The FP Twitterati 100

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

BY FOREIGN POLICY | JUNE 20, 2011

GEEKS

Mikko H. Hypponen (@mikkohypponen) — Finnish cybersecurity expert.

Rebecca MacKinnon (@rmack) — Former Beijing bureau chief for CNN focusing on global Internet policy; fellow at the New America Foundation.

Zeynep Tufekci (@techsoc) — Turkish-born blogger; assistant professor of sociology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; authority on social media.

Jillian C. York (@jilliancyork) — Blogger, director for international freedom of expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Ethan Zuckerman (@EthanZ) — Co-founder, with MacKinnon, of the social media network Global Voices; Berkman Center fellow and blogger.

ECONOMICS

Tyler Cowen (@tylercowen) — Professor of economics at George Mason University, author, ethnic food expert, and pioneering econoblogger.

William Easterly (@bill_easterly) — New York University economics professor and aid skeptic. Takes pride in being the 8th-most-famous person from Bowling Green, Ohio.

Richard Florida (@Richard_Florida) — Urbanist and scholar at the University of Toronto; famous for his theories on the "creative class."

Dambisa Moyo (@dambisamoyo) — London-based author and aid critic. 

Catherine Rampell (@crampell) — Editor of the Economix blog at the New York Times.

Nouriel Roubini (@Nouriel) — NYU professor of economics and international business; prophet of doom.

Felix Salmon (@felixsalmon) — Eclectic finance blogger for Reuters.

PLUS: FP'ERS WHO TWEET

Also available as a Twitter list

Foreign Policy (@FP_Magazine) — The official Foreign Policy feed

AfPak Channel (@afpakchannel) — The latest on Afghanistan and Pakistan from the New America Foundation in partnership with Foreign Policy

Middle East Channel (@MideastChannel) — The latest on the Middle East from Foreign Policy and the Project on Middle East Political Science

P.J. Aroon (@pjaroonFP) — FP copy chief; tweets about women and typos.

David Bosco (@multilateralist) — FP contributing editor and blogger; U.N. expert and author of Five to Rule Them All.

Christian Caryl (@ccaryl) — Washington chief editor of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; FP contributing editor.

Elizabeth Dickinson (@dickinsonbeth) — Former Nigeria correspondent for the Economist and features editor at Foreign Policy; now a freelance journalist.

Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) — Professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and writer of an eponymous blog.

Rebecca Frankel (@becksfrankel) — Deputy managing editor, web.

David E. Hoffman (@thedeadhandbook) — Pulitzer Prize-winning author and former foreign editor of the Washington Post; Foreign Policy contributing editor and blogger.

Charles Homans (@chashomans) — Features editor.

Blake Hounshell (@blakehounshell) — Managing editor.

Julia Ioffe (@ioffeinmoscow) — FP correspondent in Moscow.

Joshua E. Keating (@joshuakeating) — Associate editor

David Kenner (@DavidKenner) — Associate editor.

Charles Kenny (@charlesjkenny) — Former World Bank economist; now an FP columnist and fellow at the New America Foundation; author of Getting Better.

Parag Khanna (@paragkhanna) — Globe-trotting, bestselling author; Foreign Policy videoblogger.

Christina Larson (@larsonchristina) — Contributing editor at Foreign Policy and freelance journalist based in China.

Steve LeVine (@stevelevine) — Author of The Oil and the Glory; blogs on the geopolitics of energy for Foreign Policy.

Colum Lynch (@columlynch) — Washington Post U.N. correspondent and Turtle Bay blogger.

Marc Lynch (@abuaardvark) — Associate professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University and Middle East blogger.

Suzanne Merkelson (@suzmerk) — Editorial assistant.

Evgeny Morozov (@evgenymorozov) — fellow at Stanford University and writer of FP's Net Effect blog.

Moisés Naím (@MoisesNaim) — Former editor in chief of Foreign Policy; now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Benjamin Pauker (@BenPauker) — Senior editor.

Britt Peterson (@brittkpeterson) — Deputy managing editor.

Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) — Staff writer and Cable blogger.

 

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?