The Exiled Son Returns: Inside Adam Castillo’s Homecoming and His Vision to Flip California...
Why Adam Castillo’s homecoming to Southern California is drawing attention from those watching the future of the state
There are moments in politics that do...
North Korea – an Agent of Peace?
By Peter Koenig
The false alarm on a ballistic missile attack on Hawaii last Saturday from North Korea did not help the Peace Talks which...
The Rise of Extremist Views in the 21st Century: How Children Are Key to...
By Marcelina Horrillo Husillos, Journalist and Correspondent at The European Financial Review
Extremist views and toxic politics pose a serious threat to peace and democracy...
Chosen Leaders, Proven Failures And Political Debacles – OpEd
By James Petras
The concepts, symbols and signs of the ruling class determine who will be the political “choices” for leaders and officials. Political elites...
Cuba – “The Equilibrium of the World” – and Economy of Resistance
By Peter Koenig
The Forth International Conference for “The Equilibrium of the World” took place in Havana., Cuba from 28 to 31 January 2019. The Conference,...
Here are Some of the Political Events that Will Dominate Headlines in 2022
By Thomas Klassen
Last year started out hopeful with the emergence of COVID-19 vaccines, but quickly proved to be a challenging year for governments and...
Venezuela – Confronting the Neoliberal Propaganda Media Machine
By Peter Koenig
Venezuela is arguably the only true democracy in the western world. In this article, Peter Koenig elaborates on the western world's “demonisation”...
The Curse of Aleppo and Understanding the Syrian Civil War
By Simon Mabon
Five years have passed since the deadliest civil war of the 21st century began. Dr. Simon Mabon discusses what caused the uprising...
Why politicians should be wary of publicly pursuing the Wuhan lab-leak investigation
By Maxime Lepoutre
The theory that SARS-CoV-2 originally leaked out of a laboratory in Wuhan, China, is making a comeback – so much so that President Joe...
What the West Can Learn from the ASEAN Way
By Edgardo Angara
The rise of ASEAN shows how consensus-building, more than the rule of the majority, can help nations overcome religious and racial...
International Reaction to Gaza Siege Has Exposed the Growing Rift Between the West and...
By Jorge Heine
The lopsidedness was stark: 120 countries voted in favor of a resolution before the United Nations on Oct. 26, 2023, calling for a “humanitarian...
Donald Trump is the Presidential Candidate the Republican Party Deserves
By Lawrence Ware
Republicans have had no problem using bigotry, often in subtle ways, to win elections. White supremacy is a well-established part of Republican...
Venezuela – A Tribute for Her Endless Pursuit of Democracy
By Peter Koenig
Venezuela is again the shining light of Democracy – pushing ahead with the 6 December 2020 National Assembly (NA) elections – despite...
China’s Population is Shrinking and Ageing. What can the Government do?
By Xiujian Peng
China’s population is about to decline and is also ageing rapidly, which will have a profound impact on China’s economy. However, well-designed...
As Afghanistan falls, what does it mean for the Middle East?
By Tony Walker
In the 19th century, the phrase “The Great Game” was used to describe competition for power and influence in Afghanistan, and neighbouring...
Snowden – Just a Clever Ruse? Propaganda, Empire’s One of the Key Strategic Weapons
By Peter Koenig
This is not about Snowden, the movie. This is about Ed Snowden, the by now 33-year-old NSA whistleblower and hero for hundreds...
Identity Politics: Diversion from the Growing Economic Crisis?
By Ghada Chehade
Despite the reality of ever-increasing economic despair – including, and perhaps especially, for minorities – no one is willing to talk about class...
How to Defeat Western Neo-Colonialism
By Andre Vltchek
The West managed to build its wealth, including the social nets, on plunder, deception, slavery and countless holocausts on all continents of...
As the World Watches US Election, the Appeal of America is Diminished
By Liam Kennedy
A US presidential election always draws intense worldwide interest, in part due to the spectacle, but also because the leadership of the...
Help Ukraine Today – Save Europe’s Future!
On February 24, Russian troops invaded the territory of independent and free Ukraine and began bombing its cities. The attack took place in the...
Will Africa Feed China? “Begging with a Golden Bowl” Food Security and Commercial...
