This article seeks to deepen understanding of the global politics of reactionary discursive formations, which at the current conjuncture increasingly coalesce around self-victimising articulations of
Category: Articles
‘Speak Mandarin!’ At a concert in Macau in the autumn of 2023, Cantopop superstar Eason Chan used an interlude to talk about his songwriting process.
From Himal Southasian India’s ruling BJP claims to have overcome the “tyranny of distance” that has plagued the Northeast but its politics have created greater
This article was first published in The Sociological Review.
From The Contrapuntal Magazine On the first anniversary of the Sudan war, I am confronted with the thorny pains that accompany every act of remembrance.
Most liberal and left academics and intellectuals tend to defend, or at least excuse, the Cuban government. This is to a certain degree understandable with
From Sidecar The far right wants to decolonize. In France, far-right intellectuals routinely cast Europe as indigenous victim of an ‘immigrant colonization’ orchestrated by globalist
‘Lavender’: The AI Machine Directing Israel’s Bombing Spree in Gaza, by Yuval Abraham – 3 April 2024
From +972 Magazine The Israeli army has marked tens of thousands of Gazans as suspects for assassination, using an AI targeting system with little human
At a conference in Prague this past spring (May 2023), a prominent theorist of colonialism and coloniality spoke to us via video chat from his
The current Israel–Hamas war is one horrific outcome of a century-long Zionist settler colonial project, which continues to violently shape the political geography of Israel/Palestine.
This essay makes two arguments. First, it argues that the analytical frame of settler colonialism is very productive in order to understand, describe, and at
Udi Greenberg is an assistant professor of history at Dartmouth College (New Hampshire, USA). His scholarship and teaching focuses especially on the history of ideas,
I recently found a photograph of me as a baby, and on the back, scribbled in my father’s handwriting, the words: “Our daughter is blue.”
After over a hundred days of bombing in Gaza, tens of thousands of civilians killed and millions fleeing for their lives, residential buildings and mosques
It is Saturday morning in Tel Aviv. 147 days have gone by since the morning of Saturday October 7. Nothing can be said without mentioning
As violent conflict rises across West Africa, the phrase “farmer-herder conflict” has taken hold from the local to international levels. Farmer-herder conflict is an umbrella
From Tempest, by Dan La Botz and Stephen R. Shalom Sean Larson has written a long response to our short article in which we criticized author Jonah ben Avraham for his
From Boston Review The picture above of two teenage Zionists was taken in 1906 in Kamenetz-Podolsk, Ukraine, in what was then the Russian empire. On
From +972 Magazine Feminist principles compel us to stand with both the Palestinian women being slaughtered in Gaza and the Israeli women testifying about sexual
Why is Russian aggression in Ukraine imperialist? How is it possible to interpret it based on Lenin’s analysis of imperialism, and how do these interpretations
There’s a new essay being passed around by Megan Wachspress on “The ‘New Antisemitism and the Logic of Whiteness.” As one might imagine,* I have thoughts.
From The Dial The tech mogul’s statements about his country of origin reveal that he never really knew the place. There’s a legend among South
This chapter is based on a short argument between two Marxian academics, Andreas Malm and Anselm Jappe, which broke out on a leftist Zoom panel,
From The Diplomat Coming nearly three years after the military coup d’état of February 1, 2021, “Operation 1027” marks a defining moment in Myanmar’s revolution.
From Tempest, by Dan La Botz and Stephen R. Shalom In the midst of Israel’s horrific slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza, it would seem ill-timed to
Just another land-thief like the Turks or the British, except that in this case you wanted the land without the people. And the original Zionist
Christine Achinger studied Philosophy, Literature and Physics in Paris and Hamburg. She is Associate Professor of German Studies at the University of Warwick in the
Marcel Stoetzler is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Bangor University, UK, and currently Horkheimer Fellow at the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt/M., Germany.
