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Ian Buruma

Ian Buruma

Writing for PS since 2001
190 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. 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.

  2. Trump’s True Believers
    buruma190_Andrew LichtensteinCorbis via Getty Images_USelectionprotest Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images

    Trump’s True Believers

    Aug 4, 2022 Ian Buruma explains the former US president’s continuing deep-rooted appeal to many Republicans.

  3. Catholics v. the Constitution
    buruma189_ Brooks Kraft LLCCorbis via Getty Images_supremecourtcatholicpriest Brooks Kraft/LLC/Corbis via Getty Images

    Catholics v. the Constitution

    Jun 30, 2022 Ian Buruma warns that a Supreme Court now controlled by religious radicals poses a grave threat to US institutions.

  4. Stop Blaming the Russian Soul
    buruma188_Julian FinneyGetty Images_russian tennis player banned Julian Finney/Getty Images

    Stop Blaming the Russian Soul

    Jun 7, 2022 Ian Buruma shows why attributing Vladimir Putin’s aggression to an essential national character is wrong and dangerous.

  5. Why Is Macron Hated?
    buruma187_y FRANCOIS MORIPOOLAFP via Getty Images_macron FRANCOIS MORI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

    Why Is Macron Hated?

    Apr 29, 2022 Ian Buruma argues that many voters’ visceral aversion to the French president reflects long-term shifts in party politics.

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  1. khapaeva4_ContributorGetty Images_putin Contributor/Getty Images
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    Putin’s New Nuclear Blackmail

    Dina Khapaeva

    There is no question that Vladimir Putin’s nuclear threats must be taken seriously. But if the West gives in to his blackmail and allows him to claim Ukrainian lands and declare victory in the war, then the world order as we know it will collapse, and many other peoples will look to the future with dread.

     urges Western leaders not to give in to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats.
  2. mueller40_Jim Lo Scalzo-PoolGetty Images_bolsonaro trump Jim Lo Scalzo-Pool/Getty Images
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    Why Populists Don’t Concede

    Jan-Werner Mueller explains the political logic of fraudulently crying “fraud” in response to an electoral loss.
  3. ito19_ RICHARD A. BROOKSAFP via Getty Images_boj yen depreciation RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images
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    The Challenge of Monetary Tightening

    Takatoshi Ito identifies the main risks raised by central banks’ efforts to rein in inflation.
  4. wagner12_ ArterraUniversal Images Group via Getty Images_melting polar ice Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
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    The High Stakes of Climate-Risk Accounting

    Gernot Wagner & Tom Brookes show why economists can no longer ignore the need for a far more comprehensive set of welfare indicators.
  5. elerian151_ Scott OlsonGetty Images_inflation Scott Olson/Getty Images
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    The Cost of the Fed’s Challenged Credibility

    Mohamed A. El-Erian

    After previously eschewing interest-rate hikes, the US Federal Reserve has been tightening monetary policy at an unprecedented rate. But the current market turmoil and the central bank’s own revised projections show that a great deal of damage has already been done.

     interprets the latest market tumult as the price of delaying monetary-policy tightening for too long.
  6. roach143_Drew AngererGetty Images_jerome powell Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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    Core Dangers for the Fed and China

    Stephen S. Roach thinks the US central bank and Chinese governance share a conceptual weakness leading to major policy blunders.
  7. haldar13_Jens Büttnerpicture alliance via Getty Images Jens Büttner/picture alliance via Getty Images
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    Amazon’s Satanic Mills

    Antara Haldar sees recent unionization efforts as a welcome response to an unethical and inhumane business model.
  8. asadullah12_SAEED KHANAFP via Getty Images_malaysia migration SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images
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    Asia’s Captive Market for Migrant Labor

    M. Niaz Asadullah highlights how an entrenched alliance of politicians, bureaucrats, and business elites is exploiting workers.
  9. sheng129_ROSLAN RAHMANAFP via Getty Images_asean cooperation ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images
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    In Search of a Development Plan for Asia

    Andrew Sheng & Xiao Geng argue that bottom-up institutions – not top-down strategies – are the key to regional integration.

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