Sarah B. Snyder

Sarah B. Snyder is a Professor at the School of International Service, American University, specializing in the impact of nonstate actors on U.S. foreign policy. She is an Affiliate Professor of History at American University and holds a PhD from Georgetown University, an MA from University College London, and a BA (with honors) from Brown University.

Her research focuses on the intersection of human rights activism, Cold War dynamics, and transnational networks. She is particularly known for her work on the Helsinki Network, the CSCE (Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe), and the role of activists in shaping U.S. foreign relations from the 1960s to the Cold War's end. Her articles analyze Cold War-era human rights campaigns, congressional activism, and public-private partnerships in global health.

She has received prestigious accolades including the Robert H. Ferrell Prize (2019) and the Stuart L. Bernath Book Prize (2012). Her current project on overseas Americans' influence on U.S. foreign policy is supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship. Snyder also serves as Executive Editor of Modern American History and founding editor of Columbia University Press' Global America book series.

• National Endowment for the Humanities Faculty Fellowship (2024-2025)
• Organization of American Historians Distinguished Lecturer
• Council on Foreign Relations Life Member
• Stuart L. Bernath Book Prize (2012)
• Myrna F. Bernath Book Award (2012)