By Deborah Brautigam
In this excerpt from her book, ‘Will Africa Feed China?’, the author discusses China-Cameroon agricultural development and investment.
On November 17, 2005, Yang...
Durability before Democracy: Why Stability is Elusive in the Middle East
By Sean Yom
In this article Sean Yom discusses how the lack of permanence of Middle Eastern governments means that democracy is for the time...
World Cup 2022: Who Won the Prize for ‘Soft Power’?
By Simon Chadwick and Paul Widdop
After four weeks, 64 games and more than a decade of controversy, Argentina has won the Fifa men’s World Cup in Qatar....
APEC 2015: Change is in the Air
By Dan Steinbock
Despite diplomatic missteps, APEC 2015 could pave way to regional peace and development. The triangular perspectives of Washington, Beijing and Manila tell...
Making Sense of the Far-right March on the US Capitol
By Anthony A. Gabb, Ph.D.
The storming of the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021 by an angry far-right mob was an exigent distraction...
The Problems of Unfree Trade: Various Implications of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement
By Binoy Kampmark
How free is the Trans-Pacific Partnership? Covering a region spanning 40 percent of the world’s GDP and 12 signatory states, an argument...
Life After Trump
By Boris Kagarlitsky
Trump’s election is not just a separate random episode of current politics. It is also not an indicator of American exceptionalism. It...
Saudi Arabia’s Yemen Offensive, Iran’s “Proxy” Strategy, and the Middle East’s New “Cold War”
By Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett
Riyadh’s war in Yemen marks a dramatic escalation in its efforts to roll back Iran’s rising influence in the Middle...
Belarus – A Color Revolution of a Different Shade?
By Peter Koenig
Belarus in turmoil, after an election where the incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko – 25 years already in power (in office since 1994)...
How Russia Is Fighting for Allies Among the Brics Countries Using ‘Memory Diplomacy’
By Jose Caballero
Since the start of the Ukraine war, there have been numerous diplomatic visits by Russian officials to Africa and Latin America aiming...
Vaccine Nationalism Is a Multilateral, Neocolonial Failure
By Dr. Dan Steinbock
In the coming months, vaccine nationalism is likely to compound COVID-19 economic damage and penalize more lives. It reflects the utter...
Nobel for Obfuscation
By Dr. Dan Steinbock
Last weekend, Maria Ressa, CEO of Rappler, got a Nobel Peace prize for her “courageous fight for freedom of expression.” In...
The Demise of Global Britain
By Graham Vanbergen
The almost universal collapse of British foreign policy could not have been timed any more accurately than right now – a time...
Anarchy in the USA: Five Years On, the Legacy of Occupy Wall Street and...
By Ruth Kinna, Alex Prichard and Thomas Swann
It was a turning point in the story of a new kind of democracy – and how...
Japan’s Politics is Opening Up to Women, But Don’t Expect a Feminist Revolution Yet
By Emma Dalton and Mari Miura
Three women have in recent months been appointed to politically powerful positions in Japan. But even as seeing...
The Story of Trump’s Perilous Iran Escalation
By Dan Steinbock
The Trump assassination of major general Qasem Soleimani reflects regime change efforts - withdrawal from Iran nuclear deal, new...
Iraq – Why Doesn’t the US Move Out Despite the Iraqi Parliament’s Decision?
By Peter Koenig
Why doesn't the U.S. respect the decision made by the Iraqi Parliament and move out of Iraqi territory? – The short answer...
Flawed human information processing, magic pipers and our conscience
By Bernard Yeung
Fierce competition between dominant countries leads to accusatory narratives, creating intense but dysfunctional crowd emotions. Flawed human behaviour allows a big gap...
“Without Haste But Without Pause”: Cuba-US Relations in the Age of Obama
By John M. Kirk and Stephen Kimber
This article analyses the significance of the March 2016 visit to Cuba by President Barack Obama, assesses changes...
Learning to Live in the World Instead of Ruling It
By John Grant
So how should Americans live in this new world? That’s the crossroads we’re at, the question at hand. Some advocate a very...
“Anti-Americanism” in the Philippines. President Duterte’s Subaltern Counter-Hegemony
By E. San Juan Jr.
