The Clash of Civilizations, 30 Years Later
At a time of neoliberal triumphalism and the so-called end of history, Samuel Huntington predicted ongoing conflict.
21 Articles by: John-Baptiste Oduor
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John-Baptiste Oduor is an editor at Jacobin.
Donald Trump Wants to Remake the Global Financial System
Donald Trump’s attack on the Fed is part of his authoritarian attempt to capture the administrative state. Economist Mona Ali spoke to Jacobin about the stakes of the current clash between Trump and Lisa Cook and what a democratized Fed could look like.
How Israel Weaponizes Aid Against Palestinians
Israel has used snipers and even naval artillery to attack Gazans lining up for aid as part of a long-term plan to ethnically cleanse the strip. Middle East analyst Mouin Rabbani explains what might be capable of constraining Benjamin Netanyahu.
Who Benefits From the Dollar’s Dominance?
The US dollar is used by governments and investors around the world for trade and as a safe asset. Jacobin asked economist Mona Ali if Donald Trump’s tariffs are destroying trust in the currency and what effect this instability will have on ordinary people.
Ha-Joon Chang: There Should Be No Return to Free Trade
Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the global trade regime are chaotic and uncoordinated. As economist Ha-Joon Chang tells Jacobin, Trump has failed to see that the cause of the US’s relative decline is its own domestic capitalist class.
Why Donald Trump Has Turned on Europe
For decades, European leaders fostered a willing dependence on the United States that has made the continent acutely vulnerable to the superpower’s whims. Donald Trump has sensed this weakness and is using it to advance his own narrow interests.
Donald Trump Is Dismantling Liberal Internationalism
America’s belief that it can be militarily dominant in every major region appears to be wavering. But without challengers, the Republicans’ loss of conviction in liberal internationalism will harden into a more dangerous global authoritarianism.
Will Bidenomics Survive Donald Trump?
Last week, Trump signed executive orders targeting Biden-era green infrastructure spending. Republican politicians, whose states have benefitted from these policies, will now have to decide whether they care more about austerity or a manufacturing renewal.
It Was Always in the US’s Power to Force a Cease-Fire
After 15 months of bloodshed, news has emerged of a cease-fire deal in Gaza. The US always had the power to restrain Israel but refused to use it.
The Radicalization of Ta-Nehisi Coates
The argument of Ta-Nehisi’s Coates’s latest book, The Message, is that Israel is not and will never be a democracy. He describes the racist hierarchy on which Israel was founded in terms that are hard to dismiss.
Where the World Sees Crisis, Israel Sees Opportunity
Since October 8, 2023, Hezbollah has been engaged in a limited war with Israel, which Netanyahu’s government escalated last month in a series of attacks on Lebanese society. Jacobin spoke to Lebanon scholar Joseph Daher about the dilemma the party faces.
In Rachel Kushner’s New Novel, a Spy Infiltrates the Left
In Rachel Kushner’s fourth novel, Creation Lake, a world-weary spy infiltrates a leftist commune. Hoping to entrap its leaders, she ends up being consumed by the strain of living a double life.
Keir Starmer Will Make Britain Even More of a US Lapdog
As Keir Starmer’s Labour Party coasts toward power, its foreign policy discussion is all about being an outrider for Washington. As geopolitical conflict heats up, it wants to make Britain the US’s most implacable ally on the European continent.
How Britain Became America’s Stooge
As Britain lost the ability to maintain its empire, the US took on the role of managing the global order. In Someone Else’s Empire, Tom Stevenson shows how American dominance, aided and abetted by Britain, has caused untold suffering across the world.
Cynicism Made Janet Malcolm a Great Writer
Janet Malcolm had a talent for cynicism, which she marshaled readily in herself and took pleasure at uncovering in others. In her final book, Still Pictures, she asked whether the personal and emotional costs she paid for her success were worth it.
Should We Abolish Prisons?
America’s prisons are grossly dehumanizing and unjust. The eminent political philosopher Tommie Shelby debates prison abolition and what kind of radical change justice demands.
The Right-Wing Bid to Turn Kenya Into a “Hustler Nation”
A new president has a right-populist vision of transformation in East Africa’s largest economy.
Britain’s Political Crisis Is Further Proof That It Is a Nation in Decline
The UK’s former prime minister Liz Truss came to power promising to restore growth to the British economy. During her 45 days at the helm, she crashed it. Calamity is pending, and the country’s political elite are out of ideas.
Is It Worth It?
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò responds to John-Baptiste Oduor’s recent review of Elite Capture.
Did Elites Really Take Over Identity Politics?
In his new book, Elite Capture, Olúfémi Táíwò argues that elites have hijacked identity politics — but what if it belonged to them all along?