James Traub

James Traub is a columnist at Foreign Policy, nonresident fellow at New York University’s Center on International Cooperation, and author of the book What Was Liberalism? The Past, Present and Promise of A Noble Idea.

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Articles by James Traub
An island of Stockholm Archipelago pictured on 15 January, 2010 During the winter, ferries continue sailing in the Baltic Sea, partly frozen between Sweden and Finland. AFP PHOTO/ OLIVIER MORIN (Photo credit should read OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/Getty Images)
An island of Stockholm Archipelago pictured on 15 January, 2010 During the winter, ferries continue sailing in the Baltic Sea, partly frozen between Sweden and Finland. AFP PHOTO/ OLIVIER MORIN (Photo credit should read OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/Getty Images)

The Death of the Most Generous Nation on Earth

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James Traub
Fighters from rebel factions and Jaish al-Islam (Islam Army), the foremost rebel group in Damascus province who fiercely oppose to both the regime and the Islamic State group, prepare their ammunition in Harasta Qantara, near Marj al-Sultan on the eastern outskirts of Damascus, on January 23, 2016, during clashes with government forces after they infiltrated into the government-held area. / AFP / AMER ALMOHIBANY (Photo credit should read AMER ALMOHIBANY/AFP/Getty Images)
Fighters from rebel factions and Jaish al-Islam (Islam Army), the foremost rebel group in Damascus province who fiercely oppose to both the regime and the Islamic State group, prepare their ammunition in Harasta Qantara, near Marj al-Sultan on the eastern outskirts of Damascus, on January 23, 2016, during clashes with government forces after they infiltrated into the government-held area. / AFP / AMER ALMOHIBANY (Photo credit should read AMER ALMOHIBANY/AFP/Getty Images)

There Is No Plan B if the Syria Peace Talks Fail

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James Traub
A supporter of Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump waits in line the launch event for Trump's new book "Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again" outside the Trump Tower on November 3, 2015 in New York. Donald Trump published a book about the ills of America to another media frenzy Tuesday, signing copies for fans, insulting his rivals on the campaign trail and telling Americans to elect him president. "Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again," offers the everyday reader his take on the problems facing the country and why they should elect him to the White House to fix them. AFP PHOTO/Kena Betancur (Photo credit should read KENA BETANCUR/AFP/Getty Images)
A supporter of Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump waits in line the launch event for Trump's new book "Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again" outside the Trump Tower on November 3, 2015 in New York. Donald Trump published a book about the ills of America to another media frenzy Tuesday, signing copies for fans, insulting his rivals on the campaign trail and telling Americans to elect him president. "Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again," offers the everyday reader his take on the problems facing the country and why they should elect him to the White House to fix them. AFP PHOTO/Kena Betancur (Photo credit should read KENA BETANCUR/AFP/Getty Images)

When Did America Give Up on the Idea of America?

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James Traub
HRCopener
HRCopener

The Hillary Clinton Doctrine

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James Traub
GettyImages-466840870viktororbancrop
GettyImages-466840870viktororbancrop

The Regression of Viktor Orban

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James Traub
TO GO WITH AFP STORY by GREGOIRE OZAN - FILES - A picture taken on April 22, 2012 shows a man preparing lunch with his children at their home in Miskolc. In Hungary, the proportion of children malnourished is about 14 percent, according to the latest figures published by the National Institute of Child Health. AFP PHOTO / PETER KOHALMI (Photo credit should read PETER KOHALMI/AFP/Getty Images)
TO GO WITH AFP STORY by GREGOIRE OZAN - FILES - A picture taken on April 22, 2012 shows a man preparing lunch with his children at their home in Miskolc. In Hungary, the proportion of children malnourished is about 14 percent, according to the latest figures published by the National Institute of Child Health. AFP PHOTO / PETER KOHALMI (Photo credit should read PETER KOHALMI/AFP/Getty Images)

Shuttered Factories and Rants Against the Roma

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James Traub
A monument commemorating all the victims of the country's occupation by Nazi Germany is seen at the Freedom square in Budapest on July 21, 2014. The government says the structure -- which will depict Hungary as an angel being attacked by a German eagle -- will commemorate all the victims of the country's occupation by Nazi Germany. But several Jewish organisations and historians say the memorial absolves Hungarians of their active role in carrying out the deportations of Jews to Nazi death camps. Some 600,000 Hungarian Jews perished during the Holocaust, almost all after the German occupation began on March 19 1944. AFP PHOTO / ATTILA KISBENEDEK (Photo credit should read ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images)
A monument commemorating all the victims of the country's occupation by Nazi Germany is seen at the Freedom square in Budapest on July 21, 2014. The government says the structure -- which will depict Hungary as an angel being attacked by a German eagle -- will commemorate all the victims of the country's occupation by Nazi Germany. But several Jewish organisations and historians say the memorial absolves Hungarians of their active role in carrying out the deportations of Jews to Nazi death camps. Some 600,000 Hungarian Jews perished during the Holocaust, almost all after the German occupation began on March 19 1944. AFP PHOTO / ATTILA KISBENEDEK (Photo credit should read ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images)

