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    The Fall of the House of Assad

    Shlomo Ben-Ami

    The Middle East’s geopolitical landscape has been transformed by the swift collapse of Syria’s al-Assad dynasty. While the Iranian-led “axis of resistance” now appears hollowed out, an Islamist regime in Damascus may prove deeply unsettling not only to Israel, but also to the region’s Arab states.

     agrees with Iran’s former vice president that the Syrian regime’s collapse will transform the Middle East.
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    Syria’s House of Cards

    Barak Barfi

    External factors surely contributed to the Syrian regime’s vulnerability in the face of a new rebel advance. But the primary cause of President Bashar al-Assad’s downfall is that he presided over a disintegrating social contract, enabling his enemies to forge new coalitions organized around meeting the everyday needs of Syria’s people.

     explains why Bashar al-Assad’s government collapsed so quickly, placing most of the blame on Assad himself.
  3. tyson121_Anna MoneymakerGettyImages_musk_ramaswamy Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
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    Why DOGE and Musk Will Fail

    Laura Tyson & Lenny Mendonca identify a fundamental flaw in the design of Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency.”
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    The Crisis that Germany Needs

    Barry Eichengreen argues that the country's economic woes reflect decades-old institutions that are no longer fit for purpose.
  5. coyle40_Rebecca NobleGetty Images_bidenintel Rebecca Noble/Getty Images
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    Successful Industrial Policy Requires Industry Experts

    Diane Coyle thinks governments need to rebuild capacities they abandoned decades ago.
  6. zhang69_Vincent IsoreIP3Getty Images_chinabusinessmen Vincent IsoreI/P3/Getty Images
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    China’s Fast-Changing Economic Adjustments

    Zhang Jun outlines policymakers' task as the country's growth model confronts new sources of uncertainty.
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    Why Are So Many Indians Fleeing to America?

    Shashi Tharoor points out that even middle-class families increasingly see no future in their home country.
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    Did COP29 Fail Women?

    María Fernanda Espinosa is unimpressed by the latest UN Climate Change Conference's outcomes for gender-responsive finance.
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    The Eight Headwinds Threatening Global Growth in 2025

    Dambisa Moyo highlights the major trends which, if left unchecked, could usher in a period of prolonged stagnation.
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  1. Did COP29 Fail Women?
    mfespinosa7_Sean GallupGetty Images_womanCOP29 Sean Gallup/Getty Images

    Did COP29 Fail Women?

    Dec 10, 2024 María Fernanda Espinosa is unimpressed by the latest UN Climate Change Conference's outcomes for gender-responsive finance.

  2. Why Are So Many Indians Fleeing to America?
    Brandon Bell/Getty Images

    Why Are So Many Indians Fleeing to America?

    Dec 10, 2024 Shashi Tharoor points out that even middle-class families increasingly see no future in their home country.

  3. The Crisis that Germany Needs
    eichengreen198_JENS SCHLUETERAFP via Getty Images_volkswagen Jens Schlueter/AFP via Getty Images

    The Crisis that Germany Needs

    Dec 10, 2024 Barry Eichengreen argues that the country's economic woes reflect decades-old institutions that are no longer fit for purpose.

  4. Successful Industrial Policy Requires Industry Experts
    coyle40_Rebecca NobleGetty Images_bidenintel Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

    Successful Industrial Policy Requires Industry Experts

    Dec 10, 2024 Diane Coyle thinks governments need to rebuild capacities they abandoned decades ago.

  5. China’s Fast-Changing Economic Adjustments
    zhang69_Vincent IsoreIP3Getty Images_chinabusinessmen Vincent IsoreI/P3/Getty Images

    China’s Fast-Changing Economic Adjustments

    Dec 10, 2024 Zhang Jun outlines policymakers' task as the country's growth model confronts new sources of uncertainty.

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  1. op_moyo5_Wong Yu LiangGetty Images_downarrow Wong Yu Liang/Getty Images
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    The Eight Headwinds Threatening Global Growth in 2025

    Dambisa Moyo highlights the major trends which, if left unchecked, could usher in a period of prolonged stagnation.
  2. bp trump neoliberalism Photo by Saul Martinez for The Washington Post via Getty Images
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    Did Neoliberalism Kill American Democracy?

    Featured in this Big Picture

    PS editors, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Andrés Velasco, Daron Acemoglu, Christy Hoffman, Bartosz M. Rydliński, Katharina Pistor

    As US President-elect Donald Trump prepares to make good on his threats to upend American institutions, the pressure is on his opponents to figure out how to defend, and eventually strengthen, US democracy. But first they must understand how the United States reached this point.

