Donald Trump Is a Very Dumb Man
John Bolton's absurd, self-aggrandizing new book reveals a shocking secret: Donald Trump knows next to nothing about Africa. The continent is better off without his ignorant meddling.
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A Marxist Guide to Understanding the Gulf States’ Political Economy
Western analysts often regard the Gulf as a strange anomaly among capitalist states. In fact, it has the same underlying dynamics as capitalist countries elsewhere, and it is powerfully shaping the politics of the Middle East.
In the 1970s, a Soft Coup Removed Australia’s Left-Wing Prime Minister
The 1975 “dismissal” of Gough Whitlam by the Queen’s representative, Sir John Kerr, is one of the defining moments in Australia’s modern history. It also forms part of a Cold War history that saw left-wing governments around the globe punished for daring to break with US hegemony.
Michael Brooks and the Meaning of Socialist Internationalism
Michael Brooks’s ability to understand and analyze the similarities among authoritarians across the globe meant that he had little time for narratives that sought to portray non-Western culture as the source of barbarism and authoritarian rule.
Israel’s Annexation Plan Is the Latest Stage in a Long History of Violent Dispossession
Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has missed its first deadline for annexing part of the West Bank, but this Trump-backed scheme for land theft is still firmly on the table. The goal of Netanyahu and his US sponsors is simple: they want to liquidate Palestinian national aspirations.
Spain’s Former King Has Fled, But His Cronyism Remains
On Sunday night, Spain’s former king Juan Carlos fled the country in order to evade prosecution over mass-scale money laundering. Once hailed as a leader of the transition away from dictatorship, the monarch’s corrupt dealings show how Spain's powerful business interests continue to stand above democratic scrutiny.
Abdullah Öcalan: My Solution for Turkey, Syria, and the Kurds
For over two decades, Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan has been held in the Turkish prison on İmralı Island. In this op-ed for Jacobin, he calls for a “democratic nation project” able to unite citizens of different ethnic backgrounds and cultural traditions.
After the Beirut Explosion, Disaster Capitalism Has Lebanon in Its Sights
The explosion that devastated Beirut was an indictment of the parties that have misruled Lebanon for decades. Now, however, those parties are using the disaster as a pretext to deepen neoliberal policies, with French leader Emmanuel Macron and the IMF egging them on.
After the Beirut Explosion, Beware the Helping Hand of France and the US
In the wake of this month's devastating explosion in Beirut, French and American leaders have made a show of pledging their support to Lebanon. But many have greeted these messages with suspicion in light of the disastrous history of French and US involvement in the country since it attained independence in 1943.
The Fighting Between Armenia and Azerbaijan Has Halted — But a Deep-Rooted Conflict Remains
This morning, Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed to a cease-fire after almost two weeks of fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. But like after the last truce in 1994, there can be no enduring peace without a political solution — one that overcomes the violent legacy of the Soviet collapse in the Caucasus.
Centrists Are Pining for a Golden Age that Never Was
As the political center has withered in recent years, self-described moderates have often expressed nostalgia for the "normal" politics of the 1990s. But the era of Blair and Clinton really wasn't a golden age of progress — and it brought a wave of market fundamentalism still sowing havoc today.
Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” Is a Board of Naked Power
Rebuilding Gaza under Trump’s Board of Peace is diplomacy for warmongers, imposed on Palestinians.
Trump Has Been Quietly Setting the Stage for an Authoritarian Second Term
Since Donald Trump’s election, hyperbolic warnings about a descent into fascism have been constant background noise, even as he has repeatedly shown his weakness. But that noise has made it harder to hear the alarming signals of the past several months, as the White House has prepared the ground for a major power grab in a second Trump term.
Pablo Iglesias Tells Jacobin: We Want a Spanish Republic
Spanish deputy prime minister and Unidas Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias talks to Jacobin about the experience of Spain's left in government, the current historical moment, and Podemos's trajectory over the last six years.
Israel Can’t Win Peace Militarily. Palestinian Democracy Is the Solution.
Israel is meting out lethal collective punishment in Gaza and floating plans of ethnic cleansing to try to restore its security. But peace will not be won without democracy for Palestinians.
Washington’s Bullets Can’t Stamp Out the Hope of a Better World
Marxist historian Vijay Prashad talks about his new book Washington Bullets and the history of US-backed coups, from the post–World War II period to the recent successful right-wing coup in Bolivia.
Be Ready to Fight President Joe Biden on Israel-Palestine
A Joe Biden presidency will attempt to return to the hawkish Democratic status quo on Israel. Leftist activists and elected officials have to be prepared to stop him.
Joe Biden Is Filling His Cabinet With Pro-War Hawks
If you were hoping for a change of heart from Joe Biden after a decades-long career as a hawk, we've got bad news: his incoming team helped shape some of the most militaristic policies of the Obama administration.
Refugees Detained in Melbourne’s Mantra Hotel Speak Out: “Our Lockdown Is Indefinite”
Under the short-lived Medevac Legislation, 192 refugees were transported from offshore detention to Australia for medical treatment. Today, most of them are still imprisoned in hotels around the country, where they have to endure a total, indefinite lockdown.
How Postwar West Germany Used Support for Israel to Whitewash Its Image
In 1952, West Germany paid reparations to Israel — not as compensation to Holocaust survivors, but in the form of supplies to the Israeli state. Coming at the same time as denazification reached its end, the move had little to do with moral atonement, and everything to do with whitewashing West Germany's international image.