How has the political meaning of resistance come to be devalued? What are the affinities between the artistic critique of capitalism and a fascination with
From +972 Magazine Among the victims of Hamas’ massacres in southern Israel were several Palestinian laborers from the Gaza Strip. Here is one of those
From the London Review of Books On 16 October, Sabrina Tavernise, the host of the New York Times podcast The Daily, spoke to two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
White supremacist movements are rising worldwide, and they come with heightened bigotry against many groups. While full of hatred, white supremacy also thrives on fear
From The Diplomat Myanmar has been ruled by a military junta for most of the years since it emerged independent from British colonial rule in
I don’t believe that ‘death to the Jews’ is a cry against poverty and oppression The word ‘context’ was quickly smuggled into conversations that took
From The London Review of Books Blog On 8 October, the day after Hamas militants from Gaza penetrated Israel in an unprecedented invasion and killed
It is now 1 p.m., Wednesday, October 18, and I am at home, in Tel Aviv. Eleven days have passed since the October 7 attack
Summary: Ahmet İnsel’s article titled “Crimes Against Humanity In Israel and Palestine” discusses Hamas’ attack on Israel on the 7th of October 2023 and the
“My grandpa didn’t survive Auschwitz to bomb Gaza”, reads a placard held by a Jewish woman at a protest in Mexico against a previous Israel
Can you tell us a bit more about Karmína? What is your origin story? What do you do? How do you define yourself as a
The appalling reaction of some progressives to the massacre of innocents has been decades in the making ‘He who hates himself must be feared, because
From +972 Magazine My stomach has been churning for four days. In recent years I’ve harshly criticized Israel’s policies in Gaza, written extensively about the
From Aeon, by Lachlan McNamee In 1931, Japan invaded northeast China and established a client state called Manchukuo (Manchuria). To secure control over Manchuria, over
From the Jewish diaspora to the Palestinians, R. Binyamin’s ideas show how alternatives to mainstream Zionism were imagined even in its earliest days. I spend
The killing of Mahsa (Jina) Amini in Iran a year ago ignited massive protests by Iranians against the Islamic regime. But civil unrest has been
Shadi Mokhtari teaches at the School of International Service at American University in Washington D.C.. Her teaching and research focus on human rights, Middle East
This article takes the assassination of Qasem Soleimani as a case study that manifests the schism between the realities of those in revolutionary struggle and
How regional and global powers, internal colonialism and Salafi-jihadist subterfuge converged to short-circuit the Syrian struggle against despotism From New Lines Magazine. Syria is a
Ethiopia has a population of 126mn and is the second most populous state in Africa, behind Nigeria. The urban population is less than a quarter
From New Lines Magazine On July 19, South Africa announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not be attending the BRICS summit in Johannesburg in
From New Lines Magazine. A day after Narendra Modi first came to power in 2014, the Indian election received a certificate of decolonization from an
A recent exposé in the New York Times on tech multimillionaire Roy Singham, who funds various tankie media outlets, organizations, and institutions such as the
Chenchen Zhang is associate professor in international relations at Durham University, where she is also director of the Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies. This article
This paper asks how whether and how caste fits into a global history of racial capitalism? The misidentification of caste as custom has long misled
In May 2023, when Mauricio Garcia killed eight people in an outlet mall in Allen, Texas, it seemed like just another senseless mass murder similar
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery The phrase iki devlet, tek millet — two states, one people has become the ubiquitous way to characterize
Mainstream far-right actors are escalating a nationwide campaign to eliminate the trans community from American society – a dangerous threat to trans people and one
From New Lines Magazine. Western groups find in Muslim communities what they believe is a prototype for a social contract free of wokeism and women’s
In a development that echoes the Chinese state’s repressive methods against the Uyghur people, the Israeli military is monitoring Palestinians in the occupied territories with
As with any other country, there are certainly factories with sweatshop conditions in China. But the motorcycle delivery driver and the burned-out office worker are
From The Diplomat Editor’s Note: This is the first article in a three-part series about Myanmar’s escalating political crisis. The first part will offer an
For years, Russia’s ethnic minorities have been subject to an increasingly restrictive one-language policy. At the same time, they are being instrumentalised in the war
Summary Post-slavery is an academic analytical concept that signifies the fragmented legacies and continuities of past slavery and slave trade in contemporary societies after its
On 24 February, the Russian army invaded Ukraine as part of a large-scale military operation aimed at rapidly decapitating Ukrainian power and subjugating the country.
