U.S. Support Explained by Imperial Strategy

In this episode, part 17 of our ongoing series on Palestine, we're joined again by Jason Hickel for a conversation on Palestine and the role that Palestinian liberation plays in the global fight against imperialism and capitalism. The conversation opens with a discussion on why Palestinian liberation is a threat to capitalism globally—we unpack the role that Palestine plays geopolitically in West Asia and the role that West Asia plays in global capital accumulation. We go on to talk about Israel's role as the US's proxy force and attack dog, not just in West Asia, but throughout the globe as well, from Argentina to Guatemala.

We then talk about Trump's so-called "Board of Peace," and its vision for Gaza before discussing what's taking place in the West Bank and the official death of the Two State Solution. We then broaden the conversation out and situate what's happening in Palestine into the context of the United States' quest for geopolitical hegemony, what this means in terms of the Second Cold War with China, and the implications for Palestine, West Asia, and the world at large.

Jason Hickel is a professor at the The Institute for Environmental Science and Technology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the author of the books The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions and Less is More: How Degrowth will Save the World.

Further resources:

• Jason Hickel's Reserach
• Global Inequality Project
• The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and Its Solutions, Jason Hickel
• Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save The World, Jason Hickel
• People's Embargo for Palestine
• Energy Embargo for Palestine
• Palestinian Youth Movement

Related episodes:

• Listen to our ongoing series on Palestine
• Better Lives for All w/ Jason Hickel
• How the North Plunders the South w/ Jason Hickel
• The Divide – Global Inequality from Conquest to Free Markets with Jason Hickel
• International Development and Post-capitalism with Jason Hickel
• How Degrowth Will Save the World with Jason Hickel
• The Green Transition Pt. 1 – The Problem with Green Capitalism
• Listen to our ongoing series on Iran
• Listen to our ongoing series on Venezuela
• Listen to our ongoing series on Cuba
• Listen to our ongoing series on China
• Listen to our ongoing series on Mexico

Intermission music: "Courage, My Friends!" by Andrew Glencross

Upstream is entirely listener funded. No ads, no promotions, no grants—just Patreon subscriptions and listener donations. We couldn't keep this project going without your support. Subscribe to our Patreon for bi-weekly bonus episodes, access to our entire back catalog of Patreon episodes, and for Upstream stickers and bumper stickers at certain subscription tiers. Through your support you'll be helping us keep Upstream sustainable and helping to keep this whole project going—socialist political education podcasts are not easy to fund so thank you in advance for the crucial support. patreon.com/upstreampodcast

For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Instagram and Bluesky. You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.