The Year in Politics, with Slavoj Žižek, Oleg Ustenko, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and more

A look back at the political issues, risks, and challenges that defined the last 12 months. The Sunday Newsletter [View this message in a web browser]( [PS on Sunday]( DECEMBER 25, 2022 This week, Project Syndicate highlights the political issues, risks, and challenges that defined the last 12 months – and the commentaries that helped readers make sense of them. The Ukraine War – which upended European security, food and energy markets, and the post-Cold War order in Europe – was a major topic for commentators such as George Soros and Nina L. Khrushcheva, with Ukrainian officials Oleg Ustenko and Anastasia Radina also offering their critical perspectives. One country that is watching the Ukraine War closely is China, which has undergone an authoritarian shift under President Xi Jinping that has raised alarm bells for experts like Stephen S. Roach, Minxin Pei, and the late Abe Shinzō. Meanwhile, China’s main rival, the United States, has faced significant domestic political turmoil, examined by the likes of Angus Deaton and Joseph E. Stiglitz, as it has continued to reckon with the democracy-eroding legacy of Trumpism. The European Union has also been under severe political strain in 2022. While Slavoj Žižek and Joschka Fischer considered the demands of a war on the EU’s doorstep, Lucrezia Reichlin and Kati Maron assessed the implications of national elections. No survey of the challenges the world faces can overlook climate change. From Josep Borrell and Werner Hoyer’s designation of decarbonization as a strategic imperative to Mariana Mazzucato’s call for mission-driven climate leadership by governments, PS contributors offer readers unrivaled analysis of an issue that citizens and policymakers know they can no longer ignore. [PS. Holiday Sale: Save $35 on any subscription ]( The Ukraine War [Vladimir Putin and the Risk of World War III]( [George Soros]( warns that, after misreading the situation in Ukraine, Russia's leader seems to know no limits. [Blacklist Putin's Terrorist State]( [Anastasia Radina]( calls for Russia to be designated as a “high-risk jurisdiction” for terrorist financing and money laundering. [Boycott Russian Energy Now]( [Oleg Ustenko]( calls for a full and immediate halt to the financing of Russia's atrocities in Ukraine. Longer Read --------------------------------------------------------------- [Putin the Terrible]( [Dina Khapaeva]( traces the history of the Kremlin's campaign to transform Russia's national memory and identity. [The Origins of Putin’s Totalitarianism]( [Nina L. Khrushcheva]( shows how Russia came to be controlled – and terrorized – by faceless security services all over again. [Ukraine's Lessons for NATO's Eastern Flank]( [Maciej Kisilowski]( and [Anna Wojciuk]( worry that Hungary and Poland are on a similar trajectory of internal division and external vulnerability. [The World Must Avoid Another Food Crisis]( [Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala]( explains why cooperation and transparency are key to mitigating the Ukraine war’s impact on supply and prices. Longer Read --------------------------------------------------------------- [The Roots of Resistance]( [Yuliya Tymoshenko]( draws a direct line from Europe's anti-Nazi underground armies of World War II to Ukraine's partisan war today. [Russia, Iran, and the Perils of Post-Autocracy]( [Robert D. Kaplan]( warns that the collapse of a despotic regime more often leads to a political void than to a healthy democracy. [Eight Lessons from the Ukraine War]( [Joseph S. Nye, Jr.]( sees some clear conclusions to draw even at this early stage in the conflict. [Ten Lessons from the Return of History]( [Richard Haass]( catalogs the key expectations and assumptions about international relations that have not survived 2022. China's Trials [Xi’s Conflict-Prone China]( [Stephen S. Roach]( writes that the 20th Party Congress confirmed that national security will take precedence over economic growth. [What the Shanghai Lockdown Tells Us About China’s Future]( [Nancy Qian]( considers the political implications of the central government's decision to overrule the city's leadership. [US Strategic Ambiguity Over Taiwan Must End]( [Abe Shinzō]( thinks America's policy toward China and the island has become a source of instability, not deterrence. Longer Reads --------------------------------------------------------------- [China’s Lessons from Russia’s War]( [Kevin Rudd]( considers how Russia’s fumbled invasion of Ukraine will affect Xi Jinping’s strategic thinking. [How to Engage with China]( [Paola Subacchi]( cautions against efforts to limit multilateral cooperation to countries with shared values and principles. [The Only Direction for Xi’s Dictatorship]( [Chris Patten]( explains why the Chinese leader’s third term will pose a growing threat to the country’s economy. [Blowing Down the CPC’s House of Cards]( [Minxin Pei]( sees in Xi Jinping’s confirmation to a third presidential term the hollowness of China’s post-Mao rules. Longer Reads --------------------------------------------------------------- [Where Is Xi’s China Heading?]