You've successfully subscribed to American Purpose
Great! Next, complete checkout for full access to American Purpose
Welcome back! You've successfully signed in.
Success! Your account is fully activated, you now have access to all content.
Success! Your newsletter subscriptions is updated.
Newsletter subscriptions update failed.
Success! Your billing info is updated.
Billing info update failed.
Jeffrey Gedmin

Jeffrey Gedmin

Dr. Jeffrey Gedmin is co-founder and editor-in-chief of American Purpose, the magazine and media venture. He is former President/CEO of the London-based Legatum Institute. Gedmin served for four years as President/CEO of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, headquartered in Prague, prior to which he served as President/CEO of the Aspen Institute in Berlin. Previously, he was Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., and Executive Director of the New Atlantic Initiative.

Gedmin is the author/editor of several books on Germany and European security. He also served as co-executive producer for two major PBS documentaries: “The Germans, Portrait of a New Nation” (1995) and “Spain’s 9/11 and the Challenge of Radical Islam in Europe” (2007). He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on several advisory boards, including the Institute for State Effectiveness, the Justice for Journalists Foundation, the Tocqueville Conversations, and the Institute for Current World Affairs. Together with former U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic Norm Eisen, Gedmin is co-chair of the Transatlantic Democracy Working Group, hosted by the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Articles and Events

Billy the Kid and Aaron Copland
Art

Billy the Kid and Aaron Copland

Aaron Copland’s life and work have something to tell us about American history, culture, and identity.

Jeffrey Gedmin
Why Russians Support the War
Interview

Why Russians Support the War

Jeffrey Gedmin interviews S. Frederick Starr on the resurgence of Imperial Russia.

Jeffrey Gedmin, S. Frederick Starr
Frontline Fighting and Flourishing
Music

Frontline Fighting and Flourishing

In Eastern Europe, cultural memory is attached to responsibility, and nowhere more so than Vilnius.

Jeffrey Gedmin
A Note from Jeffrey Gedmin

A Note from Jeffrey Gedmin

Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Gedmin shares some news about American Purpose this summer and fall.

Jeffrey Gedmin
What's an American?
Music

What's an American?

New Orleans-born Louis Moreau Gottschalk crafted a sound that was surprising, eclectic, and American.

Jeffrey Gedmin
Crisis, Conflict, Turmoil

Crisis, Conflict, Turmoil

The Thirty Years' War impacted every aspect of society–including the arts. Jeffrey Gedmin on how the raging conflict influenced Bach, Handel, and other artists of the Baroque.

Jeffrey Gedmin
Exiles, Expression, Suppression
Art

Exiles, Expression, Suppression

Jeffrey Gedmin on the dangerous, indefatigable spirit of Romanian writer and journalist Monica Lovinescu.

Jeffrey Gedmin
The Ukraine War Has Transformed Europe—for Good

The Ukraine War Has Transformed Europe—for Good

The notion of a Zeitenwende—a major turning point—is not just German anymore. Putin’s war has become a Zeitenwende for all Europe.

Jeffrey Gedmin, William Kristol