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Katharina Pistor

Katharina Pistor

Writing for PS since 2000
34 commentaries

Katharina Pistor, Professor of Comparative Law at Columbia Law School, is the author of The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequality (Princeton University Press, 2019).

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  1. Will Boeing Crash Shareholder Value?
    pistor34_NTSB via Getty Images_boeing NTSB via Getty Images

    Will Boeing Crash Shareholder Value?

    Apr 10, 2024 Katharina Pistor sees the troubled company as a textbook example of a broader problem afflicting corporate governance.

  2. Elon Musk and the Absolutist Revival
    pistor33-napoleon musk

    Elon Musk and the Absolutist Revival

    Feb 13, 2024 Katharina Pistor laments the modern cult of the CEO, which allows corporate leaders to pick and choose their own laws.

  3. Katharina Pistor on financial risk, wealth creation, digital currencies, and more
    basu50_sasun1990GettyImages_businessmanbooksmoney sasun1990/Getty Images

    Katharina Pistor on financial risk, wealth creation, digital currencies, and more

    Jan 23, 2024 Katharina Pistor highlights the government’s role in perpetuating financial-sector fragility, urges stronger enforcement of legal accountability for political leaders, explains why trading nature derivatives should not be confused with protecting nature, and more.

  4. In AI, Capital Wins Again
    pistor30_Justin SullivanGetty Images_sam altman Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    In AI, Capital Wins Again

    Nov 28, 2023 Katharina Pistor shows why OpenAI’s efforts to preserve its founding non-profit mission never stood any chance.

  5. How Finance Became the Problem
    pistor29_Selcuk1Getty Images_money Selcuk1/Getty Images

    How Finance Became the Problem

    Oct 5, 2023 Katharina Pistor catalogues the high costs of transforming almost every political challenge into a priceable asset.

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  1. deryugina1_BEN BIRCHALLPOOLAFP via Getty Images_ukraineflagsoldier Ben Birchall/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
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    Ukraine Is Far From Doomed

    Tatyana Deryugina & Anastassia Fedyk

    When comparing Ukraine’s situation in 2024 to Europe’s in 1941, Russia’s defeat seems entirely possible. But it will require the West, and the US in particular, to put aside domestic political squabbles and muster the political will to provide Ukraine with consistent and robust military and financial assistance.

     compare Russia's full-scale invasion to World War II and see reason to hope – as long as aid keeps flowing.
  2. glennerster2_Scott OlsonGetty Images)_vaccines Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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    The Pandemic Financing Developing Countries Need

    Rachel Glennerster urges multilateral development banks to establish mechanisms that enable at-risk vaccine purchases.
  3. krueger74_AFP via Getty Images_nigercoup AFP via Getty Images
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    The Geopolitics of Africa’s Debt Crisis

    Anne O. Krueger urges developed countries to back efforts by the IMF and the World Bank to promote growth-enhancing reforms.
  4. palacio156_ Georg Moritzpicture alliance via Getty Images_immigation Georg Moritz/picture alliance via Getty Images
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    Why the EU’s New Migration Pact Matters

    Ana Palacio applauds the pragmatic coalition-building, especially by Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, that enabled the deal.
  5. kirchschlager1_Fatih AktasAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_AI Fatih AktasAnadolu Agency via Getty Images
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    AI Needs UN Oversight

    Peter G. Kirchschläger calls for the creation of a watchdog – similar to the IAEA – that employs a human rights-based approach.
  6. chellaney_VCGVCG via Getty Images_china military VCG/VCG via Getty Images
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    The West Is Hastening Its Own Decline

    Brahma Chellaney argues that the unprecedented US and European sanctions against Russia are backfiring.
  7. zizek29_Sebastian Gollnowpicture alliance via Getty Images_palestine congress germany Sebastian Gollnowpicture alliance via Getty Images
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    Canceling Palestine

    Slavoj Žižek

    Current debates about Israeli policy are rife with double standards, leading to absurd decisions like Germany’s recent cancellation of a pro-Palestinian gathering. By quashing legitimate speech and assembly, an Israel-aligned establishment risks inciting precisely the kind of anti-Semitism that it wants to prevent.

     worries that the double standards applied on Israel’s behalf will lead to an anti-Semitic backlash.
  8. ackerman2_Brian van der Brug Los Angeles Times via Getty Images_preschool Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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    America’s Childcare Is Unfit for the Postmodern Age

    Bruce Ackerman urges US President Joe Biden to put universal preschool at the center of his re-election campaign.
  9. acemoglu72_ Hulton ArchiveGetty Images_cottonhandweaving Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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    History Already Tells Us the Future of AI

    Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson find policy lessons for the 2020s in the work of the early-nineteenth-century economist David Ricardo.

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