Bio
Ian Buruma is Paul W. Williams Professor of Human Rights and Journalism at Bard College.
Featured Work
MAY 2, 2017 • Podcast
The Coming War with China? The Ethics of Confrontation in the Pacific
Are the United States and China on the brink of war? Can the two nations avoid miscalculation and instead find common ground? Find out what ...
NOV 13, 2015 • Podcast
The Global Refugee Crisis
How can Christian leaders help Europe cope with the flood of refugees? Renowned Czech theologian Father Tomàš Halik argues that Christianity, especially the Catholic Church, ...
DEC 13, 2013 • Podcast
Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy
Why did Japan recklessly attack the United States in 1941, launching a war that most of the nation's leaders knew they were almost certain to lose? ...
OCT 1, 2013 • Podcast
Year Zero: A History of 1945
Ian Buruma makes a compelling case that many of the modern triumphs, such as the European Union, the United Nations, and Japanese pacifism, as well ...
MAR 17, 2010 • Podcast
Taming the Gods: Religion and Democracy on Three Continents
Focusing on Muslims in Europe, Ian Buruma argues that religions (including Islam) and liberal democracies are compatible, despite many peoples' fears. Democracy allows space for ...
MAY 29, 2008 • Podcast
Olympic Mettle: Business, Civil Society, and Politics During the Beijing Games
An expert panel discusses the ethics of engagement with China in the context of the Olympics. What lasting positive or negative effects, if any, will ...
NOV 20, 2006 • Podcast
Murder in Amsterdam: The Death of Theo Van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance
Ian Buruma explores what happens when political Islam collides with a secular Western European nation.
APR 8, 2004 • Transcript
Occidentalism: The West in the Eyes of Its Enemies
Buruma points out that the hatred animating Islamic radicals conforms to the classic counter-Enlightenment vision of Western society as rootless, timid, and soulless.
DEC 5, 2001 • Transcript
Bad Elements: Chinese Rebels from Los Angeles to Beijing
The Chinese government sees itself as the caretaker of the entire "cosmic order" in China and views democracy as a destabilizing force that would cause ...