Project Syndicate

Europe Cannot Avoid an AI Reckoning Soňa Muzikárová thinks the bloc's regulatory acumen means little without a much larger stake in the industry.

For too long, Europe has treated AI as an afterthought, refining legal definitions while continuing to rely on foreign cloud capacity, chips, and foundation models, Soňa Muzikárová warns. bit.ly/4akjzfy

The Super Bowl of Prediction Markets Scott Duke Kominers explains how to make the most of a powerful tool for allocating resources and aggregating information.

When prediction markets work well, they can have significant benefits relative to other methods of forecasting, Scott Duke Kominers argues. bit.ly/4rzhi78

Brother Trump Grzegorz Kwiatkowski explores, with the writer Thomas Mann, how the authoritarian temptation resides in all of us.

In Trump’s America, the key question isn’t what actually happened but whose version gets amplified on social media. The fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis is a case in point, writes Grzegorz Kwiatkowski. bit.ly/4rBl28b

Timing Africa’s Debt Restructuring Vera Songwe argues that prolonged negotiations are leaving African countries highly vulnerable to external developments.

Ethiopia’s experience illustrates how protracted debt-restructuring negotiations can allow manageable liquidity challenges to escalate into severe solvency crises, explains Vera Songwe. bit.ly/3ZGZADb

Trump Is Not All Wrong About Mexico Guillermo Ortiz urges the Trump administration to focus on revealing organized crime’s links to the ruling Morena party.

If Donald Trump is serious about targeting the cartels in Mexico, he should focus on revealing their links to Morena politicians, rather than pushing for military action, writes Guillermo Ortiz. bit.ly/46AsSqB

The Biggest Mistake Warsh Could Make Desmond Lachman worries that, while the next Fed chair may handle the AI revolution well, he could compound bond-market risks.

After an unprecedented rally, gold fell 10% following the announcement of Kevin Warsh as Donald Trump's nominee to succeed Jerome Powell as US Federal Reserve chair, observes Desmond Lachman. Will markets' faith in Warsh turn out to be misplaced? bit.ly/3ZlPTtC

Trump Is No Game Theorist Koichi Hamada highlights a fundamental flaw in the US president’s tariff policy, particularly with regard to China.

When the US raises tariffs on close allies, such as Japan and the EU, it can leverage the security guarantees on which they depend to discourage them from retaliating, notes Koichi Hamada. The same is not true for China. bit.ly/4ajn3PF

India’s Middle-Power Dilemma Ajay Shah thinks the country will remain focused on preserving strategic autonomy, even if it means continued isolation.

Donald Trump’s revival of “America First” isolationism has confirmed Indian skeptics’ arguments that the West is unreliable, and that “strategic autonomy” is India’s only safe harbor, writes Ajay Shah. bit.ly/4aFie3p

New World Order or Bust Margrethe Vestager explains why defending the remnants of old, ineffective institutions is not the answer.

The uncomfortable truth is that the world order was already broken even before Donald Trump's first presidency. He just accelerated the decline, giving even greater urgency to the need for something new, @vestager.bsky.social explains. bit.ly/4rzwjpx

The Coming Crypto Apocalypse Nouriel Roubini thinks the writing is on the wall for an industry that has offered no use cases beyond crime and corruption.

Some 17 years after Bitcoin’s launch, the one and only “killer app” in crypto is the stablecoin: a digital version of old-fashioned fiat money, which the financial and banking industry already digitalized decades ago, Nouriel Roubini observes. bit.ly/4rBYhBb

Financialization Won’t Improve Global Health Walter O. Ochieng & Tom Achoki point out that tools like blended finance cannot underwrite the investments developing countries need the most.

Global health does not suffer from a lack of clever financial instruments, write Walter O. Ochieng and Tom Achoki. It suffers from a shortage of predictable funding to pay nurses, keep clinics open, and ensure that drugs arrive on time. bit.ly/45RnoaQ

Defending Press Freedom in the Age of Trump Martin Baron interviewed by Deputy Managing Editor Rachel Danna about the forces endangering the fourth estate.

Following large-scale layoffs at the Washington Post, read our interview with former executive editor @postbaron.bsky.social, who argues that political intimidation, financial strain, and rapid technological change are steadily eroding journalism’s capacity to hold power to account.
bit.ly/3ZjjBPP

Faith Is Indispensable to Global Development Alaa Murabit urges policymakers to broaden their engagement with religious leaders to reach marginalized groups.

During #WorldInterfaithHarmonyWeek, Alaa Murabit argues that faith isn’t a relic of the past—it’s a powerful driver of global development. Faith-based groups deliver real impact through trusted, local networks. bit.ly/3ZfiIrB

Markets Are Shrugging Off Uncertainty Dambisa Moyo points out that most key metrics of investor sentiment have been surprisingly calm in recent months.

There appears to be a dislocation between political headlines and broader media narratives, on the one hand, and the relative calmness reflected in key financial metrics, on the other, Dambisa Moyo observes. bit.ly/4qaKn7T

The ICEmen Killeth Ian Buruma thinks public anger over federal agencies’ violence in Minnesota will influence this year’s midterm elections.