Guerilla Incursions from the Boondocks
“A howling wilderness” was what General Jacob Smith ordered his troops to make of Samar, Philippines....
The US withdraws from Afghanistan after 20 years of war: 4 questions about this...
By Mark R. Jacobson
Mark R. Jacobson, a foreign policy expert at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, served in Afghanistan as a reserve officer...
Yemen – Prisoner Swap and What May be Behind it.
By Peter Koenig
Background
The fourth batch of Yemeni detainees has arrived the in Sana’a as part of the largest prisoner swap between the country’s warring...
Bigotry for Profit and “Fun:” Traversing the Wasteland of U.S. Election News
By Anthony DiMaggio
By now, many Americans are familiar with CBS President Les Moonves’ infamous comment that journalists’ sensationalistic fixation on the Donald Trump “circus”...
ICC debacles – and the Philippines
By Dr Dan Steinbock
After the Philippine withdrawal from the ICC, the battlelines against the Duterte government are politicized – and messy.
In the first half...
After the Election: Don’t Panic, Think!
By Diana Johnstone
In 2016, the fundamentally undemocratic U.S. two-party system presented the public with the two most hated candidates in history. The choice was...
The 2016 Elections: “The Bad Losers” and What They Fear Losing
By Diana Johnstone
If the 2016 presidential campaign was a national disgrace, the reaction of the losers is an even more disgraceful spectacle. It seems...
American Millennials and the World
By A. Trevor Thrall and Erik Goepner
The 9/11 attacks have been the defining event of the American millennial generation. The article discusses how American...
With Male Imperial Descendants Dwindling, Will Japan’s Leaders Finally Accept a Female Emperor?
By Masafumi Monden
Princess Aiko, the only child of Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, came of age last month as she turned 20. Despite her...
Ukraine War: What Are The Risks That Russia Will Turn To Its Nuclear Arsenal?
By Mark Webber and Nicole Fasola
Is Russia now led by someone who would contemplate using nuclear weapons without any great concern? Over Ukraine, Vladimir Putin...
Russia has Mobilized for War Many Times Before – Sometimes it Unified the Nation,...
By Eric Lohr
Vladimir Putin’s mobilization of 300,000 additional Russian soldiers to fight in Ukraine has gotten off to a rocky start.
Nominally aimed at calling up reserve...
China Looks West: What Is at Stake in Beijing’s “New Silk Road” Project
Flynt Leverett, Hillary Mann Leverett and Wu Bingbing
Not even two years into what will almost certainly be a ten-year tenure as China’s president, Xi...
The Year of Iran: Tehran’s Challenge to American Hegemony in 2014
By Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett
In 1979, Iran shocked the world—and directly confronted America’s hegemonic ambitions in the Middle East—by charting its own...
Ukraine Recap: Russia Targets Civilians as the World Argues about How to End the...
By Jonathan Este
Ever since Vladimir Putin sent Russian troops across the border into Ukraine, the role of the UN as global problem solver has...
Ukraine War: Sweden and Finland Eye the Nato Option, But It’s a Security Dilemma...
By Caroline Kennedy-Pipe and Afzal Ashraf
The Kremlin has issued an ominous warning to Nato about the consequences for the Baltic if it allows Sweden...
Jerusalem – The Straw that Breaks the Empire’s Back?
By Peter Koenig
When President Trump on 6 December 2017 declared unilaterally Jerusalem as the capital of Israel to where the US Embassy shall...
Dogged by Charges of Racism Where is Trump’s Concern for American Workers?
By Kim Petersen
Hillary Clinton described half of Donald Trump’s base as “deplorables” holding racist attitudes. Indeed, many of Trump’s policies do negatively target people...
Hong Kong and the Audacity of the United States
By Peter Koenig
People often ask and hint at the similarities between the Hong Kong protests and the French Yellow Vests. The former started on...
Democracy in Exile and the Curse of Totalitarianism
By Henry Giroux
With his white supremacist ideology and racist contempt for Muslims on full display, President Trump has issued an executive order banning all...
Brexit – How the British People were Hacked
By Graham Vanbergen
In today’s context, social engineering has now moved on – dramatically. It refers to the manipulation of people into performing actions they wouldn't normally...