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    Enrique Krauze on Baruch Spinoza, the US election, Mexican democracy, and more

    Enrique Krauze considers the responsibility of the state to guarantee freedom, heralds the demise of Mexico’s democracy, highlights flaws in higher-education systems, and more.
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    The World Needs a Pro-Human AI Agenda

    Daron Acemoglu fears that the tech industry’s current priorities will result in the worst of all possible worlds.
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    Europe in the Age of Trump

    Adam Michnik interviewed by Irena Grudzińska Gross about the challenges facing the continent following the US election.
  6. op_disparte1_SadikDemirozGetty Images_digitaldollar FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
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    Trump’s Inflationary Triple Threat

    Maurice Obstfeld warns that the incoming administration’s agenda would weaken the Fed and destabilize the financial system.

More than just a test of humanity’s collective resolve, climate change is also a test of existing institutions, and that makes it a profound security risk. When a fully globalized, interdependent world is placed in a kiln and the heat is turned up, some systems will eventually emerge stronger, but many others will fail.

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  1. scherger1ARMEND NIMANIAFP via Getty Images_farming ARMEND NIMANI/AFP via Getty Images
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    Carbon Farming Won't Save the Planet

    Sophie Scherger warns that soil-storage offsets may serve as a smokescreen for polluting industries.
  2. schalatek1_Resul RehimovAnadolu via Getty Images_cop29 Resul Rehimov/Anadolu via Getty Images
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    Is the Loss and Damage Fund Becoming an Empty Promise?

    Liane Schalatek warns that rich countries are once again shirking their responsibility to provide adequate climate finance.
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    Inclusive Finance Is the Key to Climate Action

    Sophie Sirtaine calls for COP29 to address the overlooked question of how to channel funds to vulnerable communities.

Opinion that Moves

  1. Barry Eichengreen The Crisis that Germany Needs
  2. Diane Coyle Successful Industrial Policy Requires Industry Experts
  3. Zhang Jun China’s Fast-Changing Economic Adjustments
  4. Laura Tyson, et al. Why DOGE and Musk Will Fail

  1. Shashi Tharoor Why Are So Many Indians Fleeing to America?
  2. Barak Barfi Syria’s House of Cards
  3. Markéta Gregorová Will Your Encrypted Messages Remain Private in Europe?
  4. Shlomo Ben-Ami The Fall of the House of Assad

  1. Nana Akufo-Addo The Key to Africa’s Vaccine Sovereignty
  2. Peter G. Kirchschläger Protecting Children from Anti-Social Media
  3. Anne-Marie Slaughter, et al. How to End the Scourge of Maternal Mortality
  4. Yuen Yuen Ang Doing Development in the Polycrisis

  1. María Fernanda Espinosa Did COP29 Fail Women?
  2. Samia Suluhu Hassan What the G20 Can Do for Africa’s Energy Agenda
  3. Sophie Scherger Carbon Farming Won't Save the Planet
  4. Ricardo Hausmann A Better Approach to Climate Finance

  1. Andrew Gallucci The Dollar Diplomacy We Need
  2. S. Alex Yang, et al. America’s Tech Blind Spot
  3. Nicholas Agar, et al. The Techno-Realist Manifesto
  4. Soňa Muzikárová Central and Eastern Europe’s Bid for AI Dominance

  1. Peter Singer Choice in Dying Comes to the UK
  2. Claire Melamed Democracy’s Data Paradox
  3. Joseph S. Nye, Jr. Political Protest and the University
  4. Michael Ignatieff Ukraine’s Post-Colonial Future

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

  1. Samia Suluhu Hassan What the G20 Can Do for Africa’s Energy Agenda
  2. Raila Amolo Odinga The G20 Must Help Africa Close the Climate-Finance Gap
  3. Hippolyte Fofack The Right Climate Finance for Developing Economies

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

  1. Katrin Kivi The Case for Press Freedom Just Got Stronger
  2. Geoff Mulgan The Right to Truth
  3. Nishant Lalwani, et al. As Disinformation Thrives, Democracy Dies

As the COVID-19 crisis escalates, PS commentators assess its implications for the economy, propose policy responses, and consider what might – and sho…

  1. Gro Harlem Brundtland Recommitting to Pandemic Preparedness
  2. Winnie Byanyima, et al. How to Protect the World from the Next Pandemic
  3. Tom Achoki, et al. Preparing Now for the Next Disease X