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Harold James

Harold James

Writing for PS since 2001
228 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. 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.

  2. Is America the Next Soviet Union?
    james224_Francis LochonGettyImages_ussr_dolls Francis Lochon/Getty Images

    Is America the Next Soviet Union?

    Nov 28, 2024 Harold James sees parallels between the United States’ political dysfunction and that of its twentieth-century adversary.

  3. Fascism in Our Time
    james223_Win McNameeGetty Images_fascism Win McNamee/Getty Images

    Fascism in Our Time

    Oct 28, 2024 Harold James emphasizes the similarity of US business leaders’ behavior to that of their counterparts in 1930s Germany.

  4. Trump’s Tariffs Are an Opportunity for Harris
    james222_Win McNameeGetty Images)_debate Win McNamee/Getty Images)

    Trump’s Tariffs Are an Opportunity for Harris

    Oct 7, 2024 Harold James urges the Democratic presidential candidate to reject the new consensus against free trade.

  5. The Future of Conservatism
    ps3q2024 predictions GettyImages-1958540720-fade_AW Getty Images

    The Future of Conservatism

    Sep 9, 2024 Elizabeth Corey, et al. consider whether the populist “new right” in America, Europe, and elsewhere is here to stay.

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  1. perincek1_KENZO TRIBOUILLARDAFP via Getty Images_EUrawmaterials Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images

    Ensuring Europe’s Supply of Critical Minerals

    Rüya Perincek & Andreas Goldthau call for coordinated funding, resource diplomacy, and secondary material partnerships to boost recycling.
  2. tyson122_Andrew HarnikGettyImages_gavin_newsom Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

    Readying the Resistance, Again

    Laura Tyson & Lenny Mendonca

    The United States is not a monarchy, but a federal republic. States and cities controlled by Democrats represent half the country, and they can resist Donald Trump’s overreach by using the tools of progressive federalism, many of which were sharpened during his first administration.

    see Democrat-controlled states as a potential check on Donald Trump’s far-right agenda.
  3. khrushcheva189_Konstantin ZavrazhinGettyImages_nostalgic_man Konstantin Zavrazhin/Getty Images

    Russia’s Nostalgia Machine

    Nina L. Khrushcheva explores how the Kremlin relies on an idealized version of the past to comfort – and subdue – the public.
  4. goldberg33_Lauren DeCiccaGetty Images_shippinglaos Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images

    The Trade Shifts Redefining Economic Development

    Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg & Michele Ruta consider the long-term implications of three major trends that could reshape globalization.
  5. fischer224_Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_trumpinauguration Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Trump at the Gates

    Joschka Fischer urges Europeans to recognize that they are now on their own in an increasingly dangerous world.
  6. stiglitz347_Kevin DietschGettyImages_bye_biden Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

    The End of Progress?

    Joseph E. Stiglitz

    Though the United States has long led the world in advancing basic science and technology, it is hard to see how this can continue under President Donald Trump and the country’s ascendant oligarchy. America’s rejection of Enlightenment values will have dire consequences.

    predicts that Donald Trump’s second administration will be defined by its rejection of Enlightenment values.
  7. varoufakis123_China PhotosGetty Images_chinayuandollar China Photos/Getty Images

    China’s Trump Dilemma

    Yanis Varoufakis thinks the real choice facing Chinese leaders may be whether to challenge the dollar's hegemony head-on.
  8. lamy10_Badru KatumbaGettyImages_jackfruit_farmer Badru Katumba/Getty Images

    The Key to Narrowing the Development Gap

    Pascal Lamy, et al. explain how investments in African agri-food systems can advance many of the Sustainable Development Goals.
  9. galbraith39_rudall30Getty Images_businessmanforest rudall30/Getty Images

    Economists’ Way Out of the Wilderness

    James K. Galbraith argues that the continued dominance of nineteenth-century thinking has resulted in a catalogue of failure.

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