Assad Adviser Says We Are In A Time That Will Determine The Future Of...
By Brandon Turbeville
As the war in Syria continues to rage on, it is becoming more and more obvious that the battle taking place...
London, Manchester, Paris et al – State Terror on its own Citizens – Again...
By Peter Koenig
Are you still fantasising about justice, equality, and liberty? Peter Koenig elaborates on the understated claims of “False Flags”, the horrors of...
Nigeria’s Twitter ban could backfire, hurting the economy and democracy
By Jeff Conroy-Krutz
bbetra.com
Nigeria’s decision to suspend Twitter indefinitely could backfire for the government and cost the country economically in terms of new investments into...
Five Things That Explain Donald Trump’s Stunning Presidential Election Victory
By Anthony J. Gaughan
A populist wave that began with Brexit in June reached the United States in stunning fashion on Tuesday night. In one...
The Covid-19 Global Pandemic: How Africa Should Respond
By Mills Soko and Mzukisi Qobo
Global Context
The coronavirus global pandemic has caused significant harm to the global economy. With two-thirds of the world’s population located in developing...
Who is Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s pick for vice president?
By Bryan Cranston
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has announced Kamala Harris as his running mate for the 2020 election — the first woman of colour to...
How Flawed Thinking Limits America’s National Industrial Strategy
By Robert D. Atkinson
The United States is one of the only developed nations without a national industry competitiveness strategy. Some of this failure stems...
What The War In Ukraine Means For Business
By Paul Bracken
The war in Ukraine has far reaching implications for business. Companies will face more complicated political and social issues than the stark,...
Donald Trump and the World: Five Challenges
By Simon Reich
The election is finally over. It has resulted in the most stunning political upset in the modern era.
But that is really...
What Does High Immigration Mean for the Government’s Popularity? What Data on Voting Habits...
By Paul Whiteley
The news from the Office of National Statistics that net migration reached a record high of 606,000 in 2022 is likely to...
Trump’s War on Dangerous Memory and Critical Thought
By Henry A. Giroux
Trump’s election has unleashed a brand of savage capitalism that not only has and will continue to have horrible consequences, but...
The Dark Plight of Immigrants in the Racist Era of Trump
By Alvaro Huerta
This essay argues that President Donald J. Trump represents an existential threat to immigrants in the United States. Trump’s immigration rhetoric and...
The Olympics strive for political neutrality. So, how will they deal with surging athlete...
By Dr. Michelle O’Shea, Dr. Daryl Adair, Hazel Maxwell, and Dr. Megan Stronach
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has long tried to insulate itself from...
Disinformation is Often Blamed for Swaying Elections – The Research Says Something Else
By Magda Osman
Many countries face general elections this year. Political campaigning will include misleading and even false information. Just days ago, it was reported that a robocall impersonating...
The Dark Forces behind American Insurrectionists
By Dr Dan Steinbock
On January 6, 2021, a mob of white supremacists stormed the U.S. Capitol, presumably to overturn Trump's defeat. Their final goal...
Venezuela – Towards an Economy of Resistance
By Peter Koenig
The Government of Venezuela called an international Presidential Economic Advisory Commission, 14-16 June, 2018 – to debate the current foreign injected economic...
Conspiracy Theory – What Is It?
By Peter Koenig
Being blamed for disseminating “conspiracy theories” and therefore being a conspiracy theorist, is an extraordinarily and smart tactic used by the true...
Delivering Aid During War Is Tricky − Here’s What to Know About What Gaza...
By Topher L. McDougal
The 2.2 million people who live in Gaza are facing economic isolation and experiencing incessant bombardment. Their supplies of essential resources, including food and water,...
New Poll: How many Britons believe in conspiracy theories?
By Dr. Rainer Zitelmann
Since the onset of the coronavirus crisis, conspiracy theories have been spreading almost as fast as the virus itself, especially on...
Trump Faces Possible Obstruction of Justice Charges for Concealing Classified Government Documents – 2...
By Clark Cunningham
A court filing by the Justice Department just minutes before midnight on Aug. 30, 2022, was a sharply worded attack on former President...
Failed Statebuilding versus Peace Formation: The Consequences and Implications over the Last 25 Years
By Oliver P. Richmond
Recent years have seen an abundance of foreign intervention to achieve peace and statebuilding. Below, Oliver Richmond discusses how statebuilding...
