

June 20, 2011

A good list, but a few omissions.

Obviously, a list like this will focus where FP and the United States do. Europe, the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The rest of the world is somewhat marginal to the interests of this magazine. Nevertheless, there are some notable Twitter users who engage heavily and deserve inclusion on this list.

@ASEANSG - Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary General of ASEAN, a regional grouping of states with a population greater than Europe.
@dinopattidjalal - Indonesia's Ambassador to the US.
@kenroth - Executive Director of Human Rights Watch
@RoryMedcalfe - Program Director of the Lowy Institute, probably the Southern Hemisphere's leading foreign affairs thinktank.

I'm sure these are others, but these are some of the best.

 

GEORGE D

3:51 AM ET

June 20, 2011

And how could I forget...

...Chris Albon! @chrisalbon

 

LEMARIETTA

8:22 AM ET

June 20, 2011

lemarietta

It would be even better if you created lists including these suggested users...

 

MUNDODUNYA

8:34 AM ET

June 20, 2011

I think your list includes

I think your list includes wonderful people. I currently follow several of them, and I often RT their comments or news. Nevertheless... Although I understand that FP focus just on several regions, a list of twitter users "around the world" and no Latin America? That's a funny-shaped world you live in.

 

GEORGE D

5:33 PM ET

June 20, 2011

Unless the United States...

...has plans to invade, then you're not of foreign policy interest. Since Bush II, Latin America has fallen off the US map. This list reflects those interests.

But more importantly, Latin Americans tweet in Spanish. This is a list for monolinguals. America has problems speaking languages other than its own. This is a problem for them more than other people.

 

HR ACTIVIST

10:12 AM ET

June 20, 2011

Sad to see that you have

Sad to see that you have added Kaiser Kuo to this list in Asia. He does nothing to promote internet freedom in China, in fact just the opposite.
Mouthpiece for Baidu, he is out of place next to the greats like Evan Osnos and Gady Epstein. Twitter has been one of the tools used by people standing for freedom in countries that otherwise do not have a voice.
Kaiser Kuo, just out for his own self promotion.

 

GALINDES

11:01 AM ET

June 20, 2011

FT's Blurred Vision.

Hey, FT, have you hear about a region called Latin-America or you chauvinism is such that it blurs you vision? @Galindes

 

MARCO44

1:05 PM ET

June 21, 2011

Nice list.

Already following a couple of these, but have followed another 15+. This will definitely make for some interesting reading.The Middle East ones will be the most interesting for me.

 

JBAPOWELL

3:05 PM ET

June 21, 2011

Here's the list on Twitter...

http://twitter.com/#!/jbapowell/fp-2011/members

 

ANGELA NICHOLLS

9:41 PM ET

June 21, 2011

latin america is invisible for Foreign Policy?

It is incredible that a magazine that is Title Foreign Policy ignore Latinamerica, not only politicians, but civil society groups. Are we only visible as an underdeveloped region? try to learn about us>
@alvarouribevel
@tratadepersona
@fsantosrcn
@elcolombiano

 

ELIYAH

2:43 AM ET

June 23, 2011

The Twitter Explosion

It's pretty amazing how twitter has really taken off. I see social media playing a big part in the upcoming elections. Thanks for the List

 

OZPOLICY

8:06 AM ET

July 7, 2011

Twitter and social media was

Twitter and social media was very big in last elections too. It would be interesting to see what new applications Google brings out for the election.

 

MARIOBONIFACIO@YAHOO.COM

9:09 AM ET

June 23, 2011

Is it me, or does this list

Is it me, or does this list pretend that the Americas don't exist? Perhaps an appendix is in order?