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Ian Buruma

Ian Buruma

Writing for PS since 2001
192 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. Should I Stay or Should I Go?
    buruma193_Daro SulakauriGetty Images_russians leaving Daro Sulakauri/Getty Images

    Should I Stay or Should I Go?

    Nov 4, 2022 Ian Buruma describes the dilemma faced by anyone deciding whether to leave their homeland for freedom outside it.

  2. Hide the Swastikas
    buruma192_JONATHAN NACKSTRANDAFP via Getty Images_sweden democrats JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images

    Hide the Swastikas

    Sep 29, 2022 Ian Buruma examines the renaissance and governing prospects of Europe’s far-right political parties.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

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  1. sierakowski91_Omar MarquesGetty Images_ukrainian refugees Omar Marques/Getty Images
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    Resentment on the Western Front

    Sławomir Sierakowski thinks the Polish public needs a more open and honest conversation about refugees before resentment spirals.
  2. vives17_ Leon NealGetty Images_ftx Leon Neal/Getty Images
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    Crypto’s Well-Worn Path to Crisis

    Xavier Vives writes that, despite the novelty of the assets, the narrative of FTX’s collapse was established long ago.
  3. roubini171_Spencer PlattGetty Images_recession looming Spencer Platt/Getty Images
    7

    The Unavoidable Crash

    Nouriel Roubini anticipates a stagflationary debt crisis, owing to a dangerous combination of inflation and over-borrowing.
  4. nye236_SAUL LOEBAFP via Getty Images_biden xi SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
    1

    War Over Taiwan?

    Joseph S. Nye, Jr. considers whether a deterrence arrangement that has worked for 50 years is still sufficient.
  5. op_livingston1_Anna MoneymakerGetty Images_fed Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
    2

    The Contested Fed

    James Livingston

    By all accounts, central banks – particularly the Fed, because the dollar is still the world’s dominant currency – already act as investment authorities. But their recent bailouts have exacerbated economic inequality, and have done little or nothing to address climate change.

     reviews three books that, each in its own way, reveal a central truth about the world’s leading central bank.
  6. pisaniferry140_Sean GallupGetty Images_cop27 Sean GallupGetty Images
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    The Economics of Mainstreaming Climate Action

    Jean Pisani-Ferry & Selma Mahfouz identify the risks and short-term costs associated with the energy transition over the next decade.
  7. haldar15_ Tayfun CoskunAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_twitter Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
    2

    Killing Twitter

    Antara Haldar explains what Elon Musk fundamentally misunderstands about the platform – and about free speech.
  8. emmott41_musk
    2

    The Napoleons of Big Tech

    Bill Emmott

    Recent events in the technology sector suggest that investors and lenders should be demanding a premium to cover the risk that a star entrepreneur will become an egomaniacal dictator. With each business cycle, it seems, old lessons must be relearned.

     sees in the industry’s harsh reckoning this year lessons that apparently can’t be learned often enough.
  9. BP - ftx NurPhoto / Contributor via Getty Images
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    The Crypto Emperor’s New Clothes

    The collapse of several crypto platforms this year – including the spectacular crash of the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, FTX – has raised fundamental questions about the credibility of a digital innovation once hailed as the key to democratizing finance. Has crypto finally been exposed as a scam, or will a new, stronger crypto industry emerge from the current turmoil?

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