Robert Austin's forthcoming book named "best non-fiction to read this year" by The New Statesman

CEES Associate Director and Professor Robert Austin’s forthcoming book, Enver Hoxha: Twentieth-Century Tyrant, co-written with Artan R. Hoxha, has been named by The New Statesman magazine as one of “The Best Non-Fiction to Read This Year.”

“Traditional cradle-to-crematorium biography is not dead yet,” writes Ian Thomson in the magazine’s Culture Preview 2026. “Enver Hoxha: Twentieth Century Tyrant… reappraises the life of the Albanian communist dictator known for his vengefulness but also for his love of Norman Wisdom films.”

Austin and Hoxha’s book, which will be published by Reaktion Books in February, is the first full-length biography of Enver Hoxha and examines this lesser-known figure in the history of the Cold War. Hoxha ruled Albania for nearly half a century, building a “Chairman-Mao-like political cult” in his small and impoverished nation. Through their extensive research, Austin and Hoxha scrutinize the nature of dictatorship as they detail Hoxha’s life and personality, exploring his paranoia, obsession with control, and manipulation of his internal and external enemies. 

The Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy will host a book launch in the spring with details to be announced closer to the date.

Huge congratulations to Professor Austin from everyone in the CEES community – we look forward to celebrating (and reading!) your new book!