Essays
Europe Must Stand with Turkey over Putin’s War Crimes in Syria
Since the beginning of its intervention in Syria in September 2015, Russia has not only sought to keep in place its most faithful Arab ally, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. It has also wanted to regain the regional and global influence that it lost since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Europe Must Recognize China for What It Is
Neither the European public nor European political and business leaders fully understand the threat presented by Xi Jinping’s China. Although Xi is a dictator who is using cutting-edge technology in an effort to impose total control on Chinese society, Europeans regard China primarily as an important business partner.
Mark Zuckerberg Should Not Be in Control of Facebook
At a dinner last week in Davos, Switzerland, I was asked if I thought Facebook was behaving more responsibly today than it did during the 2016 presidential election.
“Not at all,” I answered. “Facebook helped Trump to get elected and I am afraid that it will do the same in 2020.”
Remarks delivered at the World Economic Forum
We live at a transformational moment in history. The survival of open societies is endangered and we face an even greater crisis: climate change. It is threatening the survival of our civilization. These twin challenges have inspired me to announce the most important project of my life here tonight.
Will Trump Sell Out the U.S. on Huawei?
The greatest—and perhaps only—foreign policy accomplishment of the Trump administration has been the development of a coherent and genuinely bipartisan policy toward Xi Jinping ’s China. The administration rightly declared Beijing a strategic rival and placed Huawei, China’s multinational telecommunications giant, on the Commerce Department’s so-called “entity list” as a national-security threat.
Europe’s Silent Majority Speaks Out
What voters said in last month’s European Parliament election is that they want to preserve the values on which the European Union was founded. But can Europe’s leaders carry out the radical institutional reforms that voters also want?
Last month’s elections to the European Parliament produced better results than one could have expected, and for a simple reason: the silent pro-European majority has spoken.
Remarks delivered after receiving the Courage Award at the 16th Annual Ridenhour Prizes event
Thank you for the generous introduction.
It gives me great pleasure to accept this prize.
I feel very honored to join the distinguished ranks of past recipients.
What is most gratifying to me today is your timing.
You make this award at a time when the values of the Open Society are under attack around the world, including the United States.
Remarks delivered at Hispanic Federation
Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is a great pleasure to accept this award.
I feel honored to be recognized by the Hispanic Federation.
But this award really belongs to the Open Society Foundations.
The Federation and my foundation have a lot in common and share the same concerns.
Europe, Please Wake Up
Europe is sleepwalking into oblivion, and the people of Europe need to wake up before it is too late. If they don’t, the European Union will go the way of the Soviet Union in 1991. Neither our leaders nor ordinary citizens seem to understand that we are experiencing a revolutionary moment, that the range of possibilities is very broad, and that the eventual outcome is thus highly uncertain.
Remarks delivered at the World Economic Forum
Good evening and thank you all for coming.
I want to use my time tonight to warn the world about an unprecedented danger that’s threatening the very survival of open societies.
Last year when I stood before you I spent most of my time analyzing the nefarious role of the IT monopolies.