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Shashi Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor

Writing for PS since 2002
200 commentaries
1 videos & podcasts

Shashi Tharoor, a former UN under-secretary-general and former Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and Minister of State for Human Resource Development, is an MP for the Indian National Congress and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs. He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha for a fourth successive term, representing Thiruvananthapuram. He is the author, most recently, of Ambedkar: A Life (Aleph Book Company, 2022).

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  1. Islam on Trial in India
    tharoor199_ Sonu MehtaHindustan Times via Getty Images_shahieidgah Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

    Islam on Trial in India

    Jan 31, 2025 Shashi Tharoor warns that efforts to replace centuries-old mosques with Hindu temples could trigger communal violence.

  2. The Indians Dividing MAGA
    tharoor198_AnadoluGettyImages_kash_patel_maga Anadolu/Getty Images

    The Indians Dividing MAGA

    Jan 2, 2025 Shashi Tharoor shows how one immigrant group became central to the “civil war” within Donald Trump’s base.

  3. Why Are So Many Indians Fleeing to America?
    Brandon Bell/Getty Images

    Why Are So Many Indians Fleeing to America?

    Dec 10, 2024 Shashi Tharoor points out that even middle-class families increasingly see no future in their home country.

  4. India’s Troubled Truce with China
    tharoor196_Yawar NazirGetty Images_ladakh Yawar Nazir/Getty Images

    India’s Troubled Truce with China

    Nov 13, 2024 Shashi Tharoor fears that the recent agreement ending the military standoff in Ladakh will not bring the expected benefits.

  5. Why Must Indians Vote So Often?
    tharoor195_ Idrees AbbasSOPA ImagesLightRocket via Getty Images_elections india Idrees Abbas/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

    Why Must Indians Vote So Often?

    Oct 16, 2024 Shashi Tharoor argues that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposal to hold all elections on the same day is a non-starter.

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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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