Opinion Has It by Project Syndicate

11.23.2021

Trouble over Taiwan | Bonnie Glaser

In the Sino-American great-power drama, Taiwan has taken center stage, as China has ramped up pressure on the island. How much danger is Taiwan in – and how far will the US go to defend it? Hosted on Acast. See...

11.09.2021

Debt Wars | Barry Eichengreen

The unprecedented fiscal spending that many governments unleashed in response to the COVID-19 crisis has fueled an increasingly heated debate over the risks posed by public debt. But the debate is far from new, and history holds important lessons that...

10.26.2021

America’s Afghan Debacle | Annie Pforzheimer

The Taliban has announced its interim government, and its all-male, often-hardline makeup seems to have confirmed many observers’ worst fears. Why did the US mission in Afghanistan fail, and what is in store for the country under Taliban rule? Hosted...

10.12.2021

Voting in a Time of Democratic Erosion | Francesca Binda

While elections alone don’t necessarily make a state democratic, they do offer a glimpse into the strength and legitimacy of a democracy. What can we learn from recent electoral outcomes? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

09.28.2021

Is Crypto Going Mainstream? | Sheila Warren

After over a decade on the fringes of the global monetary system, digital currencies are increasingly being embraced by companies, governments, and citizens around the world. Are they set to become an integral part of the global monetary system? Hosted...

09.14.2021

Economic Crisis in the Anthropocene | Adam Tooze

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered the swiftest and most comprehensive contraction of global economic activity ever. With crises set to proliferate – not least because of climate change – the successes and failures of the pandemic response should serve as lessons...

08.31.2021

The End of the Indispensable Nation | Stephen Wertheim

Twenty years ago, the September 11 terrorist attacks invigorated America’s sense of itself as the “indispensable nation.” But its actions since then have failed to improve global security and have endangered those who it claimed to be helping. Hosted on...

08.17.2021

Toward Bretton Woods 2.0? | Harold James & Paola Subacchi

In 1971, President Richard Nixon closed the gold window, effectively ushering in a new global monetary non-system with a single pillar: the US dollar. Fifty years later, that pillar is showing signs of strain. Can the world muster the cooperation...

08.04.2021

The US Economy’s Great Adjustment | Betsey Stevenson

With many low-paying jobs going unfilled, it seems that the COVID-19 crisis has forced a much-needed adjustment in a labor market where workers had long suffered from a decline in bargaining power. But, as pandemic-support programs end and automation accelerates,...

08.03.2021

The US Economy’s Great Adjustment | Betsey Stevenson

With many low-paying jobs going unfilled, it seems that the COVID-19 crisis has forced a much-needed adjustment in a labor market where workers had long suffered from a decline in bargaining power. But, as pandemic-support programs end and automation accelerates,...

07.20.2021

Is It Time to Cancel the Olympics? | Jules Boykoff

Even when the world isn’t gripped by a pandemic, staging the Olympic Games can create serious problems for local populations. So, why do cities and countries keep seeking to host them? Here to help us answer this question is Jules Boykoff....

07.06.2021

The Communist Party of China at 100 | Rana Mitter

The Communist Party of China, founded a century ago, has been in power for more than seven decades – and it has big plans for the future. What do those plans entail, and is the Party still strong enough to...

06.22.2021

Merkel’s Complicated Legacy | Constanze Stelzenmüller

As German Chancellor Angela Merkel prepares to step aside after 16 years in office, Germany, Europe, and the world are entering a new, more uncertain phase – one that will be significantly shaped by her legacy. But which one?Here to...

06.08.2021

Is the US Ready for War? | Michèle Flournoy

Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has been the world’s only superpower – a status ensured by the country’s powerful military. But great-power competition is making a comeback, raising questions about US preparedness.Michèle Flournoy is Co-Founder...

05.25.2021

Is India’s Democracy Dying? | Milan Vaishnav

Despite major challenges, India’s multicultural democracy has thrived for more than 70 years. But can it survive Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu-nationalist agenda?Here to help us answer this question is Milan Vaishnav. Vaishnav is the director of the...

