Giuliano da Empoli

Giuliano da Empoli is an Italian-Swiss novelist, essayist and keynote who decodes power, propaganda and political storytelling for global audiences. His debut novel, The Wizard of the Kremlin (2022), won the Grand Prix du roman de l’Académie française, was a Prix Goncourt finalist, and has been translated into 30+ languages.

A leading analyst of data-driven populism, his essay The Engineers of Chaos (2019) mapped the spin-doctor tactics reshaping democracies. In 2025, The Hour of the Predator advanced that inquiry, charting the convergence of autocrats and tech billionaires.

Da Empoli served as Deputy Mayor for Culture in Florence (2009–2012), advised Prime Minister Matteo Renzi (2014–2016), founded the Milan-based think tank Volta (2016–), and teaches at Sciences Po Paris (since 2021), connecting policy, history and contemporary geopolitics with a European lens.