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Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

Writing for PS since 2002
257 commentaries
3 videos & podcasts

Joseph S. Nye, Jr., an emeritus professor at Harvard Kennedy School and a former US assistant secretary of defense, is 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. US-China Cooperation Remains Possible
    nye257_MARK SCHIEFELBEINPOOLAFP via Getty Images_blinkenxi Mark Schiefelbein/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

    US-China Cooperation Remains Possible

    May 6, 2024 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. identifies seven areas where the two countries can still work together toward mutually beneficial outcomes.

  2. How to Prevent a War Over Taiwan
    nye255_Pictures From HistoryUniversal Images Group via Getty Images_nixonmao Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

    How to Prevent a War Over Taiwan

    Apr 8, 2024 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. explains what can be done to keep the peace between America and an increasingly assertive China.

  3. Joseph S. Nye, Jr., on nuclear risk, American hubris, great-power competition, and more
    GettyImages-1496076713

    Joseph S. Nye, Jr., on nuclear risk, American hubris, great-power competition, and more

    Apr 2, 2024 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. calls for restoring the credibility of the US nuclear umbrella, highlights the role of nongovernmental agencies in international relations, worries that the US will play its cards poorly vis-à-vis China, and more.

  4. Is Nuclear Proliferation Back?
    nye253_TEH ENG KOONAFP via Getty Images_nuvclear TEH ENG KOON/AFP via Getty Images

    Is Nuclear Proliferation Back?

    Mar 5, 2024 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. considers lessons from his own work on preventing the spread of the technology in the 1970s.

  5. American Greatness and Decline
    nye252_TIMOTHY A. CLARYAFP via Getty Images_elections TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

    American Greatness and Decline

    Feb 1, 2024 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. warns that populist nationalism at home is by far the biggest threat to US power.

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  1. bp india election Photo by SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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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