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Harold James

Harold James

Writing for PS since 2001
232 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 FirmMaking 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. Donald Trump Is a Globalist
    james229_Anna MoneymakerGetty Images_elonmuskmaga Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

    Donald Trump Is a Globalist

    Mar 28, 2025 Harold James shows that the MAGA movement is actually an unalloyed version of the idea that its leader claims to reject.

  2. Make Europe Great Again
    james228_ Sean GallupGetty Images_merzscholz Sean Gallup/Getty Images

    Make Europe Great Again

    Feb 27, 2025 Harold James urges the next German government to help revive the postwar European social market economy.

  3. Alternatives to Trump’s Russia Appeasement
    james227_Central PressGettyImages_neville_chamberlain_munich_pact Central Press/Getty Images

    Alternatives to Trump’s Russia Appeasement

    Feb 14, 2025 Harold James explains how France and Britain can guarantee Ukraine’s security now that America has effectively surrendered.

  4. How Trump’s Anti-Globalism Could Backfire
    james_Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_trump Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    How Trump’s Anti-Globalism Could Backfire

    Jan 27, 2025 Harold James thinks the new administration's approach could jeopardize the foreign capital flows that America depends on.

  5. Shock Therapy for Multilateralism
    james225_AnadoluGettyImages_un_security_countil_meeting Anadolu/Getty Images

    Shock Therapy for Multilateralism

    Jan 2, 2025 Harold James considers what another Donald Trump presidency will, and will not, mean for global cooperation.

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  1. gebert5_Amir LevyGetty Images_netanyahuprotest Amir Levy/Getty Images

    Will Qatari Gold Sink Netanyahu?

    Konstanty Gebert

    Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's decision to fire the country's internal security chief has raised suspicions, given that the move comes just after the launch of an investigation into a new scandal involving his own aides. Israelis are right to worry that they could now be heading for a constitutional crisis.

    explains the latest scandal to hit Israel's increasingly illiberal, norm-breaking government.
  2. khrushcheva191_Anna MoneymakerGettyImages_steve_witkoff Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

    The US and Russia Are Negotiating in Bad Faith

    Nina L. Khrushcheva thinks the Kremlin is laying the groundwork for a highly favorable deal on the Ukraine war.
  3. schaake12_Thierry MonasseGettyImages_henna_virkkunen Thierry Monasse/Getty Images

    Europe’s Tech Sovereignty Demands More Than Competitiveness

    Marietje Schaake & Max von Thun warn that the European Union’s deregulatory push could undermine its autonomy and fundamental values.
  4. nsofor11_GUY PETERSONAFP via Getty Images_africadoctors Guy Peterson/AFP via Getty Images

    How Should Africa Respond to Foreign-Aid Cuts?

    Ifeanyi M. Nsofor touts the potential of foreign remittances to sustain public services as external support shrinks.
  5. huang6_Sawayasu TsujiGettyImages_china_tariffs Sawayasu Tsuji/Getty Images

    How Should China Respond to Trump’s Tariffs?

    Huang Yiping urges Chinese policymakers to fill the leadership vacuum created by America’s protectionist turn.
  6. oneill132_Feature ChinaFuture Publishing via Getty Images_chinashopping Feature China/Future Publishing via Getty Images

    Who Will Drive the Post-American Global Economy?

    Jim O'Neill considers what other large economies can do to offset the effects of the Trump administration's trade warfare.
  7. op_fofack4_Irwin Wong for The Washington Post via Getty Images_elderlypersonworking Irwin Wong for The Washington Post via Getty Images

    Health Is Wealth in a Geriatric World

    Hippolyte Fofack

    The Global South is increasingly at risk of growing old before becoming rich, which implies huge social and economic costs. To avert this outcome, the Hevolution Foundation, a nonprofit backed by the Saudi royal family, has begun to support research focused on lengthening healthspans – the period of life spent in good health.

    explains why increasing “healthspans” to match lifespans is a moral and economic imperative.
  8. przybylski2_Alexander KoernerGetty Images_germanyarmy Alexander Koerner/Getty Images

    Europe’s Democrats Must Forge a Will to Fight

    Wojciech Przybylski & Goran Buldioski think European leaders' most urgent security task is to nurture citizens' resolve to defend their countries.
  9. mazzucato81_Tomas CuestaGetty Images_javiermileichainsaw Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images

    Governments Are Not Startups

    Mariana Mazzucato & Rainer Kattel explain why ongoing efforts to run the state like a business are doomed to fail.

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