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Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

Writing for PS since 2002
242 commentaries
3 videos & podcasts

Joseph S. Nye, Jr., a professor at Harvard University and a former US assistant secretary of defense, is the author, most recently, of Do Morals Matter? Presidents and Foreign Policy from FDR to Trump (Oxford University Press, 2020).

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  1. Popping China’s Balloon
    nye239_ Ryan SeelbachU.S. Navy via Getty Images Ryan Seelbach/U.S. Navy via Getty Images

    Popping China’s Balloon

    Mar 2, 2023 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. explains how the United States should, and should not, be thinking about its main geopolitical rival.

  2. Japan’s Strategic Imperative
    nye238_Kevin DietschGetty Images_biden kishida Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

    Japan’s Strategic Imperative

    Feb 2, 2023 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. sees the country doubling down on its best option for ensuring national security and regional stability.

  3. Peak China?
    nye237_ Kevin FrayerGetty Images_china zero covid Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

    Peak China?

    Jan 3, 2023 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. considers the country’s long-term prospects of competing with America following its latest stumbles.

  4. A Diplomatic Winter?
    YA2023_predictions_getty images Getty Images

    A Diplomatic Winter?

    Dec 12, 2022 Oscar Arias, et al. consider what the events of 2022 say about the future of peacemaking and diplomacy.

  5. War Over Taiwan?
    nye236_SAUL LOEBAFP via Getty Images_biden xi SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

    War Over Taiwan?

    Dec 2, 2022 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. considers whether a deterrence arrangement that has worked for 50 years is still sufficient.

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  1. zizek16_ Frank Rumpenhorstpicture alliance via Getty Images_chatbot Frank Rumpenhorst/picture alliance via Getty Images

    Artificial Idiocy

    Slavoj Žižek

    The problem with the new chatbots is not just that they are often stupid and naive; it is that they are not “stupid” or “naive” enough to pick up on the nuances, ironies, and revealing contradictions that constitute human culture and communication. Worse, by relying on them, we risk succumbing to the same obtuseness.

    fears that the rise of powerful chatbots will spell the death of irony and nuance in human thought.
  2. kabubomariara1_Per-Anders Pettersson  Contributor Getty Images_research africa Per-Anders Pettersson / Contributor Getty Images

    Localizing Development Research

    Julia Kaufman & Jane Kabubo-Mariara explain why funders should be providing more long-term resources to researchers in developing countries.
  3. eeckhout1_Feature ChinaFuture Publishing via Getty Images_digitalrenminbi Feature China/Future Publishing via Getty Images

    The Simplest Fix for Banking

    Jan Eeckhout

    Following the latest banking crisis, monetary authorities should seriously consider how modern digital technologies could be used to avert such problems in the future. A central bank digital currency would both eliminate many barriers to financial transactions and end the risk of bank runs once and for all.

    explains how central bank digital currencies would end bank runs and banks' excessive risk-taking.
  4. chellaney161_ARUN SANKARAFP via Getty Images_blinken lavrov ARUN SANKAR/AFP via Getty Images

    America’s Interest in Ending the Ukraine Crisis

    Brahma Chellaney explains why prolonging the conflict risks realizing the West’s worst geopolitical nightmare.
  5. krueger61_Tom WilliamsCQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images_Intelsemicronductors Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

    America’s Industrial Policy Is Counterproductive

    Anne O. Krueger laments that the Biden administration is adding red tape to an inefficient subsidy program.
  6. braham1_YURI CORTEZAFP via Getty Images_informal workers YURI CORTEZ/AFP via Getty Images

    Who Gets Squeezed by Austerity?

    Christy Braham urges governments to reject calls for budget cuts and invest in the welfare of billions of vulnerable workers.
  7. davies85_ Justin SullivanGetty Images_sanfranciscofed Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    America’s Financial Regulatory System Is Still Broken

    Howard Davies laments that the post-2008 Dodd-Frank reforms left in place a framework riddled with structural shortcomings.
  8. fayolle3_MUNIR UZ ZAMANAFP via Getty Images_drinking water MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images

    The Water Crisis Is a Vital Investment Opportunity

    Ambroise Fayolle & Henk Ovink calls for new thinking about how we value the planet’s most important natural resource.
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    PS Events: What Economics Is Missing

    PS editors present the What Economics is Missing event.

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