05.13.2021

Special Edition: Will COVID-19 Bring Europe “Ever Closer”? | Niels Thygesen

While critics say that the European Union has stumbled from crisis to crisis for most of its existence, its defenders counter that crises have made it both stronger and more necessary over time. As the bloc’s complex history and current...

05.11.2021

Russia’s Not So Strongman | Timothy M. Frye

Popular protests and a tanking economy seem to be weakening President Vladimir Putin’s position, if not threatening his grip on power. Yet Russia’s strongman leader will not go down without a fight.Joining us today to help demystify one of the...

04.27.2021

Will the American Jobs Plan Remake the US Economy? | James K. Galbraith

US President Joe Biden’s public-investment proposal is undoubtedly ambitious – and highly controversial. But it may also be the key to putting the US economy on the path toward a more sustainable, equitable, and prosperous future.Here to help us understand...

04.13.2021

The Return of the Taliban | Ashley Jackson

After 20 years and more than $2 trillion, the US is under growing pressure finally to withdraw from Afghanistan, leaving the country where it started: in the hands of the Taliban. What will this mean for Afghanistan’s people, their neighbors,...

03.30.2021

Outtakes: Do Travel Bans Work? | Jennifer Nuzzo

This week in Outtakes, recent guest Jennifer Nuzzo, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health and Security, explains why border closures aren’t an effective virus-containment strategy – and says what is. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

03.16.2021

Stopping the Next Pandemic | Jennifer Nuzzo

Even if the world does manage to end the COVID-19 pandemic, we can’t simply breathe a sigh of relief and return to business as usual. With the number of new infectious diseases rising fast, the next pandemic could be just...

03.02.2021

The Growing Threat of Far-Right Extremism | Cynthia Miller-Idriss

With the encouragement of leaders like Donald Trump, far-right extremism has gone mainstream in recent years. To mitigate the growing danger far-right groups pose, policymakers need to deepen their understanding of how these groups recruit members and mobilize supporters.Joining this...

02.16.2021

The Legacy of Egypt’s Arab Spring | Michael Wahid Hanna

Ten years after a popular uprising overthrew a dictator, Egypt largely appears to be back where it started. Why were Egyptians’ democratic hopes dashed, and can they still be realized?Here to discuss Egypt’s situation and prospects is Michael Hanna. Michael...

02.02.2021

The Post-Brexit World Order | Timothy Garton Ash

Just as Brexit marked the end of an era, it marks the beginning of a new one. And there is plenty of reason for both the United Kingdom and the European Union to doubt that the new era will be...

01.12.2021

US Foreign Policy after “America First” | Kori Schake

After four years of an “America first” foreign policy, President-elect Joe Biden wants the world to know that America is back. But will Biden and his foreign-policy team be able to restore America’s global standing – and the relative stability...

12.15.2020

Repairing America’s Broken Social Compact | Danielle Allen

One issue links the political ructions and failures that have afflicted America in 2020: trust – or, rather, the lack thereof. Neither a COVID-19 vaccine nor a new president will solve this problem; only a new social compact can.Our guest...

12.01.2020

Could Vaccine Nationalism Prolong the Pandemic? | Tom Bollyky

With multiple producers touting promising results in late-stage trials of COVID-19 vaccine candidates, the end of the pandemic finally seems to be in sight. But rather than work together to produce and distribute vaccine doses, some governments are taking an...

11.17.2020

The GOP After Trump | Sarah Longwell

Joe Biden may have won the US election, but the vote was hardly the firm popular rebuke to Trumpism many had anticipated. What does that mean for a Republican Party that has tied itself into knots defending Donald Trump over...

11.03.2020

Outtakes: Richard Pildes on Polarization in America

Today’s US election comes at a moment of such deep polarization that many are bracing for a bitter fight over the results. In this week’s special episode, we follow up with law scholar Richard Pildes on how America got to...

10.27.2020

Is the US Headed Towards a Disputed Election? | Richard Pildes

Donald Trump’s repeated efforts to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the upcoming election has further intensified the polarization that has increasingly defined American politics in recent years. Now, many fear a drawn-out dispute over the results.Richard Pildes is the...

10.13.2020

What’s Next for Abenomics? | Kathy Matsui

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s successor, Yoshihide Suga, has pledged to uphold his signature economic-policy program, Abenomics. What did that program really achieve, and is it up to the task of supporting Japan’s economy through the COVID-19 crisis?Kathy Matsui is...

