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Harold James

Harold James

Writing for PS since 2001
219 commentaries
2 videos & podcasts

Harold James is Professor of History and International Affairs at Princeton University. A specialist on German economic history and on globalization, he is a co-author of The Euro and The Battle of Ideas, and the author of The Creation and Destruction of Value: The Globalization Cycle, Krupp: A History of the Legendary German Firm, Making the European Monetary Union, The War of Words, and, most recently, Seven Crashes: The Economic Crises That Shaped Globalization (Yale University Press, 2023).

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  1. What’s Driving the Global Gold Rush?
    james217_ Christopher FurlongGetty Images_gold Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

    What’s Driving the Global Gold Rush?

    May 1, 2024 Harold James considers the political factors pushing the price of the “barbarous relic” to all-time highs.

  2. Europe’s High Noon
    james216_Dave Tschorn Dave Tschorn

    Europe’s High Noon

    Mar 26, 2024 Harold James worries that Western political leaders lack the will to take the risky decisions that security demands.

  3. The Financial March to War
    james215_Irina Gutyryak Getty Images_currencies Irina Gutyryak Getty Images

    The Financial March to War

    Feb 27, 2024 Harold James explains how currency wars and speculation could feature in today’s great-power conflicts.

  4. The Politics of Despair
    james214_Sean RayfordGetty Images_trump Sean Rayford/Getty Images

    The Politics of Despair

    Jan 30, 2024 Harold James explores the yawning gap between positive economic developments and dour public sentiment.

  5. A Year of Political Chicken
    james213_ (Photos by Brendan Smialowski and JIM WATSON AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI,JIM WATSONAFP via Getty Images)_biden trump (Photos by Brendan Smialowski and JIM WATSON / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI,JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

    A Year of Political Chicken

    Jan 2, 2024 Harold James considers the US presidential race and its global implications through the lens of game theory.

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  1. qxu2_VCGVCG via Getty Images_chinashipping VCG via Getty Images
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    Why the US Can’t Win the Trade War With China – and Shouldn’t Try

    Qiyuan Xu argues that high capital outflows – largely a result of US policy – have resulted in an undervalued renminbi.
  2. eichengreen190_Tomohiro OhsumiGetty Images_japanexchange Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images
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    The Dilemmas of the Dollar

    Barry Eichengreen

    The dollar's strength, particularly against major Asian currencies, has triggered a wave of skittishness in financial markets. Can anything be done to stem the greenback's rise, and even if something can be done, should it?

     asks whether anything can or should be done about the greenback's strength, especially against Asian currencies.
  3. matola2_Per-Anders PetterssonGetty Images_malawi cooking Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images
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    Clean Cooking Advances Women’s Empowerment

    Rachel Ruto outlines a gender-based strategy for improving energy access and reducing air pollution in Africa.
  4. kirtondarling1_Andreas RentzGetty Images_european green new deal Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
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    There Can Be No Business as Usual for European Industry

    Judith Kirton-Darling urges EU leaders to make a renewed Green Deal, backed by competitiveness-bolstering initiatives, a top priority.
  5. zizek30_Fatima ShbairGetty Images_gaza Fatima Shbair/Getty Images
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    Protests of Despair

    Slavoj Žižek

    While the ongoing pro-Palestinian student protests have many superficial similarities to the student uprisings of the late 1960s, only the latter envisioned a new political movement to ameliorate the ills of their time. The current protesters' goals are far more modest, which makes them all the more tragic.

     sees the pro-Palestinian student demonstrations as a signal of a much deeper, widespread malaise.
  6. carstens5_Getty Images_finternet Getty Images
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    The Rise of the Finternet

    Agustín Carstens & Nandan Nilekani foresee a world in which cheap, secure, and near-instantaneous financial transactions are available to all.
  7. rodrik222_Kevin FrayerGetty Images_china solar panel Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
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    Don’t Fret About Green Subsidies

    Dani Rodrik sees no good argument against industrial policies that accelerate growth in decarbonization industries.
  8. gros186_Sean GallupGetty Images_euro Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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    Europe’s Geoeconomic Competitiveness Challenge

    Daniel Gros highlights the security risks raised by the prolonged decline of the EU’s relative economic power.
  9. op_ang1_retrorocketGetty Images_corruption retrorocket/Getty Images
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    How Exceptional Is China’s Crony-Capitalist Boom?

    Yuen Yuen Ang explains how corruption both drove the country's GDP growth and sowed the seeds for its current economic problems.

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