Henry Olsen
Senior Fellow
Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, studies and provides commentary on American politics. His work focuses on how America’s political order is being upended by populist challenges, from the left and the right. He also studies populism’s impact in other democracies in the developed world.
For media inquiries or to book Mr. Olsen for an interview, contact [email protected].
Click here to view the full archive of Mr. Olsen’s writings at The Washington Post.
Click here to view the full archive of Mr. Olsen’s writings at National Review Online.
Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, studies and provides commentary on American politics. His work focuses on how America’s political order is being upended by populist challenges, from the left and the right. He also studies populism’s impact in other democracies in the developed world.
Mr. Olsen is an opinion columnist for The Washington Post, where he writes daily pieces focusing on politics, populism, foreign affairs and American conservative thought. He is also the author of The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue-Collar Conservatism and The Four Faces of the Republican Party, co-authored with Dante Scala.
Mr. Olsen is teaching as the Thomas W. Smith Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at Arizona State University for the Winter/Spring 2023 semester.
Mr. Olsen was previously an editor at UnHerd.com and a regular contributor to American Greatness, City Journal, and World Magazine. Mr. Olsen’s work has been featured in many prominent publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, National Review, The Guardian, and The Weekly Standard.
His predictions of the 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 elections were particularly praised for their remarkable accuracy. In the 2016 campaign, he accurately identified the factors fueling the rise of Donald Trump early in the race, and his election-eve predictions were among the most accurate of any major analyst or commentator.
Mr. Olsen has worked in senior executive positions at many center-right think tanks. He most recently served from 2006 to 2013 as Vice President and Director, National Research Initiative, at the American Enterprise Institute. He previously worked as Vice President of Programs at the Manhattan Institute and President of the Commonwealth Foundation.
Mr. Olsen started his career as a political consultant at the California firm of Hoffenblum-Mollrich. He then worked with the California State Assembly Republican Caucus before attending law school. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Danny J. Boggs on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and as an associate at Dechert, Price & Rhoads. He has a B.A. from Claremont McKenna College and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as Comment Editor for the University of Chicago Law Review.
Unemployment: What Would Reagan Do?
Henry Olsen
A look at the civilian employment-population ratio gives a better picture of how hard it is going to be for the United States to recover from financial crisis, and explains why Ronald Reagan’s approach to job creation would be better suited to spur recovery.
Articles
Wall Street Journal / August 10, 2010
Populism, American Style
Henry Olsen
The significance and potential of the Tea Party movement can only be understood by examining populism in its unique manifestation in the United States, where its history is both consoling and cautionary about this modern populist movement.
Articles
National Affairs / June 21, 2010
Britain’s Compassionate Conservatives
Henry Olsen
In deviating from the traditional theme of the Conservative Party, David Cameron has isolated upper-middle-class voters and generated underwhelming support from the electorate.
Articles
Wall Street Journal / May 18, 2010
The Way of the Whigs?
Henry Olsen
Lincoln’s first political party dissolved, and so could today’s Republicans.
Articles
National Review / February 22, 2010
Obama’s Downsizing
Henry Olsen
Why is an administration that claims to be putting jobs first still making job-killing bills the top items on its agenda?
Articles
National Review Online / December 11, 2009
The Reemerging Republican Majority?
Henry Olsen
Conservatives who seek a revival in their movement must examine how America has changed since the glory days of President Ronald Reagan, and how those changes pose new challenges to, and may impose new limits on, conservatism today.
Articles
Claremont Review of Books / August 13, 2009
The Meaning of the Goldwater Campaign
Henry Olsen
Was the Goldwater campaign of 1964 was a major loss for conservatism or an invaluable time of forging principles?
Articles
NewMajority.com / March 2, 2009
The Republican Future
Henry Olsen
The Republican base is mostly white evangelical Christians, but it can grow through appealing to the educated affluent, the working-class nonevangelical faithful, or minorities.
Articles
NewMajority.com / February 25, 2009
The Forgotten Entitlements
Henry Olsen
Social Security and Medicare are not the only out-of-control federal entitlements.
Articles
Policy Review / February 1, 2009
American Values Post-Recession Will Be Dictated by the Downturn’s Course
Henry Olsen
Issues of security and prevention may soon displace the politics of tolerance and opportunity.
Articles
NewMajority.com / January 22, 2009
Sign up here to receive updates from Henry Olsen.