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Ramesh Thakur

Ramesh Thakur

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Ramesh Thakur, a former United Nations assistant secretary-general, is Emeritus Professor at the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University. He is the author of The United Nations, Peace and Security: From Collective Security to the Responsibility to Protect. 

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  1. Why Australia Is Burning
    thakur11_Sam MooyGetty Images_australiabushfiremen Sam Mooy/Getty Images

    Why Australia Is Burning

    Jan 9, 2020 Ramesh Thakur argues that the immediate cause of severe bushfires is not climate change, but rather poor land management.

  2. Progressive Phonies
    op_thakur2_ PRAKASH SINGHAFPGetty Images_trudeau Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images

    Progressive Phonies

    Sep 27, 2019 Ramesh Thakur argues that rampant virtue signaling has made the left increasingly vulnerable to moral hypocrisy.

  3. India’s Bad Bet in Kashmir
    Kashmir unrest_AAMIR QURESHI_AFP_Getty Images Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images.

    India’s Bad Bet in Kashmir

    Aug 7, 2019 Ramesh Thakur worries that the removal of the disputed territory's special status will spark a new wave of violence.

  4. New Zealand’s Loss of Innocence
    thakur9_MICHAEL BRADLEYAFPGetty Images Michael Bradley/AFP/Getty Images

    New Zealand’s Loss of Innocence

    Mar 17, 2019 Ramesh Thakur suggests that the killer of 50 Muslim worshipers had two reasons for choosing Christchurch.

  5. India’s Trifecta of Failure
    children education rural india In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty Images

    India’s Trifecta of Failure

    Feb 20, 2019 Ramesh Thakur says the Modi government's latest caste-based policies highlight deeply entrenched national shortcomings.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. benami223_Picture AllianceGettyImages_merz_kyiv Picture Alliance/Getty Images
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    Europe Confronts the Ghosts of History

    Shlomo Ben-Ami highlights just how profound a transformation European – especially German – rearmament represents.
  5. basu110_Joe RaedleGetty Images_UScanadatariffs Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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    Trump’s Self-Inflicted Trade Disaster

    Kaushik Basu

    US President Donald Trump’s import tariffs have triggered a wave of retaliatory measures, setting off a trade war with key partners and raising fears of a global downturn. But while Trump’s protectionism and erratic policy shifts could have far-reaching implications, the greatest victim is likely to be the United States itself.

     warns that the new administration’s protectionism resembles the strategy many developing countries once tried.
  6. pistor40_INA FASSBENDERAFP via Getty Images_merz Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images
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    The End of Germany’s Economic Delusions?

    Katharina Pistor

    It took a pandemic and the threat of war to get Germany to dispense with the two taboos – against debt and monetary financing of budgets – that have strangled its governments for decades. Now, it must join the rest of Europe in offering a positive vision of self-sufficiency and an “anti-fascist economic policy.”

     welcomes the apparent departure from two policy taboos that have strangled the country's investment.
  7. eichengreen201_Spencer PlattGettyImages_jay_powell Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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    The Fed, the Fund, and the Bank in Trump’s Crosshairs

    Barry Eichengreen explains why the US president’s second administration, unlike his first, is targeting all three.
  8. gros196_NurPhotoGettyImages_von_der_leyen_zelensky NurPhoto/Getty Images
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    Europe Can Easily Safeguard Ukraine

    Daniel Gros points out that the EU, the UK, and Norway have all they need to keep Russia at bay, without help from the US.
  9. roubini193_iamginimaGetty Images_northamericatrade imaginima/Getty Images
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    Toward a North American Economic Union

    Nouriel Roubini explains why Canada, Mexico, and the United States should pursue EU-style integration.

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