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Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

Writing for PS since 2002
265 commentaries
3 videos & podcasts

Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, is a former US assistant secretary of defense and the author of Do Morals Matter? Presidents and Foreign Policy from FDR to Trump (Oxford University Press, 2020) and A Life in the American Century (Polity Press, 2024).

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  1. What Are the BRICS Good For?
    nye265_GettyImages_modi_putin_xi Getty Images

    What Are the BRICS Good For?

    Jan 2, 2025 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. explains why the group of major emerging economies will not become the new fulcrum of world politics.

  2. Anticipating Trump’s Foreign Policy
    Pool/Getty Images

    Anticipating Trump’s Foreign Policy

    Dec 4, 2024 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. considers what can be gleaned from the president-elect’s past statements, recent appointments, and US history.

  3. Political Protest and the University
    nye263_JOSEPH PREZIOSOAFP via Getty Images_harvard protest JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images

    Political Protest and the University

    Oct 31, 2024 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. thinks the 1960s have a lot to teach university leaders about today’s campus protests.

  4. What Would Victory in Ukraine Look Like?
    haass167_ANATOLII STEPANOVAFP via Getty Images_ukrainesoldiers Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images

    What Would Victory in Ukraine Look Like?

    Oct 8, 2024 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. considers what kind of peace settlement Ukraine might be able to accept in the near term.

  5. US Foreign Policy in 2025
    nye261_Kevin DietschGetty Images_us election Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

    US Foreign Policy in 2025

    Sep 5, 2024 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. compares the two presidential candidates’ attitudes and positions on major global issues.

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  1. ahzhang19_Jaap ArriensNurPhoto via Getty Images_tiktok Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    The TikTok Boomerang

    Angela Huyue Zhang

    By banning TikTok, US authorities have sent American users of the app flocking to Chinese platforms with even fewer safeguards on data security or algorithmic manipulation. Though these, too, might be banned, others will replace them, leading America to construct, one prohibition at a time, its own "Great Firewall."

    thinks the US government's ban on the app has left it in an untenable position.
  2. delaney1_Jose JimenezGettyImages_bahamas_dorian Jose Jimenez/Getty Images

    Turning the Financial Tide for Small Island States

    Maya Delaney & Aminath Shauna tout the potential of green and blue bonds to protect critical ecosystems and build economic resilience.
  3. brown116_Timur MatahariGettyImages_indonesia_free_school_meals Timur Matahari/Getty Images

    School Meals Provide Food for Thought – and Fuel for Development

    Gordon Brown & Kevin Watkins tout universal nutrition programs in lower-income countries to mitigate a lost decade for poor children.
  4. karl3_Apu GomesGetty Images_LAfires Apu Gomes/Getty Images

    A House Gutted by Fire

    Terry Lynn Karl blames the inferno now consuming Los Angeles County squarely on greenhouse-gas emissions.
  5. op_janeway17_Natalya KosarevichGetty Images_moneyhandslightbulb Natalya Kosarevich/Getty Images

    False Economies

    William H. Janeway highlights the high cost of the single-minded focus on efficiency that has come to dominate the discipline.
  6. bq trump institutions Photo by Brendan McDermid-Pool/Getty Images

    Can US Institutions Withstand Trump 2.0?

    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.

  7. wagner31_Westend61Getty Images_climatependulum Westend61/Getty Images

    The Climate Policy Pendulum

    Gernot Wagner notes that green technologies retain their many advantages, regardless of national political developments.
  8. strain35_Christina HouseGettyImages_commencement_ceremony Christina House/Getty Images

    Could High-Skill Immigration Increase Under Trump?

    Michael R. Strain argues that the recent kerfuffle over foreign workers underscores the president-elect’s pragmatic instincts.
  9. posner38_Viktor SidorovGettyImages_un_flag Viktor Sidorov/Getty Images

    What Happened to International Law?

    Eric Posner sees the web of treaties, conventions, and institutions as another victim of the anti-globalization backlash.

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