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Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

Writing for PS since 2002
257 commentaries
3 videos & podcasts

Joseph S. Nye, Jr., an emeritus professor at Harvard Kennedy School and a former US assistant secretary of defense, is the author of Do Morals Matter? Presidents and Foreign Policy from FDR to Trump (Oxford University Press, 2020) and A Life in the American Century (Polity Press, 2024).

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  1. US-China Cooperation Remains Possible
    nye257_MARK SCHIEFELBEINPOOLAFP via Getty Images_blinkenxi Mark Schiefelbein/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

    US-China Cooperation Remains Possible

    May 6, 2024 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. identifies seven areas where the two countries can still work together toward mutually beneficial outcomes.

  2. How to Prevent a War Over Taiwan
    nye255_Pictures From HistoryUniversal Images Group via Getty Images_nixonmao Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

    How to Prevent a War Over Taiwan

    Apr 8, 2024 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. explains what can be done to keep the peace between America and an increasingly assertive China.

  3. Joseph S. Nye, Jr., on nuclear risk, American hubris, great-power competition, and more
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    Joseph S. Nye, Jr., on nuclear risk, American hubris, great-power competition, and more

    Apr 2, 2024 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. calls for restoring the credibility of the US nuclear umbrella, highlights the role of nongovernmental agencies in international relations, worries that the US will play its cards poorly vis-à-vis China, and more.

  4. Is Nuclear Proliferation Back?
    nye253_TEH ENG KOONAFP via Getty Images_nuvclear TEH ENG KOON/AFP via Getty Images

    Is Nuclear Proliferation Back?

    Mar 5, 2024 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. considers lessons from his own work on preventing the spread of the technology in the 1970s.

  5. American Greatness and Decline
    nye252_TIMOTHY A. CLARYAFP via Getty Images_elections TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

    American Greatness and Decline

    Feb 1, 2024 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. warns that populist nationalism at home is by far the biggest threat to US power.

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  1. qxu2_VCGVCG via Getty Images_chinashipping VCG via Getty Images

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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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