Skip to main content

Chris Patten

Chris Patten

Writing for PS since 2000
172 commentaries
3 videos & podcasts

Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong and a former EU commissioner for external affairs, is Chancellor of the University of Oxford and the author of The Hong Kong Diaries (Allen Lane, 2022).

Sort by: Show:
  1. Can the Liberal International Order Survive Without America?
    patten172_Scott OlsonGetty Images_trump Scott Olson/Getty Images

    Can the Liberal International Order Survive Without America?

    Feb 5, 2025 Chris Patten urges Western countries to safeguard the institutions that have underpinned their postwar stability.

  2. China Won’t Save Labour’s Britain
    patten171_WPA PoolGettyImages_starmer_xi WPA Pool/Getty Images

    China Won’t Save Labour’s Britain

    Dec 31, 2024 Chris Patten urges British policymakers to focus instead on crafting polices that really can promote economic recovery.

  3. The Sources of Japanese Resilience
    patten170_YUICHI YAMAZAKIAFP via Getty Images_japan Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP via Getty Images

    The Sources of Japanese Resilience

    Dec 6, 2024 Chris Patten emphasizes the country’s ability to avoid the divisive politics currently plaguing other liberal democracies.

  4. The New Threat to Free Speech
    patten169_EVARISTO SAAFP via Getty Images_twitter EVARISTO SA/AFP via Getty Images

    The New Threat to Free Speech

    Sep 19, 2024 Chris Patten highlights governments’ struggle to manage online extremism while upholding a fundamental right.

  5. The Enduring Lessons of Stalin’s Wartime Endgame
    patten168_PhotoQuestGetty Images_post ww2 PhotoQuest/Getty Images

    The Enduring Lessons of Stalin’s Wartime Endgame

    Aug 21, 2024 Chris Patten reflects on how the events leading up to the end of World War II helped shape today’s international order.

Follow Chris Patten

Never miss a commentary by Chris Patten

  1. tbunde7_Johannes SimonGetty Images_vance Johannes Simon/Getty Images

    A Westless World

    Tobias Bunde reflects on this year's Munich Security Conference and America's break from the transatlantic alliance.
  2. broning14_Maja HitijGetty Images_merz Maja Hitij/Getty Images

    Germany’s Last-Chance Election

    Michael Bröning

    With German voters clearly demanding comprehensive change, the far right has been capitalizing on the public's discontent and benefiting from broader global political trends. If the country's democratic parties cannot deliver, they may soon find that they are no longer the mainstream.

    explains why the outcome may decide whether the political “firewall” against the far right can hold.
  3. popescu6_ZinchenkoGlobal Images Ukraine via Getty Images)_ukrainepeace Zinchenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

    The Only Path to Genuine Peace in Ukraine

    Nicu Popescu

    The Russian and (now) American vision of "peace" in Ukraine would be no peace at all. The immediate task for Europe is not only to navigate Donald’s Trump unilateral pursuit of a settlement, but also to ensure that any deal does not increase the likelihood of an even wider war.

    sees a Korea-style armistice with security guarantees as the only viable option in Ukraine.
  4. asakawa3_PoolGettyImages_hindu_kush_glacial_melt Pool/Getty Images

    Meltdown at the Top of the World

    Masatsugu Asakawa urges development banks to act urgently to avert the catastrophic effects of the Himalayas’ thawing glaciers.
  5. frieda19_AnadoluGettyImages_russia_us_peace_talks Anadolu/Getty Images

    The Economic Consequences of Trump’s Ukrainian Peace

    Gene Frieda

    Rather than engage in lengthy discussions to pry concessions from Russia, US President Donald Trump seems committed to giving the Kremlin whatever it wants to end the Ukraine war. But rewarding the aggressor and punishing the victim would amount to setting the stage for the next war.

    warns that by punishing the victim, the US is setting up Europe for another war.
  6. oneill128in McNameeGetty Images_trump Win McNamee/Getty Images

    There Goes America

    Within his first month back in the White House, Donald Trump has upended US foreign policy and launched an all-out assault on the country’s constitutional order. With US institutions bowing or buckling as the administration takes executive power to unprecedented extremes, the establishment of an authoritarian regime cannot be ruled out.

  7. op_janeway18_DrAfter123Getty Images_AI DrAfter123/Getty Images

    In AI We Trust?

    William H. Janeway

    The rapid advance of AI might create the illusion that we have created a form of algorithmic intelligence capable of understanding us as deeply as we understand one another. But these systems will always lack the essential qualities of human intelligence.

    explains why even cutting-edge innovations are not immune to the world’s inherent unpredictability.
  8. strain36_Michael M. SantiagoGettyImages_ny_stock_exchange Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

    How Trump Can Achieve Sustained Growth

    Michael R. Strain foresees the US president building on a strong economy, so long as he steers clear of populist policies.
  9. schwarzer9_Telmo PintoSOPA ImagesLightRocket via Getty Images_macronstarmer Telmo Pinto/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

    Europe Alone

    Daniela Schwarzer explains what the European Union must do now that America has walked away from the transatlantic relationship.

Edit Newsletter Preferences

Set up Notification

To receive email updates regarding this {entity_type}, please enter your email below.

If you are not already registered, this will create a PS account for you. You should receive an activation email shortly.