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Chris Patten

Chris Patten

Writing for PS since 2000
151 commentaries
3 videos & podcasts

Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong and a former EU commissioner for external affairs, is Chancellor of the University of Oxford and the author of The Hong Kong Diaries (Allen Lane, 2022).

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  1. Chris Patten on Rishi Sunak, Taiwan, Chinese diplomacy, and more
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    Chris Patten on Rishi Sunak, Taiwan, Chinese diplomacy, and more

    Feb 21, 2023 Chris Patten assesses the challenges British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces, anticipates more policy mistakes from Chinese President Xi Jinping, highlights two delusions that have distorted Western policymaking on China, and more.

  2. The Necessity of Morality in Foreign Policy
    patten149_OZAN KOSEAFP via Getty Images_uyghurprotest Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images

    The Necessity of Morality in Foreign Policy

    Jan 30, 2023 Chris Patten shows why “realism” requires heeding the lessons of history and defending democratic values.

  3. Free Hong Kong's Fiercest Defender
    patten148_Anthony KwanGetty Images_jimmy lai Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

    Free Hong Kong's Fiercest Defender

    Dec 19, 2022 Chris Patten condemns the Chinese puppet government’s crackdown on journalists and publishers – and on one in particular.

  4. Rishi Sunak’s Daunting Challenge
    patten147_ Leon NealGetty Images_sunak Leon Neal/Getty Images

    Rishi Sunak’s Daunting Challenge

    Dec 1, 2022 Chris Patten urges the UK prime minister to join the battle for the soul of the Conservative Party after a disastrous year.

  5. The Only Direction for Xi’s Dictatorship
    patten146_ Lintao ZhangGetty Images_xi jinping Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

    The Only Direction for Xi’s Dictatorship

    Oct 17, 2022 Chris Patten explains why the Chinese leader’s third term will pose a growing threat to the country’s economy.

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  1. buiter45_Jabin BotsfordThe Washington Post via Getty Image_jeromepowell Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
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    Price Stability vs. Financial Stability?

    Willem H. Buiter

    If the US Federal Reserve raises its policy interest rate by as much as is necessary to rein in inflation, it will most likely further depress the market value of the long-duration securities parked on many banks' balance sheets. So be it.

     thinks central banks can achieve both, despite the occurrence of a liquidity crisis amid high inflation.
  2. frankel145_ Richard Baker In Pictures via Getty Images_exchangerates Richard Baker/In Pictures via Getty Images
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    Fifty Years of Floating Currencies

    Jeffrey Frankel explains why the shift toward exchange-rate flexibility after 1973 was not a policy failure, as many believed.
  3. harrington34_Drew AngererGetty Images_avril haines Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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    What Do America’s Spies Really Think About China?

    Kent Harrington thinks the intelligence community’s annual threat assessment should have delved deeper on the issue.
  4. grafton2_ SIMON MAINAAFP via Getty Images_water SIMON MAINA/AFP via Getty Images
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    Waking Up to the World’s Water Crisis

    Quentin Grafton, et al. see three overarching priorities for the first global water conference in almost a half-century.
  5. benami199_BULENT KILICAFP via Getty Images_ukraine BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images
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    Peace Requires Betrayal

    Shlomo Ben-Ami shows why Ukraine and Russia will most likely have to pursue an unpopular endgame to stop the bloodshed.
  6. reichlin29_David L. RyanThe Boston Globe via Getty Images_svb David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
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    Lessons from the SVB Collapse

    Lucrezia Reichlin

    Although Silicon Valley Bank was not deemed to be systemically important, its insolvency forced the US Federal Reserve to head off systemic contagion and exposed the inadequacy of the FDIC’s partial deposit insurance regime. The financial-stability framework adopted after the 2008 crisis obviously needs another overhaul.

     considers what the bank’s failure should mean for the current financial-stability framework.
  7. foglia4_kentohGetty Images_bankingregulations kentoh/Getty Images
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    It’s the Banking Regulations, Stupid

    Antonio Foglia traces the Silicon Valley Bank failure back to fundamental flaws in the prevailing governance framework.
  8. mazzucato52_Mario TamaGetty Images_water agriculture drought Mario Tama/Getty Images
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    Confronting the Global Water Crisis

    Mariana Mazzucato, et al. offer a seven-point blueprint for preserving one of the planet’s most important natural systems.
  9. op_haass3_Chris HondrosGetty Images_iraqwar Chris Hondros/Getty Images
    10

    Revisiting America’s War of Choice in Iraq

    Richard Haass considers the enduring lessons from a foreign intervention that was both ill-conceived and poorly executed.

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