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Ian Buruma

Ian Buruma

Writing for PS since 2001
222 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. Who Will Lead the Democratic World?
    buruma224_WPA PoolGettyImages_europe_summit WPA Pool/Getty Images

    Who Will Lead the Democratic World?

    Mar 5, 2025 Ian Buruma thinks the onus of defending our political freedoms will be on two countries that once tried to destroy them.

  2. Ian Buruma on Gaza, Trump, authoritarianism, and more
    GettyImages-1821262767

    Ian Buruma on Gaza, Trump, authoritarianism, and more

    Feb 25, 2025 Ian Buruma says there is no chance US democracy will emerge from Donald Trump’s second administration unscathed, explains why the left is losing the culture war in the US and Europe, touts the enduring importance of the humanities, and more.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

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  1. hamada69_The Washington PostGettyImages_trump_speech The Washington Post/Getty Images
    1

    Countering Trump’s Politics of Fear

    Koichi Hamada calls for a new set of policies that responds to, rather than dismisses, US voters’ legitimate fears.
  2. galen5_Andrew HarnikGetty Images_trumpcongress Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
    1

    Where Are the Democrats?

    Reed Galen lambasts the party for sitting by and watching America implode, in the misguided hope of winning the midterms.
  3. moyo34_Spencer PlattGetty Images_NYSE Spencer Platt/Getty Images
    1

    Signs of a US Recession

    Dambisa Moyo catalogues several indicators suggesting that the world's largest economy is headed for a slump.
  4. goldberg32_Spencer PlattGetty Images_USshipping Spencer Platt/Getty Images
    2

    Trump’s Trade War

    Less than two months into his second presidency, Donald Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on America’s three largest trading partners, with much more to come. This strategy not only lacks any credible theoretical foundations; it is putting the US on a path toward irrevocable economic and geopolitical decline.

  5. ruf1_MANAURE QUINTEROAFP via Getty Images_data center Manaure Quintero/AFP via Getty Images
    0

    Why Frugal AI Alone Won’t Fix AI’s Energy Problem

    Boris Ruf explains why shifting the responsibility for reducing AI’s carbon footprint to end users is counterproductive.
  6. GettyImages-2176801438 TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP via Getty Images
    3

    The Global South’s Path to Economic Resilience

    Anwar Ibrahim

    Today's profound global uncertainty is not some accident of history or consequence of values-free technologies. Rather, it reflects the will of rival great powers that continue to ignore the seminal economic and social changes underway in other parts of the world.

     explains how Malaysia and other middle powers are navigating increasingly uncertain geopolitical terrain.
  7. buchholz23_UCGGettyImages_ozempic_wegovy UCG/Getty Images
    0

    America’s “HIP” Economy

    Todd G. Buchholz sees developments and breakthroughs in health, information, and power as grounds for optimism.
  8. velasco157_Robert GauthierLos Angeles Times via Getty Images_USborder Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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    Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

    Andrés Velasco reflects on the tragic fate of the country that took him in as a teenage refugee from Augusto Pinochet's Chile.
  9. chellaney185_Charly TriballeauGettyImages_unga_russia_ukraine_vote Charly Triballeau/Getty Images
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    The Global Divide Over the Ukraine War

    Brahma Chellaney urges all parties to adopt a realistic approach to a deadlocked conflict and negotiate accordingly.

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