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Jan-Werner Mueller

Jan-Werner Mueller

51 commentaries

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. Mainstreaming the Far Right
    op_mueller4_Sean GallupGetty Images_afd Sean Gallup/Getty Images

    Mainstreaming the Far Right

    Oct 20, 2023 Jan-Werner Mueller debunks the conventional wisdom about a bottom-up “populist wave” sweeping Western democracies.

  2. Democracies Are Not “Backsliding”
    mueller47_VLADIMIR SIMICEKAFP via Getty Images_robertfico Vladimir Simicek/AFP via Getty Images

    Democracies Are Not “Backsliding”

    Sep 27, 2023 Jan-Werner Mueller thinks the language commonly used to describe the shift toward authoritarianism is hampering solutions.

  3. The Siren Song of Climate Authoritarianism
    mueller46_DARREN HULLAFP via Getty Images_canada wildfires DARREN HULLAFP via Getty Images

    The Siren Song of Climate Authoritarianism

    Sep 14, 2023 Jan-Werner Mueller explains why messy, slow-moving democracy is still the best system for tackling global warming.

  4. Can Local Journalism Be Saved?
    mueller44_William Thomas CainGetty Images_local news philadelphia William Thomas Cain/Getty Images

    Can Local Journalism Be Saved?

    Jun 18, 2023 Jan-Werner Mueller concludes that reviving the institution will require abandoning the current focus on material resources.

  5. Seats of Power
    mueller45_Sonu MehtaHindustan Times via Getty Images_indiaparliament Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

    Seats of Power

    Jun 12, 2023 Jan-Werner Mueller surveys how the design of legislative chambers represents – and facilitates – the political regime.

  1. The symbol of the Euro Hannelore Foerster/Getty Images
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    The New Normal for Central Banks

    Lucrezia Reichlin asks why the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank keep providing liquidity directly to banks.
  2. benami208_FADEL SENNAAFP via Getty Images_israel palestine FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images
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    The False Choice Between Palestinian and Jewish Liberation

    Shlomo Ben-Ami

    The prevailing narrative that frames Israel as a colonial power suppressing Palestinians’ struggle for statehood grossly oversimplifies a complicated conflict and inadvertently vindicates the region’s most oppressive regimes. Achieving a durable, lasting peace requires moving beyond such facile analogies.

     rejects the facile moralism of those who view the ongoing war through the narrow lens of decolonization.
  3. buruma208_Patrick van KatwijkBSR AgencyGetty Images_wilders1 Patrick van KatwijkBSR AgencyGetty Images
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    The Rage of the Outsiders

    Ian Buruma

    The far-right populist Geert Wilders’ election victory in the Netherlands reflects the same sentiment that powered Brexit and Donald Trump’s candidacy in 2016. But such outcomes could not happen without the cynicism displayed over the past few decades by traditional conservative parties.

     shows what Geert Wilders has in common with other ultra-nationalist politicians, past and present.
  4. bp gaza Photo by SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images
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    Protecting Gaza’s Children

    Nurul Izzah Anwar & Yolanda Augustin urge the international community to support the young Palestinians bearing the brunt of the war.
  5. nkhan1_Allison JoyceGetty Images_bangladesh Allison Joyce/Getty Images
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    Loss and Damage as a Common Climate Cause

    Naveeda Khan explains why so many developing countries have not balked at a major oil producer hosting COP28.
  6. khrushcheva173_MAXIM MARMURAFP via Getty Images_russian inmates MAXIM MARMUR/AFP via Getty Images
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    Putin’s Killer Patriotism

    Nina L. Khrushcheva highlights the Kremlin’s growing dependence on violent criminals to fight its war in Ukraine.
  7. fofack21_EDUARDO SOTERASAFP via Getty Images_ethiopiawheat Eduardo Soteras/AFP via Getty Images
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    The Technologies African Farmers Need

    Hippolyte Fofack urges policymakers to follow Ethiopia’s lead and invest in irrigation, mechanization, and fertilizers.
  8. hausmann105Gaston Brito MiserocchiGetty Images_lithium bolivia Gaston Brito Miserocchi/Getty Images
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    Hard Truths About Green Industrial Policy

    Ilias Alami, et al. warn that win-win narratives obscure the difficult trade-offs involved in state-led decarbonization projects.
  9. powell1_Michael JacobsArt in All of UsCorbis via Getty Images_EUflag Michael Jacobs/Art in All of Us/Corbis via Getty Images
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    Making European Strategic Autonomy Work

    Charles Powell, et al. assess the strengths and weaknesses of a major new policy and strategy blueprint.

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