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    Trump’s Cultural Revolution

    Orville Schell

    Donald Trump has upended seven decades of US foreign policy in a matter of weeks, leaving global leaders aghast and bewildered. But while his actions may seem unparalleled, there is a precedent for his political blitzkrieg: Mao Zedong, who had an even more impressive penchant for chaos and disruption.

     sees obvious and troubling parallels between the US president and Mao Zedong.
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    How Europe Can Rearm

    Philippe Legrain

    How can European countries possibly afford to increase military spending at a time when their economies are weak, public finances are stretched, and many voters are loath to accept cuts to other government spending? In fact, there is no shortage of options – and, with the United States going its own way, no room for further delay.

     sees three options for the European Union to finance the sharply higher defense investment it urgently needs.
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    Will We Squander the AI Opportunity?

    Daron Acemoglu worries that the technology is on track to disempower, rather than complement, most of humanity.
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    Trump’s Surprise Attack on Europe

    Joschka Fischer thinks the continent has become a sitting duck in the face of the US administration’s strategic revisionism
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    Normalizing the Normalization of the Far Right

    Jan-Werner Mueller explores the most common justifications that politicians offer for working with anti-democratic forces.
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    India Has Arrived

    Ana Palacio charts the country’s transition from passive observer to active shaper of international affairs.
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    Tackling Climate Change in the Age of Trump

    Richard Haass & Carolyn Kissane argue that reconciling what is desirable with what is feasible requires a new approach.
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    Education Belongs on the Climate Agenda

    Adenike Oladosu explains why investing in schools in conflict- and crisis-affected countries would build resilience.
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    Germany at a Crossroads

    Ulrike Malmendier, et al. urge policymakers to pursue bold structural reforms, rather than clinging to an outdated growth model.
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Latest

  1. Will We Squander the AI Opportunity?
    acemoglu84_Ludovic MarinGettyImages_ai_action_summit

    Will We Squander the AI Opportunity?

    Feb 19, 2025 Daron Acemoglu worries that the technology is on track to disempower, rather than complement, most of humanity.

  2. Education Belongs on the Climate Agenda
    oladosu1_Sakorn SukkasemsakornGetty Images_moneyeducation Sakorn Sukkasemsakorn/Getty Images

    Education Belongs on the Climate Agenda

    Feb 19, 2025 Adenike Oladosu explains why investing in schools in conflict- and crisis-affected countries would build resilience.

  3. Trump’s Cultural Revolution
    schell24_ApicGettyImages_mao_zedong Apic/Getty Images

    Trump’s Cultural Revolution

    Feb 19, 2025 Orville Schell sees obvious and troubling parallels between the US president and Mao Zedong.

  4. How Europe Can Rearm
    legrain40_Omar MarquesGetty Images_polandmilitary Omar Marques/Getty Images

    How Europe Can Rearm

    Feb 19, 2025 Philippe Legrain sees three options for the European Union to finance the sharply higher defense investment it urgently needs.

  5. Trump’s Surprise Attack on Europe
    fischer225_Picture AllianceGettyImages_jd_vance_msc Picture Alliance/Getty Images

    Trump’s Surprise Attack on Europe

    Feb 18, 2025 Joschka Fischer thinks the continent has become a sitting duck in the face of the US administration’s strategic revisionism

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OnPoint is our suite of subscriber-exclusive content. Get long-read commentaries, thematic deep dives, interviews with world leaders, and much more. Learn more.  

  1. op_malmendier1_ INA FASSBENDERAFP via Getty Images_germanyrailway Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images
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    Germany at a Crossroads

    Ulrike Malmendier, et al. urge policymakers to pursue bold structural reforms, rather than clinging to an outdated growth model.
  2. GettyImages-2196139559
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    Daniel Gros on DeepSeek, Germany's malaise, EU competitiveness, and more

    Daniel Gros hopes that a Chinese startup's apparent AI breakthrough will provide a much-needed boost to European competitiveness, advises the EU on how to deal with Donald Trump, urges Europe to improve conditions for bottom-up innovation, and more.
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    World Order in a Time of Monsters

    Minouche Shafik highlights the critical importance of reinvigorating social contracts at the national level.
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    The Tragedy of Zhou Enlai

    Minxin Pei reflects on the complicated life and legacy of the renowned diplomat who was Mao Zedong’s dutiful lieutenant.
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    Yi Fuxian on China's decision-making, economic prospects, demographic crisis, and more

    Yi Fuxian warns that China's government and mainstream analysts are still underestimating the severity of the country's demographic crisis, identifies some of the gravest policy mistakes Donald Trump's administration is at risk of making vis-a-vis China, explains why China’s middle class will never be strong enough to bring about a democratic transition, and more.
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    America’s Workers Are About to Be Forgotten Again

    Josh Bivens & Heidi Shierholz contrast the Biden administration's pro-worker policies with what Donald Trump is likely to do.

