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Jan-Werner Mueller

Jan-Werner Mueller

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Jan-Werner Mueller, Professor of Politics at Princeton University, is the author, most recently, of Democracy Rules (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021; Allen Lane, 2021).

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  1. Can Journalists Be Activists?
    mueller43_ Mark WilsonGetty Images_journalism Mark WilsonGetty Images

    Can Journalists Be Activists?

    Apr 3, 2023 Jan-Werner Mueller thinks the traditional debate about the profession’s role in a democracy is largely missing the point.

  2. The Dilemma of Anti-Populism
    mueller42_CHP HandoutAnadolu Agency via Getty Images CHP /Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

    The Dilemma of Anti-Populism

    Mar 13, 2023 Jan-Werner Mueller examines the structural disadvantages faced by fragile opposition coalitions that challenge strongman rule.

  3. What Makes a Fascist?
    mueller41_ALBERTO PIZZOLIAFP via Getty Images_meloni ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images

    What Makes a Fascist?

    Nov 7, 2022 Jan-Werner Mueller explains the defining hallmarks of an otherwise shape-shifting political belief system.

  4. Why Populists Don’t Concede
    mueller40_Jim Lo Scalzo-PoolGetty Images_bolsonaro trump Jim Lo Scalzo-Pool/Getty Images

    Why Populists Don’t Concede

    Sep 28, 2022 Jan-Werner Mueller explains the political logic of fraudulently crying “fraud” in response to an electoral loss.

  5. The Treason of the Conservatives
    mueller39_ Beata ZawrzelNurPhoto via Getty Images_orban Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    The Treason of the Conservatives

    Apr 13, 2022 Jan-Werner Mueller explains why fans of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán have little problem with autocracy and theft.

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    Joseph S. Nye, Jr., on Chinese power, US politics, the new cold war, and more

    Joseph S. Nye, Jr. considers how China undermines its own soft power, traces the potential causes of a war over Taiwan, welcomes Europe’s embrace of “smart” power, and more.
  2. soros122_ARIS MESSINISAFP via Getty Images_ukrainewar Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images
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    Can Democracy Survive the Polycrisis?

    George Soros

    A Russian defeat in Ukraine, and a lessening of Sino-American tensions, may create room for world leaders to confront the challenges posed by artificial intelligence and climate change, both of which threaten to destroy our civilization. But for the world’s democracies, there is only a narrow and winding path that leads to this outcome.

     considers how world leaders will address the challenges posed by AI, climate change, and the war in Ukraine.
  3. delong252_ Spencer PlattGetty Images_USinequality Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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    Can America Escape Its Second Gilded Age?

    J. Bradford DeLong recalls how the country overcame a previous era of extreme income and wealth inequality.
  4. palacio145_JAVIER SORIANOAFP via Getty Images_sanchez JAVIER SORIANO/AFP via Getty Images
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    Can Spain Show European Leadership?

    Ana Palacio worries that a snap election will undermine the effectiveness of the country’s Council of the EU presidency.
  5. tharoor179_Ritesh ShuklaGetty Images_modirally Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images
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    The Modi Decade

    Shashi Tharoor assesses the sources of the Indian government's popularity, despite its mixed record over the last nine years.
  6. reichlin30_Omar HavanaGetty Images_commission proposal Omar Havana/Getty Images
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    The Fight Over EU Fiscal Reform

    Lucrezia Reichlin shows why the European Commission’s latest proposal, in contrast to its predecessor, solves nothing.
  7. sirleaf6_KOLA SULAIMONAFP via Getty Images_biodiversity africa KOLA SULAIMON/AFP via Getty Images
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    Governments Must Meet Their Biodiversity Pledges

    Ellen Johnson Sirleaf implores wealthy donor countries to deliver on the promises they made at COP15 to protect natural capital.
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    Revisiting the Behavioral Revolution in Economics

    Antara Haldar assesses the legacy of the intellectual challenge to the view that rational self-interest guides our actions.
  9. varoufakis104_Andrew LichtensteinCorbis via Getty Images_amazonunion Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
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    New AI Germ Busters Can Also Bust Unions

    Yanis Varoufakis shows how an AI-driven biomedical breakthrough could rob workers of what little power they have left.

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