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Ian Buruma

Ian Buruma

Writing for PS since 2001
220 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. Breaking US Democracy Beyond Repair
    buruma222_Anna MoneymakerGettyImages_donald_trump_cross Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

    Breaking US Democracy Beyond Repair

    Feb 5, 2025 Ian Buruma warns that Donald Trump’s efforts to tear down America’s “civic religion” will be difficult to reverse.

  2. Ukraine’s Existential Culture War
    buruma221_DIMITAR DILKOFFAFP via Getty Images_ukrainerussiastatues Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images

    Ukraine’s Existential Culture War

    Jan 7, 2025 Ian Buruma thinks the country is justified in banning Russian art, even though it runs counter to humanist principles.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

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  1. tbunde7_Johannes SimonGetty Images_vance Johannes Simon/Getty Images
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    A Westless World

    Tobias Bunde reflects on this year's Munich Security Conference and America's break from the transatlantic alliance.
  2. broning14_Maja HitijGetty Images_merz Maja Hitij/Getty Images
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    Germany’s Last-Chance Election

    Michael Bröning

    With German voters clearly demanding comprehensive change, the far right has been capitalizing on the public's discontent and benefiting from broader global political trends. If the country's democratic parties cannot deliver, they may soon find that they are no longer the mainstream.

     explains why the outcome may decide whether the political “firewall” against the far right can hold.
  3. popescu6_ZinchenkoGlobal Images Ukraine via Getty Images)_ukrainepeace Zinchenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
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    The Only Path to Genuine Peace in Ukraine

    Nicu Popescu

    The Russian and (now) American vision of "peace" in Ukraine would be no peace at all. The immediate task for Europe is not only to navigate Donald’s Trump unilateral pursuit of a settlement, but also to ensure that any deal does not increase the likelihood of an even wider war.

     sees a Korea-style armistice with security guarantees as the only viable option in Ukraine.
  4. asakawa3_PoolGettyImages_hindu_kush_glacial_melt Pool/Getty Images
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    Meltdown at the Top of the World

    Masatsugu Asakawa urges development banks to act urgently to avert the catastrophic effects of the Himalayas’ thawing glaciers.
  5. frieda19_AnadoluGettyImages_russia_us_peace_talks Anadolu/Getty Images
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    The Economic Consequences of Trump’s Ukrainian Peace

    Gene Frieda

    Rather than engage in lengthy discussions to pry concessions from Russia, US President Donald Trump seems committed to giving the Kremlin whatever it wants to end the Ukraine war. But rewarding the aggressor and punishing the victim would amount to setting the stage for the next war.

     warns that by punishing the victim, the US is setting up Europe for another war.
  6. oneill128in McNameeGetty Images_trump Win McNamee/Getty Images
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    There Goes America

    Within his first month back in the White House, Donald Trump has upended US foreign policy and launched an all-out assault on the country’s constitutional order. With US institutions bowing or buckling as the administration takes executive power to unprecedented extremes, the establishment of an authoritarian regime cannot be ruled out.

  7. op_janeway18_DrAfter123Getty Images_AI DrAfter123/Getty Images
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    In AI We Trust?

    William H. Janeway

    The rapid advance of AI might create the illusion that we have created a form of algorithmic intelligence capable of understanding us as deeply as we understand one another. But these systems will always lack the essential qualities of human intelligence.

     explains why even cutting-edge innovations are not immune to the world’s inherent unpredictability.
  8. strain36_Michael M. SantiagoGettyImages_ny_stock_exchange Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
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    How Trump Can Achieve Sustained Growth

    Michael R. Strain foresees the US president building on a strong economy, so long as he steers clear of populist policies.
  9. schwarzer9_Telmo PintoSOPA ImagesLightRocket via Getty Images_macronstarmer Telmo Pinto/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
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    Europe Alone

    Daniela Schwarzer explains what the European Union must do now that America has walked away from the transatlantic relationship.

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