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Ian Buruma

Ian Buruma

Writing for PS since 2001
194 commentaries

Ian Buruma is the author of numerous books, including Murder in Amsterdam: The Death of Theo Van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance, Year Zero: A History of 1945, A Tokyo Romance: A Memoir, and, most recently, The Churchill Complex: The Curse of Being Special, From Winston and FDR to Trump and Brexit (Penguin, 2020).

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  1. China’s Autocracy in Crisis
    buruma195_Kevin FrayerGetty Images_xijinping Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

    China’s Autocracy in Crisis

    Jan 9, 2023 Ian Buruma explains why the country’s political system, not COVID-19, is responsible for its pandemic-related distress.

  2. FIFA’s World Cup Follies
    buruma194_Eric VerhoevenSoccratesGetty Images_world cup Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates/Getty Images

    FIFA’s World Cup Follies

    Dec 7, 2022 Ian Buruma dives into the thicket of fatuousness, hypocrisy, and greed that the tournament has become.

  3. Should I Stay or Should I Go?
    buruma193_Daro SulakauriGetty Images_russians leaving Daro Sulakauri/Getty Images

    Should I Stay or Should I Go?

    Nov 4, 2022 Ian Buruma describes the dilemma faced by anyone deciding whether to leave their homeland for freedom outside it.

  4. Hide the Swastikas
    buruma192_JONATHAN NACKSTRANDAFP via Getty Images_sweden democrats JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images

    Hide the Swastikas

    Sep 29, 2022 Ian Buruma examines the renaissance and governing prospects of Europe’s far-right political parties.

  5. Free Speech Is Not a License to Kill
    buruma191_Johnny LouisGetty Images_salmanrushdie Johnny Louis/Getty Images

    Free Speech Is Not a License to Kill

    Aug 29, 2022 Ian Buruma argues that political and religious leaders who stoke hatred must bear some responsibility for the consequences.

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  1. neier64_ALEXANDER NEMENOVAFP via Getty Images_putinbrezhnev Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images
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    Putin’s Brezhnev Moment

    Aryeh Neier draws parallels between the regime’s ongoing crackdown on civil society and late Soviet repression.
  2. delong249_guoyaGetty Images_economicpie guoya/Getty Images
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    Utopia or Bust

    J. Bradford DeLong considers our options for both expanding and effectively slicing the proverbial economic pie.
  3. op_anheier13_CHRISTOF STACHEAFP via Getty Images_scholzbaerbockhabecklindner Christof Stache/AFP via Getty Images
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    Germany’s Reckoning

    Helmut K. Anheier

    Germany is now grappling with a host of difficult questions about its place in the world, the nature of its politics, and its most cherished values. For a pacifist society in a new age of conflict and war, everything must change if things are to remain the same.

     traces the contours of the country's debate, triggered by the Ukraine war, about its strategic future.
  4. coyle29_ Frank Rumpenhorstpicture alliance via Getty Images_chatgpt Frank Rumpenhorst/picture alliance via Getty Images
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    Preempting a Generative AI Monopoly

    Diane Coyle urges policymakers to take steps to counter the anti-competitive implications of a rapidly emerging market.
  5. nye238_Kevin DietschGetty Images_biden kishida Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
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    Japan’s Strategic Imperative

    Joseph S. Nye, Jr. sees the country doubling down on its best option for ensuring national security and regional stability.
  6. zhang59_JADE GAOAFP via Getty Images_chinahousing Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images
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    China’s Savings Conundrum

    Zhang Jun explains why – and how – the country must stimulate household consumption to achieve a robust recovery.
  7. BP inflation hawks China News Service / Contributor via Getty Images
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    The Flight of the Inflation Hawks

    Though the US Federal Reserve’s first interest-rate hike of 2023 is smaller than those that preceded it, policymakers have signaled that more increases are on the way, despite slowing price growth. But there is good reason to doubt the utility – and fear the consequences – of continued rate hikes, on both sides of the Atlantic.

  8. boly1_Giovanni MereghettiUCGUniversal Images Group via Getty Images_agriculture rwanda Giovanni Mereghetti/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
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    How to Transform African Agriculture

    Safia Boly & Omid Kassiri identify four principles that could help governments across the continent boost food security.
  9. borrell19_ FADEL SENNAAFP via Getty Images_ukrainewar Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images
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    Making Ukrainian Victory Possible

    Josep Borrell explains why continued military support and other forms of assistance remain critical.

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