I discuss the decline/collapse of the US Empire with D. Swanson
Here is the half-hour interview the tireless peace activist David Swanson conducted with me earlier this week.
Category Archives: Imperialisms
Exploring imperial decline with Kapuscinski and Farrusco
Alert readers will recall that last week I wrote about re-reading Ryszard Kapuscinski’s amazing book Another Day of Life, which is about the 1975 collapse of Portugal’s empire in Africa. This was part of my current investigation of the phenomenon of imperial decline, in general. The collapse of Portugal’s worldwide (mainly African) empire is an … Continue reading Exploring imperial decline with Kapuscinski and Farrusco
US hegemony evaporates at “Warp Speed”
I’m working a few new ideas for big pieces of writing. But then, I remembered how good it felt, back when I was blogging in the aughts, sometimes just to write informal or small things. I’ve been thinking about the concept of “warp speed”, which is the childish, popular-culture-derived name that Trump has given to … Continue reading US hegemony evaporates at “Warp Speed”
Covid-19 sharply headbutts U.S. hegemony
Within just 100 days, the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly shifted the balance of power in the global system from the United States toward China– and this trend looks set to continue, or accelerate, over the coming months and years. This is the case not just because U.S. deaths and death-rates from this virus (currently 71,152 … Continue reading Covid-19 sharply headbutts U.S. hegemony
On empires, reluctant or otherwise
My piece on Pompeo’s November 18 declaration on Israeli settlements went up on Lobelog today, here. In the piece, I used some of the ideas from Andrew Bacevich’s 2002 book American Empire: The realities and consequences of U.S. diplomacy. This article is part of a broader project I’m pursuing to explore the phenomenon of imperial … Continue reading On empires, reluctant or otherwise
Suez, Iran, and the perils of imperial over-reach
Sixty-three years ago, a (possibly amphetamine-addled) British Prime Minister, Anthony Eden, launched a military attack against a Middle Eastern country with the goal of provoking unrest that would topple its troublesome leader. Eden had conspired with others to create the pretext for the military attack. In the last days of October 1956, they swung … Continue reading Suez, Iran, and the perils of imperial over-reach
Bolton pushes United States to over-reach in Iran
Washington DC, May 14-In the 13 months since he became Pres. Trump’s national security adviser, the extreme hawk John Bolton has successfully ramped up Washington’s tensions with Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, and to some extent also Syria. But in the case of Iran, he may have met his match, since Iran’s government has a broad … Continue reading Bolton pushes United States to over-reach in Iran
