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Curated collections of commentaries not just on topics in the news, but also on the deeper issues driving the news.

Sunrise Johannesburg Africa BFG Images/Getty Images

319 commentaries, Updated on 13 May 2024

Africa’s economic rise is a world-changing development, but the sources of its emerging strength – and lingering weaknesses – are little understood. W…

  1. Rachel Ruto Clean Cooking Advances Women’s Empowerment
  2. Anne O. Krueger The Geopolitics of Africa’s Debt Crisis
  3. Jayati Ghosh The Key to Transforming African Health
Israel Hamas Topic_Mohammed DahmanGetty Images Mohammed Dahman/Getty Images.

55 commentaries, Updated on 11 May 2024

Project Syndicate commentaries on the conflict in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.

  1. Slavoj Žižek Protests of Despair
  2. Shlomo Ben-Ami The Unbearable Lightness of Anti-Zionism
  3. Peter Singer When Is Criticism of Israel Anti-Semitic?
elections topic_Dragon ClawsGetty Images Dragon Claws/Getty Images

31 commentaries, Updated on 14 May 2024

Project Syndicate commentaries on the issues and trends shaping the biggest global election year in history.

  1. Alberto Alemanno Europe’s Non-European Elections
  2. Adekeye Adebajo Mandela’s Heirs Face Their Biggest Election Test
  3. Gaurav Dalmia What Explains the BJP’s Rise?
topic_the female voice_Kena Betancur_woman fist to sky Kena Betancur/Getty Images

129 commentaries, Updated on 14 May 2024

To celebrate International Women’s Day, Project Syndicate is highlighting a selection of insightful commentaries written by female contributors on iss…

  1. Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, et al. A Turning Point for Clean Cooking
  2. Rachel Ruto Clean Cooking Advances Women’s Empowerment
  3. Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir How to Close the Gender Wage Gap
GettyImages-532453858 Chuck Savage/Getty Images

32 commentaries, Updated on 10 May 2024

In Finance of the Future, Project Syndicate, with support from Circle, brings together leading experts, innovators, regulators, and more to examine th…

  1. Agustín Carstens, et al. The Rise of the Finternet
  2. Mariana Mazzucato, et al. Central Banks in a Cashless World
  3. Paolo Tasca The Struggle for Currency Supremacy
topic page_Climate Justice_Marco Cantile_LightRocket Via Getty Marco Cantile/LightRocket via Getty Images

90 commentaries, Updated on 22 Apr 2024

As former Irish President Mary Robinson and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu pointed out nearly a decade ago, “climate change is a matter of ju…

  1. Justina Nixon-Saintil AI Holds the Key to Resilient Cities
  2. Iván Duque Márquez How Guyana Became Latin America’s Leading Development Lab
  3. Laurence Tubiana Taxing Polluters Is the Key to Climate Justice
Putin's War on Ukraine

436 commentaries, Updated on 15 May 2024

Russia has failed to achieve the quick victory in Ukraine for which it apparently hoped, but a prolonged war of attrition would amount to a different …

  1. Richard Haass Defining Success in Ukraine
  2. Anders Åslund A Unified Western Strategy for Ukraine
  3. Nina L. Khrushcheva Russia’s Battle of the Ministries
The Light Bulb

58 commentaries, Updated on 11 Mar 2024

In The New Enlightenment, Project Syndicate, in partnership with The New Institute, brings together leading experts, academics, practitioners, and pol…

  1. Mariana Mazzucato, et al. Governments Must Shape AI’s Future
  2. Bertrand Badré, et al. How to Democratize AI
  3. Mariana Mazzucato A Progressive Green Growth Narrative
GettyImages-1385767491

47 commentaries, Updated on 9 May 2024

Activists, campaigners, and other experts consider how to support freedom, justice, and human dignity globally.

  1. Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir How to Close the Gender Wage Gap
  2. David Alton, et al. Who Should Decide If It’s Genocide?
  3. Graça Machel The World’s Moral Failure in Gaza
AI topic bymuratdeniz/Getty Images

87 commentaries, Updated on 16 May 2024

PS commentators consider how to seize the opportunities and mitigate the risks created by artificial intelligence.