( [Rana Mitter]( considers the country’s biggest challenges and opportunities during its leader’s unprecedented third term. [America Is Fueling Chinese Techno-Nationalism]( [Keyu Jin]( thinks the Biden administration should be careful what it wishes for as it adds to the US Entity List. [Is China Winning Latin America?]( [Ana Palacio]( explains what the West must do to revive its relationships in a critical region – before it’s too late. [Why Is the Uyghur Population Shrinking?]( [Yi Fuxian]( thinks China’s rulers will come to regret the consequences of the security crackdown in Xinjiang province. Democracy in America [The US Front in the Global War on Women]( [Ngaire Woods]( notes that the Supreme Court’s elimination of the federal right to abortion accompanies rising gender violence. [Abortion and Democracy in America]( [Peter Singer]( shows how the Supreme Court's own reasoning in overturning Roe v. Wade implies that the Court has too much power. [Who Broke American Democracy?]( [Angus Deaton]( sees attacks on the US election system as an outgrowth of longer-running institutional failures. Global Bookmark --------------------------------------------------------------- [The Justices Have No Clothes]( [Nicholas Reed Langen]( blames the US Constitution itself for the naked partisanship fueling the Supreme Court's legitimacy crisis. [The Upside of Polarization?]( [Daron Acemoglu]( says that the “median voter theorem” no longer guides US politics, but still holds useful strategic insights. [America's Democratic Future]( [James K. Galbraith]( doubts that the Republican Party's voter-suppression efforts can carry them for much longer. [Defending Democracies’ Information Infrastructure]( [Anne-Marie Slaughter]( and [Ben Scott]( propose a set of media reforms intended to restore citizens’ connection to a shared basis of facts. Longer Reads --------------------------------------------------------------- [America's Silent Progressive Majority]( [Joseph E. Stiglitz]( considers what the midterm election results indicate about voters' real priorities. [The GOP Goes Rogue]( [Antara Haldar]( attributes the Republican Party’s craven embrace of Donald Trump to an amoral intellectual movement. [The Republicans Lose with Trump]( [Michael R. Strain]( urges the party to draw the right conclusions from its lackluster performance in the US midterm elections. [Trump’s True Believers]( [Ian Buruma]( explains the former US president’s continuing deep-rooted appeal to many Republicans. Europe's Political Test [What Does Defending Europe Mean?]( [Slavoj Žižek]( argues that the welcome given to Ukrainian refugees has once again exposed an ugly truth. [How the Ukraine War Must Remake Europe]( [Joschka Fischer]( urges EU leaders to build on today's unity to become a genuine geopolitical player. [How Much Has the Ukraine War Changed Germany?]( [Helmut Anheier]( sees the country rising to the occasion politically, but still struggling with policy implementation. Longer Reads --------------------------------------------------------------- [The Coming Decade of Peacelessness]( [Sigmar Gabriel]( thinks Europe is entering a new period of turmoil from which it could ultimately emerge stronger. [The Italian Right Is Coming]( [Lucrezia Reichlin]( examines the ideas that will most likely shape the policies of the country’s next government. [Hungary's Freedom Election]( [Kati Marton]( sees an opportunity to restore the country's democracy after more than a decade of illiberalism and cronyism. [Macron’s Win Is Not Populism’s Defeat]( [Yanis Varoufakis]( shows how the French president's political strategy has served to strengthen the far right. The Climate Challenge [The Entrepreneurial State Must Lead on Climate Change]( [Mariana Mazzucato]( explains how governments, and only governments, can accelerate the transition to a carbon-neutral economy. [Decarbonization Is Now a Strategic Imperative]( [Josep Borrell]( and [Werner Hoyer]( offer a blueprint for reducing Europe's dependence on Russian energy as fast as possible. Longer Reads --------------------------------------------------------------- [Europe and the New Non-Alignment]( [Laurence Tubiana]( sees both challenges and opportunities for climate policy in an era of geopolitical fragmentation. [The EU’s Carbon Border Tax Could Hurt Developing Countries]( [Miriam González Durántez]( and [Calli Obern]( warn that a proposed levy aimed at reducing imported emissions risks fueling protectionism. [How to Fuel Inflation and Harm the Environment]( [Anne O. Krueger]( thinks the Biden administration has completely missed the mark with its response to rising consumer prices. [PS. 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