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Michael Ignatieff

Michael Ignatieff

8 commentaries
1 videos & podcasts

Michael Ignatieff, Professor of History and Rector Emeritus of Central European University in Vienna, is a former Canadian politician and author of On Consolation: Finding Solace in Dark Times (Metropolitan Books, 2021) and Isaiah Berlin: A Life (Pushkin Press, 2023).

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  1. The Threat to American Hegemony Is Real
    ignatieff6_VLADIMIR ASTAPKOVICHSPUTNIKAFP via Getty Images_putinxi Vladimir Astapkovich/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images

    The Threat to American Hegemony Is Real

    Mar 5, 2024 Michael Ignatieff warns that Russia and China could have a unique opportunity to mount a serious challenge to the West.

  2. Universal Values at Bay
    ignatieff5_Eduardo Munoz-PoolGetty Images_UN Eduardo Munoz-Pool/Getty Images

    Universal Values at Bay

    Dec 15, 2023 Michael Ignatieff explains what it will take for the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to prevail.

  3. Making or Breaking Democracy
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    Making or Breaking Democracy

    Dec 11, 2023 Michael Ignatieff worries that America’s internal divisions will weaken global stability in the runup to the November election.

  4. The Question of Collaboration
    op_ignatieff2_Heinrich Hoffmannullstein bild via Getty Images_HitlerPetain Heinrich Hoffmannullstein bild via Getty Images

    The Question of Collaboration

    Jul 28, 2023 Michael Ignatieff asks what those who cooperated with the enemy in World War II reveal about those who behave similarly today.

  5. A Better Year for Democracy?
    whatley9_Getty Images Getty Images

    A Better Year for Democracy?

    Jun 22, 2022 Timothy Garton Ash, Michael Ignatieff, Kati Marton, Nanjala Nyabola, Anne-Marie Slaughter agree or disagree with the idea that liberal democratic principles and institutions will fare well in 2022.

  1. deryugina1_BEN BIRCHALLPOOLAFP via Getty Images_ukraineflagsoldier Ben Birchall/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

    Ukraine Is Far From Doomed

    Tatyana Deryugina & Anastassia Fedyk

    When comparing Ukraine’s situation in 2024 to Europe’s in 1941, Russia’s defeat seems entirely possible. But it will require the West, and the US in particular, to put aside domestic political squabbles and muster the political will to provide Ukraine with consistent and robust military and financial assistance.

    compare Russia's full-scale invasion to World War II and see reason to hope – as long as aid keeps flowing.
  2. glennerster2_Scott OlsonGetty Images)_vaccines Scott Olson/Getty Images)

    The Pandemic Financing Developing Countries Need

    Rachel Glennerster urges multilateral development banks to establish mechanisms that enable at-risk vaccine purchases.
  3. krueger74_AFP via Getty Images_nigercoup AFP via Getty Images

    The Geopolitics of Africa’s Debt Crisis

    Anne O. Krueger urges developed countries to back efforts by the IMF and the World Bank to promote growth-enhancing reforms.
  4. palacio156_ Georg Moritzpicture alliance via Getty Images_immigation Georg Moritz/picture alliance via Getty Images

    Why the EU’s New Migration Pact Matters

    Ana Palacio applauds the pragmatic coalition-building, especially by Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, that enabled the deal.
  5. kirchschlager1_Fatih AktasAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_AI Fatih AktasAnadolu Agency via Getty Images

    AI Needs UN Oversight

    Peter G. Kirchschläger calls for the creation of a watchdog – similar to the IAEA – that employs a human rights-based approach.
  6. chellaney_VCGVCG via Getty Images_china military VCG/VCG via Getty Images

    The West Is Hastening Its Own Decline

    Brahma Chellaney argues that the unprecedented US and European sanctions against Russia are backfiring.
  7. zizek29_Sebastian Gollnowpicture alliance via Getty Images_palestine congress germany Sebastian Gollnowpicture alliance via Getty Images

    Canceling Palestine

    Slavoj Žižek

    Current debates about Israeli policy are rife with double standards, leading to absurd decisions like Germany’s recent cancellation of a pro-Palestinian gathering. By quashing legitimate speech and assembly, an Israel-aligned establishment risks inciting precisely the kind of anti-Semitism that it wants to prevent.

    worries that the double standards applied on Israel’s behalf will lead to an anti-Semitic backlash.
  8. ackerman2_Brian van der Brug  Los Angeles Times via Getty Images_preschool Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

    America’s Childcare Is Unfit for the Postmodern Age

    Bruce Ackerman urges US President Joe Biden to put universal preschool at the center of his re-election campaign.
  9. acemoglu72_ Hulton ArchiveGetty Images_cottonhandweaving Hulton Archive/Getty Images

    History Already Tells Us the Future of AI

    Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson find policy lessons for the 2020s in the work of the early-nineteenth-century economist David Ricardo.

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