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Ian Buruma

Ian Buruma

Writing for PS since 2001
218 commentaries

Ian Buruma is the author of numerous books, including Murder in Amsterdam: The Death of Theo Van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance, Year Zero: A History of 1945, A Tokyo Romance: A Memoir, The Churchill Complex: The Curse of Being Special, From Winston and FDR to Trump and Brexit, The Collaborators: Three Stories of Deception and Survival in World War II, and, most recently, Spinoza: Freedom’s Messiah (Yale University Press, 2024).

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  1. Truth or Trumpian Consequences
    buruma220_Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_trumpjournalists Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Truth or Trumpian Consequences

    Dec 13, 2024 Ian Buruma warns American liberals not to double down on ideological posturing in response to fear of authoritarianism.

  2. The Laugh Is on the Democrats
    buruma219_AngelaWeissGettyImages_hinchcliffe_trump_rally2 Angela Weiss/Getty Images

    The Laugh Is on the Democrats

    Nov 8, 2024 Ian Buruma sees Donald Trump’s victory as a rebellion of the culturally dispossessed who relish his insult comedy.

  3. Warrior Nations of the Middle East
    buruma218_ JACK GUEZAFP via Getty Images_crisis israel JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

    Warrior Nations of the Middle East

    Oct 8, 2024 Ian Buruma shows how shame and humiliation have shaped national identities that countenance further killing.

  4. The Greatest Show on Earth
    buruma217_Kevin DietschGetty Images_dnc Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

    The Greatest Show on Earth

    Aug 28, 2024 Ian Buruma describes the Democratic National Convention in Chicago as a remarkable performance of authenticity.

  5. War Games and Tribal Passions
    buruma216_Mark LeechOffside via Getty Images_euro1988football Mark Leech/Offside via Getty Images

    War Games and Tribal Passions

    Aug 9, 2024 Ian Buruma argues that sports nationalism is driven more by a desire for community than notions of blood and soil.

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    The US Economy’s Trust Deficit

    Michael Spence considers the causes and consequences of Americans’ declining faith in media and government.
  2. halland9_FREDRIK VARFJELLNTBAFP via Getty Images_norwaynaturalgas Fredrik Varfjell/NTB/AFP via Getty Images
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    Norway Is a Ukraine War Profiteer

    Håvard Halland & Knut Anton Mork argue that the country should give its windfall gains from gas exports to those on the front lines.
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    Navigating the Risks of Digital Public Infrastructure

    Carl Gahnberg calls for guardrails and policy guidelines to prevent governments from abusing the policy paradigm.
  4. gill10_Nhac NguyenGettyImages_vietnam_street_vendor Nhac Nguyen/Getty Images
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    Services Are the New Road to Development

    Indermit Gill & Aaditya Mattoo explain why developing countries need a new paradigm to replace the old manufacturing-led model.
  5. dalay4_GAVRIIL GRIGOROVPOOLAFP via Getty Images_putin Gavril Griforov/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
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    Russia Just Lost Its Great-Power Status

    Galip Dalay explains why the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has diminished the Kremlin’s global influence.
  6. moyo30_sesameGetty Images_philanthropy sesame/Getty Images
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    Twelve Questions for Philanthropists

    Dambisa Moyo offers practical advice to those who want to contribute effectively to charitable causes.
  7. op_aschecter1_Westend61Getty Images_books Westend61/Getty Images
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    PS Commentators’ Best Reads in 2024

    PS editors

    At the end of a year of domestic and international upheaval, Project Syndicate commentators share their favorite books from the past 12 months. Covering a wide array of genres and disciplines, this year’s picks provide fresh perspectives on the defining challenges of our time and how to confront them.

     ask Project Syndicate contributors to select the books that resonated with them the most over the past year.
  8. seid1_Reinhard Dirscherlullstein bild via Getty Images_seagrass Reinhard Dirscherlullstein bild via Getty Images
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    The World Needs Ocean-Based Climate Solutions

    Ilana Seid calls for creative mechanisms for financing investment in our planet’s largest carbon sink.
  9. varoufakis122_Spencer PlattGetty Images_wallstreet Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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    The West Is Not Dying, but It Is Working on It

    Yanis Varoufakis argues that Western power is alive and well, but the lofty values that once sustained it have been abandoned.

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