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Harold James

Harold James

Writing for PS since 2001
223 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. Who Will Create a New European Culture of Debate?
    james221_JOHN MACDOUGALLAFP via Getty Images_macron JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images

    Who Will Create a New European Culture of Debate?

    Aug 27, 2024 Harold James thinks the Franco-German twosome, historically Europe’s engine of integration, has become a spent force.

  2. Is the Polycrisis So Bad?
    james220_Getty Images_stopping crisis Getty Images

    Is the Polycrisis So Bad?

    Jul 31, 2024 Harold James suggests that the current moment is neither as unprecedented nor as bleak as many assume.

  3. The Trussing Hour
    james219_Alastair Grant - PoolGetty Images_liztrussmacron Alastair Grant/Pool/Getty Images

    The Trussing Hour

    Jul 2, 2024 Harold James worries that major elections this year could bring more fiscal irresponsibility and financial instability.

  4. Is Biden Self-Destructing?
    james218_ Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_biden Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Is Biden Self-Destructing?

    Jun 6, 2024 Harold James sees the latest round of US tariffs against China as a panic-driven act of electoral folly.

  5. 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.

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  1. brown111_ALAIN JOCARDPOOLAFP via Getty Images_mpox ALAIN JOCARD/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
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    The High Cost of the Netherlands’ Mpox Vaccine Hoarding

    Gordon Brown condemns European populists’ failure to heed the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  2. charap3_ TATYANA MAKEYEVAAFP via Getty Images)_kursk TATYANA MAKEYEVA/AFP via Getty Images)
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    How to Make the Most of the Kursk Gambit

    Samuel Charap & Charles A. Kupchan think Ukraine and its partners have a big opportunity to start working toward a negotiated end to the war.
  3. leonard104_SurkovDimitriGetty Images_USEUflag SurkovDimitri/Getty Images
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    The US Election Will Overturn Europe’s Strategic Status Quo

    Mark Leonard worries that Europeans are unprepared for whoever will succeed US President Joe Biden.
  4. mazzucato71 GettyImages-2159148172_AW Getty Images
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    The Water-Security Crisis

    Mariana Mazzucato, et al.

    Increasingly severe water shortages represent a human-made crisis that can be resolved through human interventions. The situation demands new thinking about the economics of this critical resource and how to manage it through mission-oriented strategies that span all levels of governance.

     call attention to a global problem that demands far more attention from policymakers at all levels.
  5. reyna1_Martin Schuttpicture alliance via Getty Images_ev green deal Martin Schutt/picture alliance via Getty Images
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    The European Green Deal Is Already Benefiting Consumers

    Agustín Reyna rejects the misguided notion that voters are indifferent to environmental concerns.
  6. bremmer34_Anna MoneymakerGetty Images_harrissouthkorea Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
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    What Is Kamala Harris’s Foreign Policy?

    Ian Bremmer

    Although Kamala Harris is largely aligned with Joe Biden on many global and strategic issues, her unique worldview promises a distinct form of leadership on the international stage. Not only would US foreign policy shift under a Harris administration; it could change in highly consequential ways.

     considers how the Democratic presidential nominees' views compare to Joe Biden's.
  7. anheier25_JOHN MACDOUGALLAFP via Getty Images_afd JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images
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    Will the German Center Hold?

    Helmut K. Anheier considers what is driving support for extremist parties in the country’s eastern states.
  8. delong263_MEGAN JELINGERAFP via Getty Images_USindustrysteel Megan Jelinger/AFP via Getty Images
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    America Has No Alternative to Industrial Policy

    J. Bradford DeLong thinks new threats to economic security outweigh the reasons for opposing government-led development.
  9. nye261_Kevin DietschGetty Images_us election Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
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    US Foreign Policy in 2025

    Joseph S. Nye, Jr. compares the two presidential candidates’ attitudes and positions on major global issues.

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