What Lucas Read Week of 12/17/23
Every Sunday the Best of Current Events by Lucas' Suggestion
Photo by David De Hart
I have always and probably will always tell those that ask where to check daily or weekly for what’s going in the world to go to Nakedcapitalism.com. This weekly Sunday current affairs email list is the start of an expansion of discussions on how our national and global political reality are directly tied to the nature of the US Constitution.
Luke Pickrell and I wish to establish a literary center for the politics surrounding the Movement for a Democratic Constitution, necessary to that goal are conversations of US Empire and its undemocratic imposition on the globe. I have a particular interest with the intricacies of US Empire globally and its domestic operation/structure as it relates to various sub powers. Consider this an introduction to understanding why I find these weekly lists so important for those interested in the logic of world power.
That being said understanding how ‘sovereign nations’ in the world relate to the structure of US global empire is delicate. Of course, if you’ve read the likes of Franz Schurmann, Noam Chomsky, Jack Snyder, and Michael Mann, you’ll be aware of the four forms of social power. Those powers are political, economic, military and ideological. You’ll also likely to have heard the theory that A) sovereignty is really in question in the post-WWII international Rules-Based-Order given the global reach and planning of US Empire and B) even systems that are mostly structurally consistent with the historical definition of a democratic republic, and functionally provide the most basic needs of their population unlike the United States, are limited by the relationship to the global empire. Let’s not forget C) largely you can exclude Russia and China from this equation though the power of the United States does have some effect on the priorities deemed existential and their strategic choices.
As I’ve learned from the mentioned historians above, these concepts are simpler and easier to discuss in designated categories. Let’s start with Russia and China. Largely these countries have been able to build a firewall from US interference that might change their circumstances. The evidence for this is supremely documented since the year 2000 but as well by the historians mentioned above in their work on the era that ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The next category let’s call US allies/colonies. These are largely the countries with the strongest relationships and are categorically client-patron. This includes most of Europe with possibly a couple exceptions. In the Pacific we have South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. Famously in the Middle East and Africa we have of course Israel, for now pretty much all of the Gulf Arab States, excluding Yemen. Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, come to mind as the strongest in Africa. Canada and the UK are of course honorable mentions as they have the closest and longest of relations with the US. The South Western hemisphere used to be notably staunch allies of the US like Colombia, Brazil, Mexico and more but more recently the political leadership of all these Southern powerhouses have seen the signs of our global trajectory and are looking towards multi-polarity. These states currently could be classified as borderline between reluctant allies and neutral but hostile.
The stances and relationships to the US for the rest world including some of the above are changeable because of US short-term and medium-term strategic goals. These countries often would prefer to chart an independent path or one semi-aligned with US adversaries namely China, Russia, and Iran. Iran is entering the sphere of exceptionality that only China and Russia have successfully been able to stay in. Largely because of Iran’s relationship with the former two.
I hadn’t intended to write an intro to this new series but the subject just seems to carry me away.
- Lucas
On Myanmar:
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/11/is-myanmars-armed-resistance-on-the-verge-of-victory-against-brutal-military-junta.html
On Russia-Ukraine War:
https://gordonhahn.com/2023/11/16/in-putins-russia-politics-is-war-by-other-means-and-war-is-revolutionizing-russian-military-affairs/
https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukrainian-pilot-defects-crush-morale
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/11/ukraine-end-game-putin-and-medvedev-discuss-maps-putting-kiev-on-the-menu.html
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/11/finland-is-hellbent-on-positioning-itself-as-a-frontline-nato-state-against-russia.html
https://newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/free-agents
US Empire/West v. China Role in the wider world:
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/11/comparing-how-the-west-and-china-offer-loans-to-developing-countries.html
https://www.indianpunchline.com/no-serious-effort-to-reset-us-china-relations-at-san-francisco-summit/
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-17/china-puts-money-behind-singapore-model-in-major-housing-shift
Latin America/Argentina
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/11/another-political-earthquake-just-took-place-in-latin-america-this-time-in-argentina.html
Israel/Gaza/International Law:
https://original.antiwar.com/ramzy-baroud/2023/11/19/rape-isis-mein-kampf-and-other-lies-how-israel-lost-all-credibility/
Democracy/US antidemocratic Constitution/electoral system:
https://www.npr.org/2023/11/18/1194448925/congress-proportional-representation-explainer?utm_medium=JSONFeed&utm_campaign=news&utm_source=press.coop
