Omer Aziz

Omer Aziz is a writer, author, journalist, lawyer, and former foreign policy advisor. He is the author of the forthcoming Brown Boy: A Memoir (Scribner, 2023).

At Radcliffe, Aziz will be working on a project that explores the rise of fascism in our time, the resurgence of the far-right across the West, and the clear and present dangers facing democracy. Inspired by Alexis de Tocqueville’s seminal work Democracy in America, Aziz will weave together history, politics, and ideas with reporting from Washington and Berlin, delving deeply into the subjects of white nationalism, Nazism, the modern fascist movement, and the existential threat—worsening by the minute—to liberal institutions.

Born to a working-class, immigrant family, Aziz received his BA (honors) in politics from Queen’s University in Canada, where he was awarded the Gold Medal (now the Medal in Political Studies). He received his MPhil in international relations from the University of Cambridge, and a JD from Yale Law School. While still in law school, Aziz worked for the United Nations special envoy for Syria on peace talks in Geneva. After graduation, he served as a foreign policy advisor in the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in Canada. Aziz has held residencies at MacDowell and Yaddo and published his essays in the Atlantic, Harper’s, New York magazine, the New York Times, and many other publications. He is a nomad by nature, but Toronto is home.

Opinion: Queen Elizabeth, for All Her Grace, Could Not Redeem a Disgraceful Legacy (Globe and Mail, 9/14/22)