Category: imperialism

04 Dec

Comments Off on Palestine: Towards a new intifada

Palestine: Towards a new intifada

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A series of armed attacks by young Palestinians against settler targets in Jerusalem and the West Bank is forcing world attention to the simmering intifada across Palestine. The crisis over Al Aqsa has already raised the temperature. The Israeli offensive on Gaza lifted Palestinian sentiment to boiling point. Now the confluence of a polity of […]

18 Aug

2 Comments

The forces that could stop the Islamic State (ISIS)

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With Barack Obama launching airstrikes against the forces of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq & Syria) and Western leaders like Tony Abbott expressing their readiness to take their countries into military action also, Left Flank joins the discussion on the Left about the alternative to more imperialist militarism. The UK-based Counterfire website has run a good […]

12 Aug

6 Comments

Ukraine, the sanctions war & 21st century imperialism

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We live in dangerous times. The last week has seen Russia impose trade sanctions on Australia, in a quite understandable response to the sabre rattling over Ukraine by our idiot politicians, and in particular, the enthusiasm displayed by Julie Bishop in backing sanctions against Russia. Sanctions and counter sanctions. The European Union and Russia are […]

21 May

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Imperialism & the anti-capitalist Left: Ukraine in context

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THANASIS KAMPAGIANNIS returns to the debate on imperialism, on the occasion of the controversies that have opened up inside the Left regarding the crisis in Ukraine. This is a translation of an article recently published in the theoretical magazine of the Greek Socialist Workers Party (SEK), Socialism From Below. The declaration of the end of […]

20 Nov

12 Comments

We need to talk about Indonesia

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I suppose we’ll never know if when Kevin Rudd dropped the word “Konfrontasi” into the pre-election debate on Tony Abbott’s “turn back the boats” policy he was merely stirring up his Coalition opponents or whether he was directly aware of the depth of contempt Indonesian elites had towards the Coalition’s sabre-rattling. The term certainly had […]

07 Nov

Comments Off on Internationalism, racism & the geo-political labyrinth

Internationalism, racism & the geo-political labyrinth

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About two hundred people took to the streets of St Petersburg, Russia, at the weekend for the annual ‘March Against Hatred’, which aims to ‘unite those who fight against intolerance, xenophobia, fascism and discrimination on grounds of race, nationality, religion and beliefs, sexual orientation etc.’ The following day, tens of thousands in about 100 cities […]

01 Aug

2 Comments

Egypt: The coup, the Brotherhood & the revolution

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Historical analogies can often be misleading, especially when a notable anniversary places them readily to hand. Mohamad Morsi is not Salvador Allende, overthrown in the seminal Chilean coup 40 years ago. But General Abdel Fatah al-Sisi is Egypt’s Augusto Pinochet — complete with military regalia and sunglasses. The response of Western governments betrays all the […]

22 Jul

7 Comments

Making things happen: race, borders & the state

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One of the most striking things about the mainstream media coverage of Kevin Rudd’s “PNG solution” is how the discussion is mostly framed by ideas, policies and language that are increasingly relics of a past phase of the interminable “border security” debate. By outmanoeuvring opponents to both his Right and Left on this issue, Rudd […]

09 Jul

Comments Off on Jacobin Book Club: The Making of Global Capitalism

Jacobin Book Club: The Making of Global Capitalism

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Jacobin magazine has just started their inaugural Book Club seminar on Panitch and Gindin’s The Making of Global Capitalism. Up today is my contribution, ‘Within or Against the State‘, which is chiefly in response to how the authors conceive of the state in relation to class struggle. Also available to be read, with more to follow, […]