Most-read politics commentaries of 2020, with George Soros, Sheldon Whitehouse, and more

This week at Project Syndicate, we revisit some of our most-read politics commentaries of 2020. The Sunday Newsletter [View this message in a web browser]( [PS on Sunday]( DECEMBER 27, 2020 This week at [Project Syndicate]( we revisit some of our most-read politics commentaries of 2020. From Elizabeth Drew’s examination of Donald Trump’s response to his electoral loss and George Soros’s criticism of Angela Merkel’s compromise with Hungary and Poland to Yuen Yuen Ang's three possible scenarios for political change in China and Brahma Chellaney’s warning that India-China relations are deteriorating fast, this collection provides a wide-ranging view of a tumultuous year in global politics. [The Lost Cause of the Trumpocracy]( [Elizabeth Drew]( offers an overview of Donald Trump's behavior following his defeat to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. [India’s Appeasement Policy Toward China Unravels]( [Brahma Chellaney]( criticizes the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his stubborn strategic naiveté. [PS. Holiday Sale 50% off with discount code HOLIDAY2020]( [The Grim Truth About the “Swedish Model”]( [Hans Bergstrom]( explains why the country adopted a lethally misguided approach to COVID-19, resulting in a high death toll. [Germany’s Constitutional Court Goes Rogue]( [Katharina Pistor]( warns that the country's constitutional court risks endangering the euro and possibly even the European Union. [The End of the US-China Relationship]( [Stephen S. Roach]( shows why both sides stand to lose from their failure to comprehend the stakes of a breakup. [The Costs of Merkel’s Surrender to Hungarian and Polish Extortion]( [George Soros]( warns that the German chancellor's compromise on the rule of law will dent hard-won confidence in the EU. The Big Picture [The Gift of a COVID Vaccine?]( [The Gift of a COVID Vaccine?]( PS commentators assess whether international cooperation will triumph over nationalism in global inoculation efforts. [Is Political Change Coming to China?]( [Yuen Yuen Ang]( sees three possible scenarios in which Xi Jinping's hold on power is weakened or even broken. [The Two Dark Sides of COVID-19]( [Peter Singer]( and [Paola Cavalieri]( call for a worldwide ban on “wet markets,” where animal viruses can mutate quickly and leap to humans. [America’s Captured Courts]( [Sheldon Whitehouse]( shines a light on the dark money behind the US judiciary's rightward turn under Republican presidents. [Can Joe Biden’s America Be Trusted?]( [Joseph S. Nye, Jr.]( thinks the president-elect must allay US allies' fears that another Donald Trump could emerge in 2024 or 2028. Say More [Martín Guzmán]( [An Interview with Martín Guzmán]( Guzmán draws lessons from Argentina’s debt restructuring, considers the applications of his theory of “pseudo-wealth,” and shows what Dostoyevsky understood about economics. [United States of Despair]( [Anne Case]( and [Angus Deaton]( examine the far-reaching effects of the long-term loss of a way of life among white working-class Americans. [The Coronavirus Is a Disease of Chinese Autocracy]( [Minxin Pei]( blames the deadly epidemic on the one-party state's need to defend its image of infallibility. [Social Democracy Beats Democratic Socialism]( [Daron Acemoglu]( thinks the differences between the two progressive frameworks are more important than their similarities. [A Global COVID-19 Exit Strategy]( [Ngaire Woods]( and [Rajaie Batniji]( say rapid and effective international cooperation is essential if the world is to emerge safely from the pandemic. Opinion Has It [Repairing America's Broken Social Contract]( [Repairing America's Broken Social Contract]( In this PS podcast, [Danielle Allen]( and host [Elmira Bayrasli]( consider the state of US democracy and society at the end of a challenging year. [The Palestinian Dilemma]( [Tony Blair]( provides a political reality check for leaders who refuse even to engage with America's proposed peace plan. [Avoiding the Trump Trap]( [Eric Posner]( warns optimistic US Democrats that the president's political advantages remain salient. [Is This China’s Global Leadership Moment?]( [Keyu Jin]( urges the country’s rulers to use the COVID-19 pandemic to rebuild relations with the United States. [COVID-19 and the End of Individualism]( [Diane Coyle]( argues that the pandemic has highlighted the irreducibly collective, interconnected character of modern life. [We Are Hong Kong]( [Chris Patten]( warns that China's determination to curtail the city's freedom is a threat to all liberal democracies. [The Post-Pandemic Social Contract]( [Dani Rodrik]( and [Stefanie Stantcheva]( urge policymakers to abandon the traditional separation between pro-growth and social policies. [If you missed From Paris to 2030, you can still watch the discussions here.]( Project Syndicate publishes and provides, on a not-for-profit basis, original commentary by the world's leading thinkers to more than 500 media outlets in over 150 countries. This newsletter is a service of [project-syndicate.org](. © Project Syndicate, all rights reserved. [Unsubscribe from this list](