09.29.2020

Does Inflation Matter Anymore? | Claudia Sahm

The US Federal Reserve has announced a major shift in its monetary-policy framework: it will no longer target an inflation rate of “around 2%” at all times. What does this mean for the US economy – and the workers who...

09.15.2020

Will We Solve the Climate Crisis in Time? | Bill McKibben

In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that the world will face worsening food crises, devastating wildfires, and coral reef die-offs unless it halves greenhouse-gas emissions within the next decade. Yet emissions actually rose in 2019, suggesting that...

09.01.2020

The End of College as We Know It? | Robert Kelchen

When COVID-19 hit the United States in March, colleges and universities around the country quickly shifted to remote learning. But, as a new semester begins, the pandemic is nowhere near under control, and many institutions are wondering how much longer...

08.18.2020

The Arrival of Kamala Harris | Julia Azari

Joe Biden has hinted that, if he wins November’s US presidential election, he will serve only one term. However unlikely that may be, his running mate, Kamala Harris, may well be the next Democratic presidential standard-bearer – even if Biden...

08.11.2020

Outtakes: Daniel Drezner on the History of the Nation-State

For the past week, we’ve been on VEEP watch – repeatedly checking our phones for any indication that Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for US president, was ready to announce his running mate. The plan was to discuss his...

07.28.2020

The COVID-19 World Order | Daniel Drezner

For decades, globalization has been narrowing the scope of national sovereignty. Does the COVID-19 pandemic – which has highlighted, yet again, the interconnected nature of today’s most pressing challenges – augur the end of the nation-state’s primacy?Daniel Drezner is a...

07.14.2020

How Would Black Economists Change Economics? | Lisa D. Cook

Just 3% of US economics PhDs were awarded to black people in 2017 – a share that has been trending downward since the mid-1990s. This week, we examine the effects of this lack of black representation on economic policy and...

06.16.2020

The End of Hong Kong? | Minxin Pei

For over a year, China has progressively tightened its grip on Hong Kong. Its latest move – the introduction of a new security law – may spell the death of the “one country, two systems,” and thus democracy and the...

06.04.2020

Special Edition: America’s Dilemma Explodes

George Floyd’s fatal encounter with the police seems to have been a tipping point in the United States. It comes at time when the pandemic has caused unemployment to skyrocket and exposed the life-and-death stakes of longstanding inequalities.Khalil Gibran Muhammad,...

06.02.2020

Our Digital, No-Touch Future | Marietje Schaake

Not even a pandemic seems to be slowing down the world’s tech giants. Companies like Facebook, Amazon, and Google may emerge as the winners of the COVID-19 crisis, but at what cost to our societies and democracies?Marietje Schaake joins Opinion...

05.19.2020

Imagining the New 9-5 | Teresa Ghilarducci

The labor market and workplace conditions have changed dramatically in recent years – often not for the better. How will the COVID-19 pandemic change how jobs are structured in the 21st century? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

05.05.2020

Lockdowns or Clampdowns? | Michael Ignatieff

The COVID-19 pandemic has created opportunities for dictators and democrats alike to abuse government power, spurring fears that emergency measures will outlive the emergency. That danger is particularly acute in countries like Hungary. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

04.21.2020

Is the EU the World’s Unsung Superpower? | Anu Bradford

When it comes to commerce, where Europe leads, others follow. The reason is simple: it’s too costly for global companies not to adopt a one-size-fits-all approach to their products. Does that make the European Union a global superpower? Columbia University...

04.07.2020

Will COVID-19 Make Modern Monetary Theory Mainstream? | Pavlina R. Tcherneva

From the ashes of the Great Depression, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushed through a raft of labor and social reforms that remade the American state and economy. We need FDR’s brand of “bold experimentation” to recover from the coronavirus...