  1. Michael R. Strain What the AI Pessimists Are Missing
  2. Peter G. Kirchschläger AI Needs UN Oversight
  3. Daron Acemoglu, et al. History Already Tells Us the Future of AI
topic_democracy_Comstock-Images_person-voting Comstock Images/Getty Images

215 commentaries, Updated on 8 May 2024

Project Syndicate commentaries on the growing threats to liberal democracy, open societies, and the rule of law around the world.

  1. Dalia Marin The Zero-Sum Logic Fueling the Rise of Germany’s Far Right
  2. Pranab Bardhan The Popular Decimation of India’s Democracy
  3. Joseph E. Stiglitz Global Elections in the Shadow of Neoliberalism
Press-Released_Header_2-1

134 commentaries, Updated on 2 May 2024

Today’s media landscape is littered with landmines: open hostility from illiberal and autocratic regimes, mounting censorship in countries such as Hungary, Turkey,…

  1. Jodie Ginsberg Our Freedoms Depend on Press Freedom
  2. Carsten Brosda Must Democratizing the Media Be Bad for Democracy?
  3. Anya Schiffrin, et al. Quality Journalism Is More Important than Ever
  1. spence173_ Joe RaedleGetty Images_power Joe Raedle/Getty Images

    Crunch Time for the Power Sector

    Michael Spence

    Making the power sector fit for the twenty-first century requires a “banker” that finances and coordinates relevant long-term investments, and an “architect” that guides the development of a complex, interconnected smart-grid system. National governments need to fill both roles.

    argues that developing flexible, stable, and resilient smart grids requires an expanded industrial policy.
  2. op_janeway16_SAUL LOEBAFP via Getty Images_bidenchips Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

    The Rise of Mesoeconomics

    William H. Janeway

    A growing body of literature focusing on the domain between the microeconomic and the macroeconomic has become increasingly relevant in a world beset by supply shocks. Armed with such insights, those designing industrial policies will have a better chance of achieving their overlapping economic- and national-security goals.

    details how a long-neglected field of economic study can be applied to today's most pressing policy challenges.
  3. strain27_Philipp von Ditfurthpicture alliance via Getty Images_AIeducation Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images

    What the AI Pessimists Are Missing

    Michael R. Strain points out that the technology will help to address many of the risks it creates.
  4. ito37_Spencer PlattGetty Images_columbiaprotests Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    The Innocent Bystanders of College Protests

    Takatoshi Ito laments that a radical minority can disrupt the lives of so many in the broader university community.
  5. lacamera1_Wang DongzhenXinhua via Getty Images_COP28 Wang Dongzhen/Xinhua via Getty Images

    Only Public-Private Cooperation Can Accelerate Decarbonization

    Francesco La Camera & Bruce Douglas explain how to translate political commitments into actual wind turbines and solar panels.
  6. haass167_ANATOLII STEPANOVAFP via Getty Images_ukrainesoldiers Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images

    Defining Success in Ukraine

    Richard Haass calls for a shift to a defensive posture and efforts to bring about a long-term ceasefire.
  7. aslund75_Pierre CromGetty Images_ukraineconflict Pierre Crom/Getty Images

    A Unified Western Strategy for Ukraine

    Anders Åslund proposes a maximalist approach to military aid to replace the current piecemeal injections of old weapons.
  8. khrushcheva180_ContributorGetty Images_shoiguputin Contributor/Getty Images

    Russia’s Battle of the Ministries

    Nina L. Khrushcheva sees a high-ranking official's recent arrest as a sign of declining confidence in Vladimir Putin's leadership.
  9. ghosh77_MANDEL NGANAFP via Getty Images_ajaybanga Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

    The “Billions to Trillions” Charade

    Jayati Ghosh explains why using development banks' resources to incentivize private-sector finance is unlikely to succeed.

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