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Stephen S. Roach

Stephen S. Roach

Writing for PS since 2011
177 commentaries
1 videos & podcasts

Stephen S. Roach, a faculty member at Yale University and former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, is the author of Unbalanced: The Codependency of America and China (Yale University Press, 2014) and Accidental Conflict: America, China, and the Clash of False Narratives (Yale University Press, 2022).

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  1. Trump’s Unworkable Trade Formula
    roach178_Johannes EiseleAFPGettyImages_chinese_port_flag Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images

    Trump’s Unworkable Trade Formula

    May 26, 2025 Stephen S. Roach thinks pursuing a global minimum tariff while also penalizing China increases the risk of a global recession.

  2. Stagflation for the Ages
    roach177_Kevin DietschGettyImages_jerome_powell_stagflation_warning Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

    Stagflation for the Ages

    Apr 24, 2025 Stephen S. Roach thinks Trump’s tariffs and attacks on the Fed will make it difficult for the world to sidestep recession.

  3. A World Turned Inside Out
    roach176_Morris MacMatzenGettyImages_hamburg_port Morris MacMatzen/Getty Images

    A World Turned Inside Out

    Mar 25, 2025 Stephen S. Roach likens Donald Trump’s reversal of America’s global leadership role to a full-blown crisis, similar to COVID-19.

  4. Trump’s Self-Fulfilling Crisis
    roach175_Brandon BellGettyImages_egg_prices Brandon Bell/Getty Images

    Trump’s Self-Fulfilling Crisis

    Feb 28, 2025 Stephen S. Roach shows how the US president’s policies could create the very problems he falsely claims to be confronting.

  5. Trump’s Trade Scam
    roach174_Christopher FurlongGetty Images_trump Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

    Trump’s Trade Scam

    Jan 24, 2025 Stephen S. Roach points out that the new “External Revenue Service” would target domestic importers, not foreign producers.

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  1. bremmer43_Jose ColonAnadoluGettyImages_ukraine_drone_unit Jose Colon/Anadolu/Getty Images

    Ukraine’s Strategic Game-Changer

    Ian Bremmer considers the implications of the recent drone strikes against strategic targets deep inside Russia.
  2. dashti1_Md. Rakibul Hasan RafiuNurPhotoGettyImages_rickshaw_Dhaka_Bangladesh Md. Rakibul Hasan Rafiu/NurPhoto/Getty Images

    Rethinking Europe’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism

    Rola Dashti, et al. explain why a uniform levy on emissions-intensive imports threatens the legitimacy of global climate action.
  3. zanini1_Kevin DietschGetty Images_musk_trump_feud Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

    America Needs a Smarter Government, Not Just a Smaller One

    Michele Zanini & Gary Hamel outline several steps that policymakers can take to reduce bureaucracy and strengthen accountability.
  4. buruma228_Libby O'NeillStringerGettyImages_harvard_graduation Libby O'Neill/Stringer/Getty Images

    Trump’s War on Knowledge

    Ian Buruma attributes the MAGA assault on higher education to a combination of personal mediocrity and class resentment.
  5. op_buiter2_BettmannGettyImages_1956_federal_reserve_bank_philadelphia Bettmann/Getty Images

    The Bonfire of the Banking Regulators?

    Willem H. Buiter

    Burdened by redundant agencies and outdated structures, the United States’ fragmented system of financial oversight undermines accountability and stifles innovation. The solution lies in streamlining regulation for both money issuers and financial intermediaries.

    proposes radical reform of America’s complex, often chaotic supervisory regime – and the system it oversees.
  6. patten176_Leon NealGettyImages_macron_starmer_merz_tusk_tirana Leon Neal/Getty Images

    Can Democracy Re-Emerge From the Populist Shadows?

    Chris Patten explains how institutional resilience and international cooperation could counter reckless policymaking.
  7. mahbubani32_Syaiful RedzuanAnadoluGettyImages_aseas_gcc_china_summit Syaiful Redzuan/Anadolu/Getty Images

    Trump vs. a United ASEAN

    Kishore Mahbubani touts the group’s efforts to deepen cooperation, both internally and with other economies and regional blocs.
  8. alduma1_AFPGettyImages_refugees_from_zamzam_camp AFP/Getty Images

    Sudan’s Srebrenica Moment

    Ibrahim Alduma, et al. urge intervention to stop the genocide, back grassroots activists, and penalize those stoking conflict.
  9. tsnyder2_Win McNameeGettyImages_donald_trump_hands Win McNamee/Getty Images

    America’s Weak Strongman

    Timothy Snyder

    US President Donald Trump is strong in a relative sense: after he destroys institutions, what remains is his presence, surrounded by incompetent sycophants. But he is weak because, having destroyed so much state capacity, the United States has no actual tools to deal with the rest of the world.

    observes that countries like Russia and China understand the meaning of TACO better than Wall Street does.

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