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Chris Patten

Chris Patten

Writing for PS since 2000
169 commentaries
3 videos & podcasts

Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong and a former EU commissioner for external affairs, is Chancellor of the University of Oxford and the author of The Hong Kong Diaries (Allen Lane, 2022).

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  1. The New Threat to Free Speech
    patten169_EVARISTO SAAFP via Getty Images_twitter EVARISTO SA/AFP via Getty Images

    The New Threat to Free Speech

    Sep 19, 2024 Chris Patten highlights governments’ struggle to manage online extremism while upholding a fundamental right.

  2. The Enduring Lessons of Stalin’s Wartime Endgame
    patten168_PhotoQuestGetty Images_post ww2 PhotoQuest/Getty Images

    The Enduring Lessons of Stalin’s Wartime Endgame

    Aug 21, 2024 Chris Patten reflects on how the events leading up to the end of World War II helped shape today’s international order.

  3. Can Democracy Win in 2024?
    patten167_Ricky VigilGetty Images_keirstarmer Ricky Vigil/Getty Images

    Can Democracy Win in 2024?

    Jul 12, 2024 Chris Patten highlights the challenges mainstream parties face as they try to boost growth and improve public services.

  4. Britain’s Make-or-Break Election
    patten166_ Dan KitwoodGetty Images_uk election Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

    Britain’s Make-or-Break Election

    May 31, 2024 Chris Patten laments the absence of responsible leaders capable of addressing the country’s many daunting challenges.

  5. The West Must Not Let Putin Win
    patten165_Anastasia VlasovaGetty Images_ukraine war Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images

    The West Must Not Let Putin Win

    Apr 29, 2024 Chris Patten implores the US and Europe to continue supporting Ukraine’s fight for freedom with weapons and aid.

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  1. castaneda89_ALFREDO ESTRELLAAFP via Getty Images_amlo sheinbaum ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP via Getty Images

    Can Claudia Sheinbaum Escape AMLO’s Shadow?

    Guillermo Ortiz asks whether Mexico’s new president will govern as a pragmatist or embrace her predecessor’s populism.
  2. op_reedlangen7_Jemal CountessGetty Images for Court Accountability_supreme court Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Court Accountability

    America’s Broken Constitution

    Nicholas Reed Langen

    For America to address the glaring flaws in its constitutional order, it will need to move to a system where judicial decisions are made not by “Democratic judges” or “Republican judges,” but just by judges. No other liberal democracy allows for such a corrosively politicized appointment process.

    sees the country’s politicized Supreme Court as the biggest obstacle to addressing many other problems.
  3. castaneda90_ FEDERICO PARRAAFP via Getty Images_venezuela FEDERICO PARRA/AFP via Getty Images

    The Cuban Contingent Protecting Maduro

    Jorge G. Castañeda explains why the sham Venezuelan presidential election has not triggered a repeat of the 1958 military coup.
  4. posner26_Jaap ArriensNurPhoto via Getty Images_Google apple Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    Is Antitrust Enforcement Broken?

    Though antitrust enforcement has been gaining momentum on both sides of the Atlantic, a handful of private actors still wield extraordinary market power – and thus power over ordinary people’s lives. With some calling for more radical action, and others warning that reining in firms’ market power would be unhelpful and even harmful, we asked PS commentators what needs to be done.

  5. buberl1_ Nicolas EconomouNurPhoto via Getty Images_european commission Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    Europe and the Polycrisis

    Thomas Buberl argues that safeguarding the EU’s future demands a fundamental institutional transformation by 2045.
  6. rodrik227_Si WeiVCG via Getty Images_china solar panels Si Wei/VCG via Getty Images

    The Beggar-Thy-Neighbor Test

    Dani Rodrik explains how to steer international economic-policy debates toward what really matters.
  7. velasco152_Getty Images_economic paradign Getty Images

    Who Needs a New Economic Paradigm?

    Andrés Velasco asks what’s behind the ambition, on both the left and right, to promote a transformative vision of the field.
  8. rogoff254_Getty Images_inequality Getty Images

    Is Capitalism Really the Cause of Global Inequality?

    Kenneth Rogoff thinks greater economic openness is key to tackling cross-country disparities and achieving sustainability.
  9. pavlova2_andreswdGetty Images_EUsustainabilitymoney andreswd/Getty Images

    The Key That Unlocks Cleantech Financing in Europe

    Craig Douglas urges EU leaders to borrow against future Emissions Trading System revenues to finance higher investment now.

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