Douglas Murray

Murray, born in 1979, published his first book, Bosie, in 2000 while an Oxford undergraduate.⁠[1]

Bosie, a biography of Lord Alfred Douglas, was published by Hodder in June 2000 in 374 pages. Reviewer James Davidson observed that the biography was written to restore its subject’s reputation and criticized the author for suppressing worse material despite the mass of damning evidence.⁠[2]

His Bloody Sunday: Truth, Lies and the Saville Inquiry chronicles the Saville Inquiry: after it moved from Derry to London in 2002, he attended daily to hear testimony from soldiers and IRA members; the book was longlisted for the 2012 Orwell Prize.⁠[3]

In 2005 he published Neoconservatism, a history and defence of neoconservative thought.⁠[1]

Reviewing the book, Peter Berkowitz wrote that the young Oxford-educated writer takes on neoconservatism’s harshest critics and contends that it is just getting started, while noting that he sometimes overstates his case or glosses over difficulties.⁠[4]

In a 2006 speech in the Dutch Parliament he said “Conditions for Muslims in Europe must be made harder across the board”; Paul Goodman wrote that the Conservative front bench consequently severed formal relations with him and his centre.⁠[5]

In 2007 he founded the think tank Centre for Social Cohesion, which later became part of the Henry Jackson Society, where he was associate director from 2011 to 2018.⁠[1]

In October 2011, replying to Goodman, he said those words were “not opinions that I hold” and that the speech had long been removed from his website; Goodman argued he was retreating under pressure.⁠[5]

Bloody Sunday shared the 22nd Christopher Ewart-Biggs Literary Prize (2011–2012) with Julieann Campbell’s book on the Bloody Sunday justice campaign; the judges said he analysed the Saville Inquiry’s proceedings accessibly, thoughtfully and with forensic care.⁠[6]

The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam was published by Bloomsbury in May 2017.⁠[1]

The book became a surprise bestseller; it opens by declaring “Europe is committing suicide,” attributes this to post-war mass migration and Europe’s loss of faith in its own beliefs and traditions, and reports on his travels to Lampedusa, Greece and Germany.⁠[7]

The Madness of Crowds, published in 2019, sets out to explain why societies have become so conflict-ridden, organized around four themes: gay, gender, race and trans. In his review the academic William Davies called it “a rightwing diatribe,” arguing that it blames conflict on minority groups backed by left-wing academic theory.⁠[8]

The War on the West, published in April 2022, focuses on race and “social justice,” describing a “cultural war” waged against the roots of the western tradition; reviewer Tibor Fischer found his arguments meticulous and measured but considered some examples a storm in a teacup.⁠[9]

On June 21, 2022, he appeared on episode #296 of the Lex FridmanLex FridmanLex Fridman is a Soviet-born, US-raised computer scientist and podcast host who works as an MIT research scientist on human-AI interaction and autonomous driving. His Lex Fridman Podcast is known for hours-long conversations with guests including heads of state and technology leaders.Open the full entry Podcast, discussing Western civilization, slavery, reparations, institutional racism, critical race theory, Stalin, Churchill, Marxism, Donald Trump and America’s future.⁠[10]

In April 2024 Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli presented him with an award in Jerusalem for being “a friend to the Jewish people” and fighting the resurgence of antisemitism; Herzog said he had been on the front line since October 7, 2023.⁠[11]

In March 2025 Guardian News and Media agreed to pay him “substantial” damages to settle his libel claim over an Observer column by Kenan Malik that mistakenly presented remarks from a 2023 interview as support for the summer 2024 riots in Britain; the company apologised unreservedly and acknowledged the allegations were false.⁠[12]

On March 30, 2025, he returned to the Lex Fridman Podcast (episode #463), discussing the war in Ukraine, Trump and Zelenskyy, Putin, prospects for peace, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Hamas, Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu and Iran.⁠[13]

In early April 2025 he published On Democracies and Death Cults, about the Israel–Hamas war, and appeared on The Joe RoganJoe RoganJoe Rogan is an American podcaster, stand-up comedian and UFC commentator whose long-form interview podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, launched in 2009, is among the most listened-to podcasts in the world; he hosted the NBC reality show Fear Factor, and his show’s content and political statements have repeatedly drawn controversy.Open the full entry Experience to debate libertarian comedian Dave SmithDave SmithDave Smith is a New York stand-up comedian and libertarian political commentator who hosts the podcast Part of the Problem; described as one of the most visible figures of the Libertarian Party’s Mises Caucus, he is known for advocating U.S. non-intervention in foreign conflicts and criticizing U.S. support for Israel and Ukraine.Open the full entry for over three hours; the next day Donald Trump endorsed the book on Truth Social, and it reached bestseller lists in Britain and the United States, though major British papers had not reviewed it.⁠[14]

In the debate Murray criticized Rogan for platforming people who claim expertise on Ukraine, Gaza and Covid-19 and then fall back on being comedians when challenged; Smith replied that not being an expert did not mean he could not have his take.⁠[15]

Reviewer Neville Teller noted that the book recounts the October 7, 2023, attack and its aftermath, that the author sees hatred of Jews as integral to the purpose of groups such as Hamas, and that he distinguishes Hamas from the Nazis, who tried to hide their crimes, whereas Hamas was proud of them.⁠[16]

YouTuber Mohammed Hegab, who posts as Mohammed Hijab, sued The Spectator and Murray over Murray’s 2022 Spectator article on community tensions in Leicester; in August 2025 Mr Justice Johnson of the High Court ruled that the article had not caused serious harm to his reputation and was “substantially true,” dismissing the claim.⁠[17]

As of October 2026 he remains associate editor of The Spectator, writing under a byline that identifies him as author of The War on the West: How to Prevail in the Age of Unreason, among other books.⁠[18]

Personal website: Public link: https://douglasmurray.net/ (opens in a new window)⁠[10]

X: Public account: https://x.com/DouglasKMurray (opens in a new window)⁠[13]

The Spectator: Official website: https://www.spectator.co.uk/ (opens in a new window)⁠[18]