Experts
James Traub
Author/Journalist
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James Traub on Africa’s Mixed Hopes
James Traub sees a few reasons, based on economic growth, for optimism in Africa. Read More
December 15, 2008 | In World
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James Traub on Promoting Democracy Through Free Trade
James Traub sees free trade as one key in promoting democracy, but he wonders how much Obama will embrace it. Read More
December 15, 2008 | In Politics & Policy
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James Traub on the United Nations
Citing Ban Ki-Moon, James Traub says we need to choose a secretary general for his "confidence not for his harmlessness." Read More
December 15, 2008 | In World
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James Traub on Winning Back Our Allies
We need to return to our collective enterprises like the UN and the IMF, advises James Traub. Read More
December 15, 2008 | In Politics & Policy
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New York Times magazine contributor James Traub on building states, Obama-style. Read More
December 15, 2008 | In Politics & Policy, Business & Economics
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James Traub on a Democratic Middle East
James Traub says Latin America seemed an unlikely candidate for democracy in he 1970s, so there's no reason the Middle East can't go the same way. Read More
December 15, 2008 | In Politics & Policy
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If you are an autocrat in the developing world, James Traub notes China offers an unbeatable deal. Read More
December 15, 2008 | In World
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James Traub on Democracy in Egypt
James Traub offers Egypt as an example of how the US can quietly affect civil society. Read More
December 15, 2008 | In Politics & Policy
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James Traub on How to Engage with Russia
James Traub says Russia's diplomatic concerns preclude any democracy promotion. Read More
December 15, 2008 | In Politics & Policy
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James Traub Reevaluates Ronald Reagan
Reagan institutionalized democracy promotion and his policies led to the deposition of several dictators, but it took him a while to get there, says James Traub. Read More
December 15, 2008 | In Politics & Policy
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James Traub's Recipe for Spreading Democracy
The institution building that goes on behind the scenes is just as important as electing democratic leaders, James Traub says. Read More
December 15, 2008 | In Politics & Policy
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James Traub on Building Democratic Institutions
The challenge, says James Traub, is to promote institutions without seeming like a colonizer. Read More
December 15, 2008 | In Politics & Policy
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James Traub on Partisan Politics and Promoting Democracy
Reagan signaled a new activism in promoting democracy among Republicans, James Traub reflects. Read More
December 15, 2008 | In Politics & Policy
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James Traub on 100 Years of Nation Building
James Traub cites Germany and Japan as the resounding post-war successes. Read More
December 15, 2008 | In History
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James Traub on a Values-Driven Foreign Policy
James Traub says George W. Bush exhausted the nation's patience for "grandiose ventures." Read More
December 15, 2008 | In Politics & Policy
James Traub is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, where he has worked since 1998. From 1994 to 1997, he was a staff writer for The New Yorker. He has also written for The New York Review of Books, Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic and elsewhere. His articles have been widely reprinted and anthologized. He has written extensively about international affairs and especially the United Nations.In recent years, he has reported from Iran, Iraq, Sierra Leone, East Timor, Vietnam, India, Kosovo and Haiti. He has also written often about national politics and urban affairs, including education, immigration, race, poverty and crime.His books include, The Best Intentions: Kofi Annan and the UN in the Era of American World Power; The Devil's Playground: A Century of Pleasure and Profit in Times Square; City On A Hill, a book on open admissions at City College; and The Freedom Agenda: Why America Must Spread Democracy (Just Not the Way George Bush Did). He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
