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Harold James

Harold James

Writing for PS since 2001
226 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. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

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  1. scherger1ARMEND NIMANIAFP via Getty Images_farming ARMEND NIMANI/AFP via Getty Images
    Free to read

    Carbon Farming Won't Save the Planet

    Sophie Scherger warns that soil-storage offsets may serve as a smokescreen for polluting industries.
  2. bildt129_MaximShipenkovGettyImages_valdai_putin_fail Maxim Shipenkov/Getty Images

    Putin’s March of Folly

    Carl Bildt argues that Russia’s president has only his own poor decisions to blame for his country’s loss of status.
  3. hausmann117_TONY KARUMBAAFP via Getty Images_africawindfarm Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images

    A Better Approach to Climate Finance

    Ricardo Hausmann

    By harnessing the capabilities of developing countries, we can accelerate global decarbonization while creating new growth opportunities. This approach would not only advance crucial climate goals but also ensure that a larger share of the world’s population can enjoy the fruits of the clean-energy transition.

    shows how developing countries can accelerate global decarbonization while creating new growth opportunities.
  4. ghosh83_CHRISTIAN MONTERROSAAFP via Getty Images_trump cop CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA/AFP via Getty Images

    Trump’s Bad COP

    Jayati Ghosh says the Paris climate agreement’s future depends on how other countries respond to the new US administration.
  5. goldberg32_Spencer PlattGetty Images_USshipping Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    Are Tariffs Worth It?

    Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg thinks the risks and costs for the US will far outweigh any potential political or geopolitical benefits.
  6. schalatek1_Resul RehimovAnadolu via Getty Images_cop29 Resul Rehimov/Anadolu via Getty Images
    Free to read

    Is the Loss and Damage Fund Becoming an Empty Promise?

    Liane Schalatek warns that rich countries are once again shirking their responsibility to provide adequate climate finance.
  7. mazzucato77_PABLOPORCIUNCULAGettyImages_G20_summit_prostest PABLO PORCIUNCULA/Getty Images

    How Global Public Investment Should Work

    Mariana Mazzucato & Jonathan Glennie

    Addressing problems like climate change and biodiversity loss calls for new thinking about how to mobilize the huge volume of financing that will be needed. International cooperation must be re-framed as a collective endeavor in which all countries benefit, contribute, and make investment decisions together.

    propose a new model to unlock financing for action on climate change, biodiversity loss, and other issues.
  8. palacio163_Dominika ZarzyckaSOPA ImagesLightRocket via Getty Images_cop29finance Dominika Zarzycka/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

    COP29 Must Deliver the Goods

    Ana Palacio hopes that geopolitical uncertainty will not thwart ambitious, credible climate-finance commitments.
  9. ngilman1_Ivan LiemanAFP via Getty Images_rwandagorilla Ivan Lieman/AFP via Getty Images

    Interspecies Money Is Here

    Nils Gilman & Mutesi Rusagara look beyond the first ever payments to animals and see a new model for human-wildlife economic collaboration.

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