Hungary’s 500-Year-Old Victim Complex

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James Traub
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - FEBRUARY 08: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives at the headquarters of the Council of the European Union on February 8, 2013 in Brussels, Belgium. EU leaders have set out the framework for agreeing on a 2014-2020 EU budget during talks that continued through the night at the European Council Meetings in Brussels. The historic deal would see 34.4 billion Euros of EU spending cuts over the next 7 year period. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - FEBRUARY 08: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives at the headquarters of the Council of the European Union on February 8, 2013 in Brussels, Belgium. EU leaders have set out the framework for agreeing on a 2014-2020 EU budget during talks that continued through the night at the European Council Meetings in Brussels. The historic deal would see 34.4 billion Euros of EU spending cuts over the next 7 year period. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

The Fearmonger of Budapest

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James Traub
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives to deliver a speech in front of the National Museum of Budapest on March 15, 2014 during the official commemoration of the 166th anniversary of the 1848-1849 Hungarian revolution and independence war. The revolution in the kingdom of Hungary grew into a war for independence from the Habsburg rule. AFP PHOTO / ATTILA KISBENEDEK (Photo credit should read ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images)
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives to deliver a speech in front of the National Museum of Budapest on March 15, 2014 during the official commemoration of the 166th anniversary of the 1848-1849 Hungarian revolution and independence war. The revolution in the kingdom of Hungary grew into a war for independence from the Habsburg rule. AFP PHOTO / ATTILA KISBENEDEK (Photo credit should read ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty Images)

Viktor Orban Wades into Hungary’s Dark Waters

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James Traub
An Indian United Nations peacekeeper sits in an armoured infantry fighting vehicle at a temporary operating base in Bunagana, a border town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on May 16, 2012. The United Nations Mission for the Stablisation of the Congo (MONUSCO) is conducting patrols in and around Bunagana, under its mandate to protect civilians against the recent clashes between the Congolese armed forces and mutinous rebels around Bunagana over the past ten days. AFP PHOTO/PHIL MOORE (Photo credit should read PHIL MOORE/AFP/GettyImages)
An Indian United Nations peacekeeper sits in an armoured infantry fighting vehicle at a temporary operating base in Bunagana, a border town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on May 16, 2012. The United Nations Mission for the Stablisation of the Congo (MONUSCO) is conducting patrols in and around Bunagana, under its mandate to protect civilians against the recent clashes between the Congolese armed forces and mutinous rebels around Bunagana over the past ten days. AFP PHOTO/PHIL MOORE (Photo credit should read PHIL MOORE/AFP/GettyImages)

Can Attack Helicopters Save U.N. Peacekeeping?

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James Traub
A refugee holds a picture of German Chancellor Angela Merkel after the arrival of refugees at the main train station in Munich, southern Germany, September 05, 2015. Hundreds of refugees arrived in Germany on September 5, 2015 coming from Hungary and Austria. AFP PHOTO / CHRISTOF STACHE (Photo credit should read CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images)
A refugee holds a picture of German Chancellor Angela Merkel after the arrival of refugees at the main train station in Munich, southern Germany, September 05, 2015. Hundreds of refugees arrived in Germany on September 5, 2015 coming from Hungary and Austria. AFP PHOTO / CHRISTOF STACHE (Photo credit should read CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images)

The Necessity of Courage When Contemplating Political Suicide

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James Traub
<> on August 13, 2015 in Ankeny, Iowa.
<> on August 13, 2015 in Ankeny, Iowa.

Jeb Bush Is the Wrong Messenger on Iraq

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James Traub
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - MAY 23: (ISRAEL OUT) US Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of their meeting on May 23, 2013 in Jerusalem, Israel. This is Kerry's fourth visit to the country in the past two months and British Foreign Secretary William Hague is due to meet him to renew peace talks between Israel and Palestine. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - MAY 23: (ISRAEL OUT) US Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of their meeting on May 23, 2013 in Jerusalem, Israel. This is Kerry's fourth visit to the country in the past two months and British Foreign Secretary William Hague is due to meet him to renew peace talks between Israel and Palestine. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

Israel Could Lose America’s Democrats for a Generation

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James Traub
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY PIERRE CELERIER (FILES) -- In a file picture taken in January 1979, Iranian protestors hold a up a poster of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during a demonstration in Tehran against the Shah. Iran will begin 10 days of celebrations on February 1, 2009, marking the 30th anniversary of the return of the exiled Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the revolution which toppled the US-backed shah. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY PIERRE CELERIER (FILES) -- In a file picture taken in January 1979, Iranian protestors hold a up a poster of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during a demonstration in Tehran against the Shah. Iran will begin 10 days of celebrations on February 1, 2009, marking the 30th anniversary of the return of the exiled Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the revolution which toppled the US-backed shah. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)

The Nuke Deal to End the Revolution

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James Traub
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GettyImages-488793473_indiatraub1

Is Modi’s India Safe for Muslims?

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James Traub
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