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James A. Robinson

James A. Robinson

8 commentaries

James A. Robinson, Institute Director of the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts, is University Professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. He is the co-author (with Daron Acemoglu) of The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty, and Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty.

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  1. Why Taiwan Matters
    acemoglu51_ Central News AgencyHandoutGetty Images_pelositaiwan Central News Agency/Handout/Getty Images

    Why Taiwan Matters

    Aug 9, 2022 Daron Acemoglu & James A. Robinson see the island as evidence against culturally deterministic explanations of authoritarianism and democracy.

  2. Why Trumpian Populism Failed
    jarobinson7_Joe RaedleGetty Images_trump cpac rally Joe Raedle/Getty Images

    Why Trumpian Populism Failed

    Mar 9, 2021 James A. Robinson shows how US democratic institutions prevailed, and why they remain vulnerable to wannabe autocrats.

  3. How to Stem Ukraine’s Corruption
    acemoglu11_Spencer PlattGetty Images_ukrainegirlflowerstape Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    How to Stem Ukraine’s Corruption

    Oct 14, 2019 Daron Acemoglu & James A. Robinson show that it takes a society-wide effort for countries to escape the grip of kleptocratic institutions.

  4. The Constitution Won’t Save American Democracy
    acemoglu10_Brendan SmialowskiGetty Images_constitution Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

    The Constitution Won’t Save American Democracy

    Sep 24, 2019 Daron Acemoglu & James A. Robinson argue that only social mobilization can remove the threat President Donald Trump poses to US institutions.

  5. Istanbul Shows How Democracy Is Won
    acemoglu8_ Burak KaraGetty Images_imamoglu istanbul Burak Kara/Getty Images

    Istanbul Shows How Democracy Is Won

    Jun 25, 2019 Daron Acemoglu & James A. Robinson draw lessons from the opposition's victory over Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s authoritarian party.

  1. rogoff231_Tom WilliamsCQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images_ftxbankman-fried Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
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    Will Crypto Survive?

    Kenneth Rogoff assesses the strategies regulators could adopt in the aftermath of the FTX debacle.
  2. spence156_SAUL LOEBAFP via Getty Images_bidenxi Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
    5

    Done With Deglobalization?

    Michael Spence sees reason to hope that the scales may soon tip back from international confrontation to cooperation.
  3. velasco131_Chris McGrathGetty Images_bitcoin Chris McGrath/Getty Images
    1

    The Unbearable Uselessness of Crypto

    Andrés Velasco explains why FTX's collapse should sink a hyped-up lie bobbing on an ocean of libertarian technobabble.
  4. sinn107_Sean GallupGetty Images_germanyenergycoal Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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    Is Germany Sick Again?

    Hans-Werner Sinn pours cold water on the fantasy that European economies can weather gas shortages with minimal pain.
  5. op_stiglitz6_Anna MoneymakerGetty Images_USabortionprotest Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
    2

    America's Silent Progressive Majority

    Joseph E. Stiglitz

    Now that the American electorate appears to have rejected Republican extremism, many will argue that US President Joe Biden and the Democrats should tack right to capture centrist voters. But this would be a mistake, given where voters' preferences increasingly lie.

     considers what the midterm election results indicate about voters' real priorities.
  6. jlevy2_Geo. P. Hall & SonThe New York Historical SocietyGetty Images_railroad Geo. P. Hall & Son/The New York Historical Society/Getty Images
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    Big Tech Gets Derailed

    Jonathan Levy traces the origins of the sector's recent turmoil to the nineteenth-century rise of the corporation.
  7. BQ – West Give in to Russia NurPhoto / Contributor via Getty Images
    1

    Will the West Give in to Russia?

    From soaring inflation to a deepening energy crisis, the United States and Europe are facing no shortage of economic challenges, and Russia’s war against Ukraine – and the sanctions imposed in response to it – bears much of the blame. As Russia launches new rounds of missile attacks, we asked PS commentators what the West should be doing for Ukraine – and how likely it is to do it.

  8. varoufakis97_SAMUEL CORUMAFP via Getty Images_musktwitter Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images
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    The Techno-Feudal Method to Musk’s Twitter Madness

    Yanis Varoufakis explains that the issue is neither vanity nor public service, but rather the need to acquire cloud capital.
  9. tmeyer2_Drew AngererGetty Images_supremecourtclimateprotest Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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    The Case for Mandating Climate-Risk Disclosure

    Timothy Meyer, et al. defend the legal and economic justification for the US Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed new rule.

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