03.31.2020

What History Can Teach Us About COVID-19 | Frank Snowden

COVID-19 has upended our health systems, economies, and societies, but we’ve been through this before. Yale University historian Frank Snowden says history has much to teach us about confronting pandemics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

03.17.2020

How to Start a Movement | Leymah Gbowee

Liberian activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee launched a movement that toppled a dictatorship and ended a 14-year civil war. How did she do it? By bringing women into the peace process. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

03.03.2020

Live from Brooklyn Public Library: How Democrats Can Win in 2020

“Make America Great Again” was a powerful campaign slogan in 2016, appealing in states that mattered to voters who felt that the US economy had passed them by. Winning them over – or winning them back – will be crucial...

02.18.2020

What Do Mainstream Economists Get Wrong About Poverty And Growth? | Abhijit Banerjee

By focusing on practical solutions to small questions, Abhijit Banerjee helped revolutionize development economics. Now, he’s turning his focus to rehabilitating the battered reputations of economists themselves.Abhijit Banerjee is the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at MIT. In 2003,...

02.04.2020

Is it Time for Iowa to Pass the Torch? | Edward L. Widmer

Since the 1970s, Iowa has hosted the United States’ first primary contest for US presidential nominees, often with make-or-break consequences for the candidates. But the state has come under scrutiny for its relative lack of diversity, and calls are intensifying...

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Opinion Has It episodes:

Trouble over Taiwan | Bonnie Glaser

Debt Wars | Barry Eichengreen

America’s Afghan Debacle | Annie Pforzheimer

Voting in a Time of Democratic Erosion | Francesca Binda

Is Crypto Going Mainstream? | Sheila Warren

Economic Crisis in the Anthropocene | Adam Tooze

The End of the Indispensable Nation | Stephen Wertheim

Toward Bretton Woods 2.0? | Harold James & Paola Subacchi

The US Economy’s Great Adjustment | Betsey Stevenson

The US Economy’s Great Adjustment | Betsey Stevenson

Is It Time to Cancel the Olympics? | Jules Boykoff

The Communist Party of China at 100 | Rana Mitter

Merkel’s Complicated Legacy | Constanze Stelzenmüller

Is the US Ready for War? | Michèle Flournoy

Is India’s Democracy Dying? | Milan Vaishnav

Special Edition: Will COVID-19 Bring Europe “Ever Closer”? | Niels Thygesen

Russia’s Not So Strongman | Timothy M. Frye

Will the American Jobs Plan Remake the US Economy? | James K. Galbraith

The Return of the Taliban | Ashley Jackson

Outtakes: Do Travel Bans Work? | Jennifer Nuzzo

Stopping the Next Pandemic | Jennifer Nuzzo

The Growing Threat of Far-Right Extremism | Cynthia Miller-Idriss

The Legacy of Egypt’s Arab Spring | Michael Wahid Hanna

The Post-Brexit World Order | Timothy Garton Ash

US Foreign Policy after “America First” | Kori Schake

Repairing America’s Broken Social Compact | Danielle Allen

Could Vaccine Nationalism Prolong the Pandemic? | Tom Bollyky

The GOP After Trump | Sarah Longwell

Outtakes: Richard Pildes on Polarization in America

Is the US Headed Towards a Disputed Election? | Richard Pildes

What’s Next for Abenomics? | Kathy Matsui

Does Inflation Matter Anymore? | Claudia Sahm

Will We Solve the Climate Crisis in Time? | Bill McKibben

The End of College as We Know It? | Robert Kelchen

The Arrival of Kamala Harris | Julia Azari

Outtakes: Daniel Drezner on the History of the Nation-State

The COVID-19 World Order | Daniel Drezner

How Would Black Economists Change Economics? | Lisa D. Cook

The End of Hong Kong? | Minxin Pei

Special Edition: America’s Dilemma Explodes

Our Digital, No-Touch Future | Marietje Schaake

Imagining the New 9-5 | Teresa Ghilarducci

Lockdowns or Clampdowns? | Michael Ignatieff

Is the EU the World’s Unsung Superpower? | Anu Bradford

Will COVID-19 Make Modern Monetary Theory Mainstream? | Pavlina R. Tcherneva

What History Can Teach Us About COVID-19 | Frank Snowden

How to Start a Movement | Leymah Gbowee

Live from Brooklyn Public Library: How Democrats Can Win in 2020

What Do Mainstream Economists Get Wrong About Poverty And Growth? | Abhijit Banerjee

Is it Time for Iowa to Pass the Torch? | Edward L. Widmer