The Chinese model of state-directed capitalism is coming apart — and it’s unleashing a new authoritarianism. In 2008, before his first serious bid for the
Volodymyr Ishchenko has carved out a unique niche as one of the western Left’s go-to voices on all things Ukrainian. His list of articles and
Andrew Tate and the Moral Bankruptcy of Muslim Proselytization, by Rasha Al Aqeedi – 26 January 2023
From New Lines Magazine. Even though his lifestyle is directly contradictory to Islam, the convert’s fan base turns a blind eye and embraces his far-right
Hannah Arendt famously suggested that the rise of totalitarianism in Europe was the boomerang effect of the violence, oppression, and denial of rights by European
The Ukraine Solidarity Network believes that the victims of aggression have every right to defend themselves and should receive the support of those who support
Unlikely bedfellows Traditionalist thought’s most influential contemporary revival, Eurasianism, is a normative geopolitical theory which rejects the ideal of a single international rules-based order administered
Multipolarity is the compass orienting the Left’s understanding of international relations. All streams of the Left in India and globally have for long advocated for
The imperial strategy of territorial expansion and colonization of resources advanced by the Putin regime will accelerate the decline of Russia because behind its facade
“Sovereignty and self-determination are important concepts to keep at the heart of Left analysis”—and can help orient us in the confusion and misinformation surrounding Russia’s
After February 24 [2022], when Putin’s Russia started a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, the world faced more than a challenge to Western geopolitical hegemony. Behind
From +972 Magazine The Israeli right’s embrace of Viktor Orbán typifies its convergence with a global far right espousing what scholar Jelena Subotić calls ‘pro-Israel
Calls to “decolonize” academic production may invoke progressive anti-Eurocentrism, but the theory of decoloniality identified with works by Walter Mignolo only trades in the most
How is ethnic domination produced, legitimised, and sustained under conditions of liberal democracy? This article engages with this problem and provides a re-conceptualisation that draws
By Ilya Budraitskis, Oksana Dutchak, Harald Etzbach, Bernd Gehrke, Eva Gelinsky, Renate Hürtgen, Zbigniew Marcin Kowalewski, Natalia Lomonosova, Hanna Perekhoda, Denys Pilash, Zakhar Popovych, Philipp
Germany has a long history of colonialism and racism in Eastern Europe. To this day, people who are perceived as “Eastern” face discrimination and exclusion.
This question involves two common misunderstandings. First, “communist country” is an oxymoron: communism requires the end of nation-states, so it would be impossible for China
At the end of 1965, the apparatchiks of the Communist Party of Ukraine received an outrageous samizdat – in Ukrainian: samvydav – entitled “Internationalism or
The economic regime that has emerged in Russia has received a wide variety of characterizations and label forms. There are different terms from ‘state capitalism’
Russian imperialism brings fascism and genocide, disguised in the language of anti-fascism, to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Central European anti-fascists were among the first
From Shado-Mag How many Leftists are failing those caught in the crossfire of oppressive regimes I recently moderated a conversation called “Our wounds can be bridges: the
Socialism The concept of “socialism” itself has always been murky. In the past, it was used by both revolutionaries and by those seeking to reform
Money China is capitalist. It is capitalist both because it is fully integrated in the global capitalist system and because capitalist imperatives have penetrated all
The bankruptcy of a one-sided ‘anti-imperialism’ Some on the left still have trouble counting to two. Having two enemies and not just one, fighting on
Ruirui （a）If you’re a communist and you’re Chinese, why aren’t you a member of the CCP? How is this different from asking American or Japanese
The author’s perception of Washington’s role in the world has ossified into a theology, with the U.S. as a malevolent God From New Lines Magazine.
Earlier this week, the Polish parliamentary progressive left party, Razem, issued a statement in which they announce that they are cutting ties with two European
The invasion of Ukraine has been a shock not just to Eastern Europe, but to the post World War II international order. While the fundamental
The far right believe that the world can be structured into strict hierarchies and categories. This worldview seeps through every segment of their belief system
Those who don’t stand in solidarity with the oppressed cannot call themselves leftists. With Russia’s massive invasion of Ukraine from three directions, Russian President Vladimir
David Harvey’s February 25 FocaalBlog post is presented as “An Interim Report” on “Recent Events in the Ukraine”. Harvey’s essay effectively covers some of the core forces
I began this paper as a contribution to discussions in the Internationalism from Below Group, whose members’ criticisms helped to improve it. I finished it
A New Lines investigation reveals a network of charities funneling millions into left-wing platforms that take Beijing’s side on the genocide allegations — and they’re
From New Lines Magazine As Latin American dictators marginalize and jail protesters, the leaders rely on backing from prominent but obtuse individuals and organizations What
When Marjorie Taylor Greene found herself approvingly quoting Nation of Islam conspiracy theories and noting the “common ground” between the GOP and the NoI, many laughed.
Yige Dong is Assistant Professor of Sociology and Global Gender & Sexuality Studies at University at Buffalo, State University of New York. She co-authored ‘What
At this late stage in the game, one should not be surprised at how incredibly poor the western left’s understanding of China is. Many western