With US Backing, Israel and the Gulf Dictatorships Became Best Friends
Joe Biden has continued Donald Trump's Middle East policies — ignoring Palestinian demands for justice and sealing an alliance between Israel and Gulf state dictatorships.
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The Baku Congress of 1920 Sounded the Call for the End of Empire
A century ago this month, the new Soviet government summoned anti-colonial revolutionaries from across Asia to a gathering in Baku. The Baku Congress proved to be a watershed in the fight against European colonial domination and the rise of the Global South.
Maxime Rodinson Was a Revolutionary Historian of the Muslim World
French historian Maxime Rodinson transformed our understanding of the Muslim world with books like Muhammad and Islam and Capitalism. Rodinson’s pathbreaking work, based on the creative use of Marxist ideas, is still an invaluable guide to the politics of the Middle East today.
The Sunset of Neoliberalism
To anyone who lived through the Clinton years — or merely remembers the Obama era — the discrediting of neoliberal ideas that were once sacrosanct among Democrats is nothing short of astonishing.
Requiem for a Chickenhawk
John Bolton is a glassy-eyed fanatic who wants to wage war on the entire world. Miraculously and thankfully, his tenure in the Trump White House before being fired by the president was largely a failure.
A Remarkably Short History of Canada’s Petrostate
Former roughneck turned journalist Don Gillmor chronicles how a resource boom became a governing ideology and how Canada became a global greenhouse pariah.
Congress Must Investigate War Profiteers Once Again
Ninety years after the original Nye Committee exposed the arms industry’s corruption, the Pentagon and its contractors are bigger, richer, and more unaccountable than ever.
Turkey Risks Being Drawn Into Saudi Arabia’s War in Yemen
Ankara’s new defense pact with Riyadh risks drawing Turkey into the war in Yemen. The country’s past experience offers a grim reminder of how ordinary Turks pay for such entanglements.
The United States Has Used Latin America as Its Imperial Laboratory
Over the past two centuries, US imperial interventions have had a devastating impact on the peoples of Latin America. Those interventions have also played a crucial role in US domestic politics, enabling new power blocs to cohere and develop their strategies.
Joe Biden Wants You to Kill and Die for the Saudi Monarchy
The Biden administration is entertaining the idea of pursuing a US-Saudi mutual defense pact. How does the prospect of risking lives for the Saudi monarchy sound?
The BRICS Expansion Isn’t the End of the World Order — or the End of the World
Responses to the expansion of BRICS ping-ponged from dismissal to fearmongering. But there’s not much reason to fear for the US-led world order quite yet — and we shouldn’t fear the multipolar one BRICS wants to build.
We Live in a World of Growing Imperialist Rivalries
Both US and Chinese leaders play down the prospects of a new Cold War — but they never sound convincing. Vast shifts in the world economy are driving a new imperialist rivalry, for which a series of regional wars are creating dangerous flash points.
Israel Is Kurd-Washing Its Crimes in Gaza
Faced with criticism of the war in Gaza, Israeli leaders cynically ask why the world worries about the Palestinians and not the Kurds. Israel’s supposed pro-Kurdish stance is empty posturing — and risks damaging the Kurdish fight for liberation.
George Smiley’s Second Life
In Karla’s Choice, Nick Harkaway takes up his father John le Carré’s most enduring creation, returning George Smiley back to the Cold War’s morally gray trenches. The novel reminds us that clever tradecraft can’t fix what cowardly leaders break.
Albania’s for Sale, and Jared Kushner’s Buying
Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has sealed a $1.4 billion deal to redevelop Albania’s largest island. Long a protected area, now it’s set to be paved over to build a luxury resort.
Europe’s Leaders Have No Strategy for Peace
Caught off guard by new proposals to halt the war in Ukraine, European leaders have rejected the idea of Kyiv giving up territory. What’s less clear is how they imagine making their red lines into a reality.
Congress Must Investigate War Profiteers Once Again
Ninety years after the original Nye Committee exposed the arms industry’s corruption, the Pentagon and its contractors are bigger, richer, and more unaccountable than ever.
Donald Trump Is Unpopular. That Only Matters in a Democracy.
US democracy has been degrading for years. Donald Trump has the motive, the disposition, and the political and legal infrastructure to simply circumvent it, especially with such low approval ratings and midterm elections around the corner.
The Oil Crisis That Became a Weapon Against Welfare
War, dollar chaos, and soaring oil prices fueled the inflation of the 1970s. Workers and the welfare state took the blame. As war sends oil prices soaring again, that story still limits what we think society can afford.
For Pedro Sánchez, Europe Has to Leave the US’s Shadow
Spain’s Premier Pedro Sánchez has emerged as a sharp critic of Donald Trump. But he's also pushed for a broader realignment of European policy, recognizing the need for new international partnerships after the end of US hegemony.