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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. bildt109_JAAFAR ASHTIYEHAFP via Getty Images_israelpalestinewestbank Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP via Getty Images

    Hell in the Holy Land

    Carl Bildt fears that the stage is set for another major violent conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
  2. strain11_Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_fed Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    The Fed Must Not Flinch

    Michael R. Strain urges the US central bank to continue raising interest rates, despite signs of financial-sector fragility.
  3. sheng135_Carl CourtGetty Images_maldivesclimatechange Carl Court/Getty Images

    Reimagining Development

    Andrew Sheng & Xiao Geng argue that grassroots engagement and social enterprise are crucial to achieving countries' aspirations.
  4. goldberg22_ERIC BARADATAFP via Getty Images_world bank ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images

    What the World Bank Can Do About Climate Change

    Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg explains how the institution can maximize its contribution to the global net-zero agenda.
  5. GettyImages-1171447879

    Richard Haass on Russia, Taiwan, and US democracy

    Richard Haass explains what caused the Ukraine war, urges the West to scrutinize its economic dependence on China, proposes ways to reverse the dangerous deterioration of democracy in America, and more.
  6. buiter45_Jabin BotsfordThe Washington Post via Getty Image_jeromepowell Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

    Price Stability vs. Financial Stability?

    Willem H. Buiter

    If the US Federal Reserve raises its policy interest rate by as much as is necessary to rein in inflation, it will most likely further depress the market value of the long-duration securities parked on many banks' balance sheets. So be it.

    thinks central banks can achieve both, despite the occurrence of a liquidity crisis amid high inflation.
  7. frankel145_ Richard Baker  In Pictures via Getty Images_exchangerates Richard Baker/In Pictures via Getty Images

    Fifty Years of Floating Currencies

    Jeffrey Frankel

    The half-century since the official demise of the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates has shown the benefits of what replaced it. While some may feel nostalgic for the postwar monetary system, its collapse was inevitable, and what looked like failure has given rise to a remarkably resilient regime.

    explains why the shift toward exchange-rate flexibility after 1973 was not a policy failure, as many believed.
  8. harrington34_Drew AngererGetty Images_avril haines Drew Angerer/Getty Images

    What Do America’s Spies Really Think About China?

    Kent Harrington thinks the intelligence community’s annual threat assessment should have delved deeper on the issue.
  9. grafton2_ SIMON MAINAAFP via Getty Images_water SIMON MAINA/AFP via Getty Images

    Waking Up to the World’s Water Crisis

    Quentin Grafton, et al. see three overarching priorities for the first global water conference in almost a half-century.

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