Viola Gienger

Washington Senior Editor

Viola Gienger (BlueskyLinkedInX) is Washington Senior Editor for Just Security and a research scholar at NYU School of Law with a focus on foreign affairs, U.S. foreign and defense policy, international security, and development.  She previously served as senior editor/writer at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, where she worked on issues including violent extremism, gender, and religion, and conducted research and program strategy work on Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine. A career journalist, she was an editor and reporter at Bloomberg News, including covering the State Department and the Pentagon for five years.

Gienger lived and worked for seven years in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, five years managing training programs and consulting for independent media in transition, and two years as a freelance journalist. She has reported from more than 30 countries, including in the Middle East and Asia, and has appeared as a guest commentator and moderator in television, radio, and podcasts. In October 2023, she gave the National Security Distinguished Lecture at the Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee.

Her freelance work has included writing and editing for the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, and the Wilson Center, and serving as guest national security editor at The Cipher Brief. Her writing also has been published in the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy’s Fletcher Security Review, the Atlantic Council’s Ukraine Alert, Ozy, the Chicago Tribune, Newhouse’s Religion News Service, the Washington Post, the New York Times, Transitions Online and Al-Monitor.

She is a judge in national journalism contests and a member of the National Press Club, Journalism & Women Symposium and the Society of Professional Journalists, where she serves on the board of the Washington DC SDX Foundation, which grants scholarships to journalism students.

Articles by this author:

The Just Security Podcast: Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Oleksandra Matviichuk on Accountability in Russia’s War Against Ukraine

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Dec 18th, 2024

To ‘End’ War in Ukraine, Trump Might Be Tougher on Putin Than Critics Think

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Nov 21st, 2024

The Just Security Podcast: Key Trends and Takeaways from the 2024 U.N. General Assembly’s High-Level Week

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Oct 2nd, 2024

The Just Security Podcast: What to Expect from the 2024 U.N. General Assembly

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Sep 20th, 2024

UNGA 79: Expert Analysis & Resources

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Sep 19th, 2024

U.N. General Assembly High-Level Week 2024 : What Experts Are Looking For

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Sep 19th, 2024

The Just Security Podcast: The Evolution of U.S. Hostage Policy

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Aug 1st, 2024

The Just Security Podcast NATO’s Washington Summit: Russia’s War on Ukraine Tests Alliance

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Jul 12th, 2024

The Just Security Podcast: Harm to Women in War Goes Beyond Sexual Violence: `Obstetric Violence’ Neglected

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Apr 26th, 2024

The Just Security Podcast: A Russian Legal Scholar in Exile on the Future of Resistance to Putin

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Mar 29th, 2024

The Just Security Podcast: Crisis in Haiti

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Mar 19th, 2024

The Just Security Podcast: Russia’s Political Prisoners and Their Lawyers: Vladimir Kara-Murza’s Case Highlights the Risks

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Feb 5th, 2024

The Just Security Podcast: Counterterrorism and Human Rights (Part 2 Spyware and Data Collection)

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Nov 27th, 2023

The Just Security Podcast: Counterterrorism and Human Rights (Part I Root Causes, Guantanamo, and Northeast Syria)

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Nov 20th, 2023

Policy Alert: Key Questions in Hamas’ Attack on Israel and What Comes Next

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Oct 9th, 2023

The Just Security Podcast: Recapping the NATO Summit

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Jul 12th, 2023

Wagner Chief’s Mutiny in Russia: Cautionary Notes on Early Assessments

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Jun 26th, 2023

Biden Prepares to Fete Modi Amid US Reports of India’s Rights Abuses, Repression

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Jun 20th, 2023

Just Security Podcast: A Year in Russia’s War Against Ukraine: Forging a US Response

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Feb 24th, 2023

Early Edition for August 12, 2022

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Aug 12th, 2022

Tunisians, Fed Up With `Non-Delivering Democracy,’ Set to Vote on Retrograde Constitution: Civil Society’s Role

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Jul 23rd, 2022

Справжній страх Путіна: Конституційний лад України

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Mar 24th, 2022

Putin’s Real Fear: Ukraine’s Constitutional Order

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Mar 24th, 2022

U.S. Under Secretary of State Nuland on Accelerating Aid to Ukraine and Sanctions Against Russia

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Mar 9th, 2022

Вплив на плани Путіна: інформаційна війна та російський народ

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Mar 3rd, 2022

Influencing Putin’s Calculus: The Information War and the Russian Public

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Mar 3rd, 2022

Holding Putin and Russia Accountable: A List of Legal and Policy Options

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Feb 25th, 2022

Biden’s `Initiative for Democratic Renewal’ — Analysis from Diplomats, Top Experts

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Dec 10th, 2021

Early Edition: April 2, 2021

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Apr 2nd, 2021

Early Edition: March 29, 2021

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Mar 29th, 2021

Blinken Sails Through Queries on Iran, China, Russia, NATO, and More in Secretary of State Confirmation Hearing

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Jan 20th, 2021

Ousted Autocratic Presidents and Their Backers in the Legislative Branch

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Jan 15th, 2021