Opinion Has It

Opinion Has It

By Project SyndicateNewsPolitics
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Opinion Has It episodes

  • 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. Jules is an associate professor of political science at Pacific University in Oregon, and a former member of the US Olympic Soccer team. He’s the author of NOlympians: Inside the Fight Against Capitalist Mega-Sports in Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Beyond.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    29 min
  • 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 implement them?

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    37 min
  • 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 help us answer these questions is Constanze Stelzenmüller. She holds the Fritz Stern chair on Germany and trans-Atlantic Relations at the Brookings Institution.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    33 min
  • 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 and Managing Partner of WestExec Advisors, a co-founder and former CEO of the Center for a New American Security, and a former US under secretary of defense for policy.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    29 min
  • 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 South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is the author of When Crime Pays: Money and Muscle in Indian Politics.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    33 min
  • 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 challenges show, both claims are true.Niels Thygesen is an economist and an emeritus professor at the University of Copenhagen. He has spent more than a half-century observing and participating in the European integration process. As a member of the Delors Committee, he helped established the roadmap to Economic and Monetary Union, or EMU. This culminated in the introduction of the euro in 1999.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    31 min
  • 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 world’s most prominent dictators is Timothy Frye, the Marshall D. Shulman Professor of Post-Soviet Foreign Policy at Columbia University, and the author of the new book, Weak Strongman: The Limits of Power in Putin’s Russia.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    28 min
  • 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 the American Jobs Plan – and the debate surrounding it – is James Galbraith. Galbraith is an economist and professor of government at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He is also the author of Inequality: What Everyone Needs to Know.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    31 min
  • 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, and the world?Ashley Jackson is the co-director of the Centre for the Study of Armed Groups at the Overseas Development Institute. She is the author of the forthcoming book Negotiating Survival: Civilian-Insurgent Relations in Afghanistan.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    33 min
  • 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 more information.

    9 min

About Opinion Has It

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Opinion Has It by Project Syndicate features conversations with leading economists, policymakers, authors, and researchers on the world’s most pressing issues. Tune in for biweekly analyses and…