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James A. Robinson

James A. Robinson

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James A. Robinson, a 2024 Nobel laureate in economics and 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. hamada69_The Washington PostGettyImages_trump_speech The Washington Post/Getty Images
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    Countering Trump’s Politics of Fear

    Koichi Hamada calls for a new set of policies that responds to, rather than dismisses, US voters’ legitimate fears.
  2. galen5_Andrew HarnikGetty Images_trumpcongress Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
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    Where Are the Democrats?

    Reed Galen lambasts the party for sitting by and watching America implode, in the misguided hope of winning the midterms.
  3. moyo34_Spencer PlattGetty Images_NYSE Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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    Signs of a US Recession

    Dambisa Moyo catalogues several indicators suggesting that the world's largest economy is headed for a slump.
  4. goldberg32_Spencer PlattGetty Images_USshipping Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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    Trump’s Trade War

    Less than two months into his second presidency, Donald Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on America’s three largest trading partners, with much more to come. This strategy not only lacks any credible theoretical foundations; it is putting the US on a path toward irrevocable economic and geopolitical decline.

  5. ruf1_MANAURE QUINTEROAFP via Getty Images_data center Manaure Quintero/AFP via Getty Images
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    Why Frugal AI Alone Won’t Fix AI’s Energy Problem

    Boris Ruf explains why shifting the responsibility for reducing AI’s carbon footprint to end users is counterproductive.
  6. GettyImages-2176801438 TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP via Getty Images
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    The Global South’s Path to Economic Resilience

    Anwar Ibrahim

    Today's profound global uncertainty is not some accident of history or consequence of values-free technologies. Rather, it reflects the will of rival great powers that continue to ignore the seminal economic and social changes underway in other parts of the world.

     explains how Malaysia and other middle powers are navigating increasingly uncertain geopolitical terrain.
  7. buchholz23_UCGGettyImages_ozempic_wegovy UCG/Getty Images
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    America’s “HIP” Economy

    Todd G. Buchholz sees developments and breakthroughs in health, information, and power as grounds for optimism.
  8. velasco157_Robert GauthierLos Angeles Times via Getty Images_USborder Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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    Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

    Andrés Velasco reflects on the tragic fate of the country that took him in as a teenage refugee from Augusto Pinochet's Chile.
  9. chellaney185_Charly TriballeauGettyImages_unga_russia_ukraine_vote Charly Triballeau/Getty Images
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    The Global Divide Over the Ukraine War

    Brahma Chellaney urges all parties to adopt a realistic approach to a deadlocked conflict and negotiate accordingly.

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