While memories are often short, the footage of two peaceful US citizens killed at close range by trigger-happy government goons won’t fade fast. As Ian Buruma sees it, anger at the government will linger. bit.ly/3ZAVY5D

America’s Mad Emperor Jeffrey Frankel sees disturbing parallels between Donald Trump's unhinged behavior and that of ancient Rome's Caligula.

@jefffrankel.bsky.social sees disturbing parallels between Donald Trump's unhinged behavior and that of ancient Rome's mad emperor, Caligula. bit.ly/4r8AXuQ

Penicillin and American Power Paolo Surico highlights the innovation ecosystem that converts science into new technologies when they are needed most.

America’s most powerful asset during World War II was not any single weapon, but an innovation system that aligned research, industrial capacity, and public investment, writes Paolo Surico. bit.ly/45LLAvj

Our Tariff-Era Dollar, Your Problem Qiyuan Xu warns that protectionism may be widening the gap between the greenback’s financial role and its trade effects.

The dividend from a weak dollar may be sharply discounted in the current depreciation cycle, because tariffs act as a wedge that “pre-adjusts” relative prices in the trade sphere, Qiyuan Xu observes. bit.ly/3O4omu5

The Impact of Trump’s Tariffs on Latin America Eugenia Andreasen notes that while the region has fared relatively well, the case for trade diversification is stronger than ever.

Donald Trump’s trade war has not been as damaging for Latin America and the Caribbean as feared. But the sustained uncertainty has strengthened the case for trade diversification, argues Eugenia Andreasen. bit.ly/3Zbs8V0

The Middle-Power Dilemma Eswar Prasad thinks it will be difficult for countries to unite, even in the face of superpower-induced turmoil.

Rather than being a source of stability in today's deteriorating geopolitical order, middle powers could well add to the chaos if they do not summon the will to look beyond their short-term interests, Eswar Prasad writes. bit.ly/4t9NH5X

When Misinformation Kills Peter Singer sees a massive ethical failure in governments’ promotion of anti-vaccine charlatanism.

There were 2,267 confirmed measles cases in the US in 2025 – over seven times the 285 cases in 2024, and the highest number in more than 30 years. @petersinger.info sees many culprits behind declining vaccination rates – not least Secretary Robert F. Kennedy. bit.ly/3ZfguIO

A United Front to Tame Trump Chris Patten urges leaders to reject appeasement and counter American coercion through cooperation and collective resolve.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney clearly understands that no amount of deference can satisfy Donald Trump’s insatiable need for flattery. Other countries would do well to recognize this, writes Chris Patten. bit.ly/3LMq0jy

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Trump Has Killed American Deterrence Stephen Holmes warns that a US president with commitment issues is not merely ineffective, but a threat to world peace.

Stephen Holmes, assessing Donald Trump's new National Defense Strategy, warns that a US president with commitment issues is not merely ineffective but a threat to world peace. bit.ly/4brN4yl

Trump’s War Against the States Steven Simon & Jonathan Stevenson warn that the administration’s willingness to send troops into US cities heralds a constitutional breakdown.

Despite Donald Trump’s efforts to quell public outrage after the killing of Alex Pretti by ICE agents, the White House’s confrontation with Democratic governors and mayors shows no sign of easing, write Steven Simon and Jonathan Stevenson. bit.ly/3Z69ii2

Trump’s American Titanic Harold James counts the ways that the president is steering the United States toward catastrophe.

The geoeconomic conflicts of the 2020s are largely about supply problems, which are not best handled by putting higher taxes on imports. The Trump administration has fundamentally misunderstood this historical moment, notes Harold James. bit.ly/4buAvm2

The Promise of a Middle-Power Alliance Moreno Bertoldi & Marco Buti outline steps that global leaders can take to avoid marginalization amid escalating geopolitical tensions.

With the US and China doubling down on economic coercion, middle powers have a clear incentive to reduce dependence on Chinese inputs and limit their exposure to the US market, write Moreno Bertoldi and Marco Buti. bit.ly/4q8nVMC

Is Affluence a Barrier to Living Well? Michael R. Strain thinks the struggle for subsistence and the struggle to flourish occurs simultaneously.

Rich democracies are doing better than ever across many broad measures. While there are genuine concerns about democratic capitalism, it is hardly an obstacle to human flourishing, argues @michaelrstrain.bsky.social. bit.ly/49RnEcn

What Would a Bardella Presidency Mean For France? Brigitte Granville considers the implications of the country’s upcoming presidential election for the future of the EU project.

Despite Jordan Bardella’s protectionist ambitions, the only way for France to pursue Trump-style protectionism outright would be to leave the bloc, argues Brigitte Granville. bit.ly/49PtDyf

Donald Trump’s overreach in Venezuela may prove to be the turning point when the destructive forces on which he has long relied stop reinforcing one another and instead turn against him, writes Harold Hongju Koh. bit.ly/45DvXWH