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Harold James

Harold James

Writing for PS since 2001
219 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 Firm, Making 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. What’s Driving the Global Gold Rush?
    james217_ Christopher FurlongGetty Images_gold Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

    What’s Driving the Global Gold Rush?

    May 1, 2024 Harold James considers the political factors pushing the price of the “barbarous relic” to all-time highs.

  2. Europe’s High Noon
    james216_Dave Tschorn Dave Tschorn

    Europe’s High Noon

    Mar 26, 2024 Harold James worries that Western political leaders lack the will to take the risky decisions that security demands.

  3. The Financial March to War
    james215_Irina Gutyryak Getty Images_currencies Irina Gutyryak Getty Images

    The Financial March to War

    Feb 27, 2024 Harold James explains how currency wars and speculation could feature in today’s great-power conflicts.

  4. The Politics of Despair
    james214_Sean RayfordGetty Images_trump Sean Rayford/Getty Images

    The Politics of Despair

    Jan 30, 2024 Harold James explores the yawning gap between positive economic developments and dour public sentiment.

  5. A Year of Political Chicken
    james213_ (Photos by Brendan Smialowski and JIM WATSON AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI,JIM WATSONAFP via Getty Images)_biden trump (Photos by Brendan Smialowski and JIM WATSON / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI,JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

    A Year of Political Chicken

    Jan 2, 2024 Harold James considers the US presidential race and its global implications through the lens of game theory.

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  1. bp india election Photo by SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images
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    Will India’s Election Destroy Its Democracy?

    Since taking power in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have stoked Hindu nationalism, hollowed out India’s democracy, and overseen an economy that is probably performing far worse than official figures suggest. And yet Modi and the BJP are genuinely popular, making them likely – though not certain – to emerge victorious when the ongoing parliamentary election concludes in June.

  2. benami213_YEHUDA RAIZNERAFP via Getty Images_israelflag Yehuda Raizner/AFP via Getty Images
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    The Unbearable Lightness of Anti-Zionism

    Shlomo Ben-Ami warns that demonizing all Israelis will only make peace less likely – though that may be the point.
  3. alfredsdottir1_Getty Images_pay gap Getty Images
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    How to Close the Gender Wage Gap

    Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir argues that Iceland’s experience lends further support to Nobel laureate economist Claudia Goldin’s research.
  4. brown107_Jeff J Mitchell - Pool Getty Images_covidvaccine Jeff J. Mitchell/Pool/Getty Images
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    Getting the Pandemic Treaty Across the Finish Line

    Gordon Brown

    Just as governments are working tirelessly to conclude negotiations on a new pandemic treaty, a torrent of misinformation and fake news has been unleashed to undermine the process. For the sake of current and future generations, policymakers must resist the propaganda and get the job done.

     hopes negotiations will conclude this month, and pushes back on a last-minute wave of misinformation.
  5. singer231_Michael M. SantiagoGetty Images_college protests Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
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    When Is Criticism of Israel Anti-Semitic?

    Peter Singer rejects comparisons of the recent US campus protests to the actions of Nazi student groups in the 1930s.
  6. Project Syndicate
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    Trump’s Plans for the Fed Would Revive 1970s-Style Inflation

    Maurice Obstfeld thinks the presumptive GOP nominee’s policies reflect an outdated understanding of the economy.
  7. adebajo5_Getty Images_southafricaelection Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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    Mandela’s Heirs Face Their Biggest Election Test

    Adekeye Adebajo explains why the African National Congress could lose its 30-year monopoly on power.
  8. dalmia1_DIBYANGSHU SARKARAFP via Getty Images_bjp DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP via Getty Images
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    What Explains the BJP’s Rise?

    Gaurav Dalmia ennumerates the reasons why the ruling party has come to dominate the country’s electoral landscape.
  9. zhang66_STRAFP via Getty Images_chinaelectricvehicles STR/AFP via Getty Images
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    Why China Provides Evidence for Optimists and Pessimists Alike

    Zhang Jun explains why rigorous, evidence-based assessments of the economy's performance can diverge sharply.

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