Author, Journalist, Opinion-former.
Christopher is a historian, journalist and lecturer. He has reported from four continents, tackling subjects as diverse as loneliness and the environment, colonial legacies and religious radicalisation.
Building on the success of The Lion House, his best-selling history of the rise of Suleyman the Magnificent, Christopher is currently writing the second part of a landmark trilogy on the great sultan. The Lion House is also in development as a drama series and as a stage play. In April 2023 Columbia Global Reports published his Flying Green, on the decarbonisation of aviation, and he is researching The Revolution in Farming, his forthcoming book about regenerative agriculture, which will take him to Latin America, Africa and Asia. Uniting these varied threads is his role as a conciliator: between the past and the present, between cultures and ideas.
Christopher de Bellaigue is a regular contributor to some of the world’s most trusted media outlets, has held fellowships at Oxford and Harvard and has lectured in boardrooms and universities around the world.
“A globalised conscience courageously at work.”
New York Times
Expertise
The Islamic World and South Asia
My expertise in Islamic and South Asian affairs developed over 12 intense years spent living and working in the region as a correspondent for the Economist and numerous other media outlets.
Technology and the Environment
Subjects on the intersection of innovation and calamity have long been a fascination of mine. Following the success of Flying Green, which explores the future of sustainable aviation, I have started work on The Revolution in Farming, which examines the promise and pitfalls of regenerative agriculture around the world.
Ethics and Mental Health
My interest in mental health originates in my mother's depression and suicide. Questions of identity, the pursuit of a good life and a dignified death run throughout my work.
Finding Common Ground
In forums and debates around the world, in books, articles and programmes, I try to get beyond the polarisations that impede human wellbeing and strive to act as a unifier between cultures and peoples, between the present and the past.