America at War with Itself
By Henry A. Giroux
As the United States has moved from a welfare to a warfare state, it has militarised every aspect of society. This...
Ukraine: Russian Opposition To The Invasion Is Giving Putin Cause For Alarm
By Ben Noble
Vladimir Putin’s military aggression against Ukraine is meeting more opposition from Ukrainians than he expected. The Russian president also saw widespread condemnation of his military’s...
Post-inauguration, restoring the soul of Biden’s America must be truly inclusive
By Daniel McNeil
Over the past few months, I’ve been editing a book about soulful beliefs, practices and feelings that overflow from their religious and...
COVID-19 Could Nudge Minds and Societies Towards Authoritarianism
By Leor Zmigrod
It is a little-known fact that humans have not one but two immune systems. The first, the biophysical immune system – the...
America’s Never-Ending War in the Middle East
By Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett
While President Obama continues – at least for now – to resist redeploying large numbers of U.S. soldiers...
Unelectability, Sovereignty and Occupy
By Thomas Swann
Highly popular candidates such as Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn were deemed unelectable. In being described as unelectable, these politicians are being...
The Delusions of Counterinsurgency
By David Martin Jones and Michael L.R. Smith
The theory and practice of counterinsurgency, ‘COIN’, preoccupied Western military thinking after 9/11. In the Political Impossibility...
Sri Lanka – Candidate for a New NATO Base?
By Peter Koenig
Sri Lanka, Easter Sunday, 21 April 2019: More than half a dozen bomb blasts shook the country killing from 250 to...
Yemen – Appeal to President Putin
By Peter Koenig
Dear President Putin,
Yemen, a peaceful and extremely poor country is being slaughtered, literally slaughtered by the Saudis, with the full weapons, funding...
Ukraine War: Evidence of Atrocities in Kyiv’s Suburbs Strengthens Case for a Harder Line...
orisbet
By Dr Anastasiia Kudlenko
When Ukraine learned on April 2 that the whole Kyiv region had been liberated from Russian troops, there was barely any...
Deadliest Day for Jews Since the Holocaust Spurs a Crisis of Confidence in the...
By Avner Cohen
Living for 75 years within a hostile neighborhood has required the state of Israel to provide security against external threats to all its citizens.
That...
How the Brexit Referendum was Trumped: Personality, Protest and Patriotism
By Glyn Atwal and Douglas Bryson
In this article, the authors contend the electioneering style of what they label “Trumpism” was distinctly manifested and a...
The Odd Track-Record of the International Criminal Court
By Dan Steinbock
The ICC wants to probe ex-President Duterte’s drug war. The Philippines government rejects the effort. Whose justice does ICC represent?
Recently,...
Is Europe Sleep-Walking into a Diplomatic Disaster with Iran?
By Dan Steinbock
Iran charges Brussels for serving US interests in the Middle East. The accusations are the net effect of Europe’s failure to protect...
Facing the Shadow of Colonialism in Trump’s America
By Nozomi Hayase
From Muslim bans to attacks on LGBTQ communities and immigrants, the Trump presidency is regressing civil society with a colonial hierarchy. In...
Navalny Dies in Prison − But His Blueprint for Anti-Putin Activism Will Live On
By Prof. Regina Smyth
Long lines of Russians endured subzero temperatures in January 2024 to demand that anti-Ukraine war candidate Boris Nadezhdin be allowed to run in the forthcoming...
North Korea – Killer Sanctions Imposed by the Foremost Institution of Peace and Justice...
By Peter Koenig
The United Nations was created to safeguard peace, justice, and security at a time when the “world was in ruins”. In this...
Amazonia in Flames – Brazil’s Bolsonaro is a World Criminal – Encouraging Jungle Burning...
By Peter Koenig
On 28 October 2018, Jair Bolsonaro was elected President of Brazil with 55.1% of the vote – and with a gigantic help from...
Look to the Mainstream to Explain the Rise of the Far Right
By Aurelien Mondon
Javier Milei in Argentina. Geert Wilders in the Netherlands. These are the two latest “populist shocks” – the tip of the “populist...