The Big Picture brings together a range of PS commentaries to give readers a comprehensive understanding of topics in the news – and the deeper issues driving the news. The Big Question features concise contributor analysis and predictions on timely topics.
While some observers doubt that US President-elect Donald Trump poses a grave threat to US democracy, others are bracing themselves for the destruction of the country’s constitutional order. With Trump’s inauguration just around the corner, we asked PS commentators how vulnerable US institutions really are.
From cutting taxes to raising tariffs to eroding central-bank independence, US President-elect Donald Trump has made a wide range of economic promises, many of which threaten to blow up the deficit and fuel inflation. But powerful institutional, political, and economic constraints, together with Trump’s capriciousness, have spurred disagreement about how worried we should be.
Many Americans voted for Donald Trump last month in the hopes that the dealmaker-president would usher in a period of economic renewal that would lift businesses and workers alike. But the merits of Trump’s likely policies remain hotly debated, and his capriciousness only adds to the uncertainty. With his inauguration approaching fast, we asked PS commentators what they are watching for.
As US President-elect Donald Trump prepares to make good on his threats to upend American institutions, the pressure is on his opponents to figure out how to defend, and eventually strengthen, US democracy. But first they must understand how the United States reached this point.
US President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to take a confrontational approach to China, with tariffs as his weapon of choice. But unless his administration adopts a measured approach, his plans may end up harming American businesses and consumers, undermining US democracy, or even leading to military confrontation.
Subscribe to PS Digital Plus to secure
The Year Ahead 2025 magazine
Not only did Donald Trump win last week’s US presidential election decisively – winning some three million more votes than his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris – but the Republican Party he now controls gained majorities in both houses on Congress. Given the far-reaching implications of this result – for both US democracy and global stability – understanding how it came about is essential.
From the economy to foreign policy to democratic institutions, the two US presidential candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, promise to pursue radically different agendas, reflecting sharply diverging visions for the United States and the world. Why is the race so nail-bitingly close, and how might the outcome change America?
While even the world’s poorest economies have become richer in recent decades, they have continued to lag far behind their higher-income counterparts – and the gap is not getting any smaller. According to this year’s Nobel Prize-winning economists, institutions are a key reason why. From Ukraine’s reconstruction to the regulation of artificial intelligence, the implications are as consequential as they are far-reaching.
Though antitrust enforcement has been gaining momentum on both sides of the Atlantic, a handful of private actors still wield extraordinary market power – and thus power over ordinary people’s lives. With some calling for more radical action, and others warning that reining in firms’ market power would be unhelpful and even harmful, we asked PS commentators what needs to be done.
After a decades-long love affair with laissez-faire policies, many governments – notably in developed countries – are increasingly seeking to shape their economies through tariffs, subsidies, public procurement, and more. But not all industrial policies are created equal, and understanding their nuances and limitations is critical to their success.
With less than two months to go until the US presidential election, the candidates’ opposing worldviews, objectives, and priorities – and their implications for international relations, the economy, and democracy – have come into sharper focus. While it is impossible to know exactly what a leader will do once in office, the contours of both a Donald Trump and a Kamala Harris presidency are remarkably well defined.
Several developments in recent years, from sustained renminbi appreciation to increasingly aggressive Western tariffs, should have eroded China’s global manufacturing dominance, but have not. Why has China’s share of global manufacturing exports continued to rise, and what might turn the tide?
After decades of facilitating and even encouraging China’s rise, the United States’ dramatic shift to a policy of containment continues apace, with both Republican and Democratic administrations imposing sweeping tariffs and other trade restrictions. How will the upcoming US presidential election affect the bilateral relationship, and what will this imply for the American, Chinese, and global economies?