The world’s diplomatic, political, and economic divisions continue to harden – both between countries and within them. Whereas 2022 and 2023 featured a war of attrition in Ukraine, we have since entered a broader world of attrition, with zero-sum conflicts multiplying across the board.

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Sustainability Now brings together leading voices in all of the domains involved in combating climate change, each addressing specific facets of the challenge.

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    Ensuring Europe’s Supply of Critical Minerals

    Rüya Perincek & Andreas Goldthau call for coordinated funding, resource diplomacy, and secondary material partnerships to boost recycling.
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    The Climate Policy Pendulum

    Gernot Wagner notes that green technologies retain their many advantages, regardless of national political developments.
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    What Climate Justice Means for Latin America and the Caribbean

    Thiago Barral & Woochong Um urge policymakers to work with key stakeholders to accelerate the uptake of renewables.

Opinion that Moves

  1. Philippe Legrain How Europe Can Rearm
  2. Shang-Jin Wei How to Counter Trump's Tariffs Productively?
  3. Lee Jong-Wha Reaping Asia’s Silver Demographic Dividend
  4. Desmond Lachman Trump’s Looming Deficit Disaster

  1. Orville Schell Trump’s Cultural Revolution
  2. Joschka Fischer Trump’s Surprise Attack on Europe
  3. Ana Palacio India Has Arrived
  4. Jan-Werner Mueller Normalizing the Normalization of the Far Right

  1. Gordon Brown A Reformed WHO Should Make Its Case to America
  2. Peter Singer “America First” in Action
  3. Daniel M. Franks, et al. Africa Needs Mineral Security, Too
  4. Jayasree K. Iyer Climate Displacement Is Also a Health Crisis

  1. Adenike Oladosu Education Belongs on the Climate Agenda
  2. Mia Amor Mottley Climate Action Demands Global Fraternity
  3. Richard Haass, et al. Tackling Climate Change in the Age of Trump
  4. Carlos Nobre, et al. The Amazon’s Future Will Be Decided in 2025

  1. Daron Acemoglu Will We Squander the AI Opportunity?
  2. Kate Kallot The Global South Needs to Own Its AI Revolution
  3. Mariana Mazzucato, et al. Governing AI for the Public Interest
  4. Anne Bouverot Bending the Arc of AI Development Toward Shared Progress

  1. Slavoj Žižek Fundamentalist Perverts
  2. Ian Buruma Ukraine’s Existential Culture War
  3. Helen Prejean An Injustice That Biden Can Still Set Right
  4. Peter Singer Australia’s Great Social-Media Experiment

Africa’s economic rise is a world-changing development, but the sources of its emerging strength – and lingering weaknesses – are little understood. W…

  1. Daniel M. Franks, et al. Africa Needs Mineral Security, Too
  2. Rim Berahab, et al. How to Make Carbon Pricing Work for Africa
  3. Pascal Lamy, et al. The Key to Narrowing the Development Gap

Today’s media landscape is littered with landmines: open hostility from illiberal and autocratic regimes, mounting censorship in countries such as Hungary, Turkey,…

  1. J. Bradford DeLong Trump’s Smoke and Mirrors
  2. Karen Rønde Danish Media’s United Stand Against Big Tech
  3. Robin Berjon Social Media as It Should Be

As the COVID-19 crisis escalates, PS commentators assess its implications for the economy, propose policy responses, and consider what might – and sho…

  1. Jan-Werner Mueller Confronting the Pandemic’s Toxic Political Legacy
  2. Brahma Chellaney Will Trump Crack the Mystery of COVID’s Origin?
  3. Antara Haldar COVID’s Lessons Have All Been Forgotten