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Shashi Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor

Writing for PS since 2002
189 commentaries
1 videos & podcasts

Shashi Tharoor, a former UN under-secretary-general and former Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and Minister of State for Human Resource Development, is an MP for the Indian National Congress. He is the author, most recently, of Ambedkar: A Life (Aleph Book Company, 2022).

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  1. Indian Democracy’s Moment of Truth
    tharoor188_Ritesh ShuklaGetty Images_indiaelection Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images

    Indian Democracy’s Moment of Truth

    Mar 13, 2024 Shashi Tharoor warns that the ruling BJP will do everything it can to curtail dissent ahead of this year's general election.

  2. Why Is the Maldives Spurning India?
    tharoor187_Zhai JianlanXinhua via Getty Images_muizzu china Zhai Jianlan/Xinhua via Getty Images

    Why Is the Maldives Spurning India?

    Feb 15, 2024 Shashi Tharoor worries that the island nation is becoming a Chinese client and nurturing Islamist radicalism.

  3. India’s Hindu “Emperor” Wants a Third Term
    tharoor186_EVELYN HOCKSTEINPOOLAFP via Getty Images_modi EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

    India’s Hindu “Emperor” Wants a Third Term

    Jan 5, 2024 Shashi Tharoor expects the coming election campaign to focus on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nationalist credentials.

  4. Does India Have a Hit List?
    tharoor185_ NARINDER NANUAFP via Getty Images_sikh separatist NARINDER NANU/AFP via Getty Images

    Does India Have a Hit List?

    Dec 5, 2023 Shashi Tharoor worries that recent plots to assassinate Sikh separatists abroad could undermine vital diplomatic relationships.

  5. India, Gaza, and the Drift from Non-Alignment
    tharoor184_ Haim Zach  GPO  HandoutAnadolu AgencyGetty Images_modi netanyahu Haim Zach / GPO / Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

    India, Gaza, and the Drift from Non-Alignment

    Nov 14, 2023 Shashi Tharoor considers what India’s response to the Israel-Hamas war says about the evolution of its foreign policy.

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  1. stiglitz331_serggnGetty Images_techregulation serggn/Getty Images

    A Big Defeat for Big Tech

    Joseph E. Stiglitz

    Tech companies know that if there is an open, democratic debate about data security, consumers’ concerns about digital safeguards will win out. And while the industry's lobbyists tried to ensure that no such debate could ever occur, one of their more cynical moves has now been exposed and thwarted.

    details how the industry tried to slip extraordinary protections against regulation into US trade agreements.
  2. zizek27_Giles ClarkeGetty Images_jimmycherizier Giles Clarke/Getty Images

    Haiti’s Proud Boys

    Slavoj Žižek

    If we measure a failed state by the cracks in the edifice of its power, reflected in brewing ideological civil wars, deadlocked assemblies, and increasingly insecure public spaces, we must recognize that the United States is not so unlike Haiti. Both have given rise to violent gangs with political ambitions.

    warns that rich Western democracies are not immune to politically motivated gang violence.
  3. hedegaard11_y Dursun AydemirAnadolu via Getty Images_parliament elections Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images

    Unity Is Europe’s Greatest Asset

    Connie Hedegaard emphasizes the importance of stability amid persistent economic and geopolitical crises.
  4. qian34_PEDRO PARDOAFP via Getty Images_immigration PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images

    The Truth About US Immigration

    Nancy Qian warns that overheated campaign-season rhetoric is dangerously polarizing and ultimately self-defeating.
  5. mueller51_ David McNewGetty Images_gop trump David McNew/Getty Images

    The Zombification of Political Parties

    Jan-Werner Mueller argues that Donald Trump’s capture of the GOP’s organizational machinery recalls authoritarian tactics elsewhere.
  6. basu100_David Dee DelgadoGetty Images_newyork David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

    The Economic Consequences of Legal Behavior

    Kaushik Basu highlights the potential benefits of emphasizing adherence to the spirit of laws, if not their letter.
  7. brown106_KOLA SULAIMONAFP via Getty Images_nigeriaschool Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images

    For Nigeria’s Schools, Safety Must Come First

    Gordon Brown writes that the latest mass abduction of students underscores the dilemma facing parents throughout the country.
  8. owoo1_disabled iStock / Getty Images Plus

    Give Women with Disabilities a Chance

    Nkechi S. Owoo explains what is needed to protect and empower one of the world’s most vulnerable demographic groups.
  9. op_mkurz3_Spencer PlattGetty Images_rustbelt Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    How Capitalism Became a Threat to Democracy

    Mordecai Kurz examines the economic policies and market dynamics that have ushered in America's Second Gilded Age.

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