Upstream Iran Pt. 3: The Empire vs. Iran w/ Bikrum Gill
Bikrum Gill, a political science and international political economy scholar and author, unpacks imperialism, sovereignty, and colonial capitalism. He explains why Iranian sovereignty threatens U.S. regional power. He connects US actions against Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba, brings China into the picture, and examines regional alignments and forms of resistance.
01:41:17
Imperialism As A Structural Control Over Sovereignty
- Imperialism is a structure that systematically denies sovereignty by controlling flows between states.
- Bikram Gill defines imperialism as military and economic power that diminishes other states' territorial control and control over capital and resources.
Capitalism Needed Imperialism From The Start
- Capitalism and imperialism emerged together; imperialism was foundational to stabilizing capitalist accumulation through dispossession.
- Gill argues primitive accumulation and colonial conquest enabled capitalist expansion, making imperialism a core condition, not a later add-on.
Petrodollar And Israel Cemented US Regional Hegemony
- Post‑1973 the US linked oil sales to the dollar and used Israel as a regional security guarantor to secure financial-military dominance.
- Gill ties the petrodollar and Israeli military backing to the US's ability to project monetary and military power.
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Intro
00:00 • 3min
Bikram Gill: background and research
03:14 • 2min
Defining imperialism versus colonialism
05:16 • 5min
Sovereignty: quantitative and qualitative forms
10:23 • 6min
Capitalism's contradictions and imperialism
15:55 • 4min
Colonialism's role in capitalist imperialism
19:34 • 7min
What Iranian sovereignty means
26:30 • 2min
Historical roots: 1953 coup and oil control
28:02 • 5min
1970s crisis, petrodollar, and Zionism
33:21 • 5min
The Islamic Revolution as regional challenge
38:34 • 6min
Why Iran refused normalization
44:47 • 4min
Ad break
48:35 • 3min
US strategy against sovereign states
51:26 • 2min
China's rise and the renewed Bandung moment
53:25 • 3min
Sanctions, alternatives, and Chinese investment
56:45 • 12min
Why regional states align with the U.S.
01:08:56 • 5min
China's alternative: investment over intervention
01:13:47 • 5min
US short-term goals and strategic panic
01:18:17 • 1min
Iran's military and political response
01:19:18 • 16min
Axis of resistance and global stakes
01:34:49 • 4min
Outro
01:39:03 • 2min
#50803
The "Second Sacred Defence": Solidarity, Sovereignty and the Politics of Anti-War
Bikrum Gill
In 'The "Second Sacred Defence": Solidarity, Sovereignty and the Politics of Anti-War,' Bikrum Gill reflects on how solidarity and theological-political commitments inform anti-war stances and sovereignty claims.
The essay links Iran's revolutionary commitments to broader struggles against imperialism, exploring how solidarity with Palestine shapes foreign and domestic policies.
Gill situates the argument within debates about the ethics of resistance and the politics of defending the nation against external aggression.
He examines historical precedents and contemporary strategies of anti-war mobilization.
The piece aims to bridge theoretical discussions of sovereignty with activist practices of solidarity.
#38890
The Political Ecology of Colonial Capitalism
Race, nature, and accumulation
Bikrum Gill
Bikrum Gill's 'The Political Ecology of Colonial Capitalism' analyzes how colonial and capitalist processes have shaped ecological, social, and economic relations across the world-system.
The book argues that imperialism is foundational to capitalist development, producing patterns of dispossession, resource extraction, and uneven development.
Combining political economy with ecological perspectives, Gill traces how race and nature are co-constituted in processes of primitive accumulation and under-reproduction.
He uses historical and contemporary case studies to show how colonial-capitalist dynamics persist and structure modern crises such as climate change and agrarian dispossession.
The work offers theoretical and empirical interventions aimed at rethinking sovereignty, development, and anti-imperialist strategies.
#75018
Orders of Sovereignty
Internal Power and External Dependency in the Recognition of the State of Palestine
Bikrum Gill
In 'Orders of Sovereignty,' Bikrum Gill examines the tensions between internal governance structures and external dependencies in the recognition of Palestinian statehood.
He explores how sovereignty is contested both qualitatively and quantitatively, considering military capacity, economic autonomy, and legitimacy.
The piece situates Palestinian recognition struggles within broader frameworks of imperialism and the control of resource flows.
Gill argues that external economic and military pressures fundamentally shape the possibilities for meaningful sovereignty.
The essay connects theoretical discussions of sovereignty to concrete political struggles in Palestine and the wider region.
#24848
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
The long twentieth century
Money, Power and the Origins of Our Times
Giovanni Arrighi
Fernand Braudel Center for the Study of Economies, Historical Systems, and Civilizations
string
#8534
• Mentioned in 6 episodes
On contradiction
Mao Zedong
#804
• Mentioned in 43 episodes
The Wretched of the Earth
Frantz Fanon
Frantz Fanon's "The Wretched of the Earth" is a seminal work of postcolonial theory that explores the psychological and social effects of colonialism on colonized peoples.
Fanon argues that colonialism creates a system of oppression that dehumanizes and alienates the colonized, leading to violence and resistance.
He analyzes the role of violence in the struggle for liberation, emphasizing its necessity in breaking the cycle of oppression.
The book also examines the process of decolonization, highlighting the need for a complete transformation of society and the creation of new forms of social and political organization.
Fanon's work remains highly influential in discussions of colonialism, decolonization, and the ongoing struggle for racial and social justice.
#1908
• Mentioned in 23 episodes
Black skin, white masks
Frantz Fanon
In 'Black Skin, White Masks,' Frantz Fanon presents a critical analysis of the psychological and social effects of colonialism and racism on black individuals.
The book, written in an autoethnographic style, combines Fanon's personal experiences with a historical critique of the dehumanizing impacts of colonial domination.
Fanon uses psychoanalysis to explain the feelings of dependency and inadequacy that black people experience, highlighting how colonialism corrupts the psyche of both blacks and whites.
He argues that the internalization of white cultural norms leads to a profound inferiority complex among black people and advocates for a rejection of these norms to achieve true self-consciousness and freedom.
In this episode, part 3 of our ongoing series on Iran, we're joined again by Bikrum Gill for a conversation exploring sovereignty and imperialism in Iran. Our conversation opens with an unpacking of the intersections and distinctions of imperialism, sovereignty, colonialism, and capitalism in a theoretical sense. Once these foundations are laid, we then apply this framework to Iran, answering the question of why Iran's sovereignty is so threatening to the United States.
We then jump into current events and explore the thread that ties together the US's assault on Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, Palestine, etc.—and this brings China into the conversation. We talk about the construction of client states and why so many states in Latin America and West Asia have refused to intervene on behalf of Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, and Palestine. Finally, we discuss the Israeli-US war on Iran and what the resistance to it looks like both regionally and within Iran itself.
Bikrum Gill is a faculty in political science and international relations and a scholar of international political economy. He's the author of The Political Ecology of Colonial Capitalism: Race, Nature, and Accumulation, published by Manchester University Press.
Further resources:
- The political ecology of colonial capitalism Race, nature, and accumulation, by Bikrum Gill
- "Orders of Sovereignty: Internal Power and External Dependency in the Recognition of the State of Palestine," by Bikrum Gill
- "The "Second Sacred Defence": Solidarity, Sovereignty and the Politics of Anti-War," by Bikrum Gill
- Black Skin, White Masks, by Franz Fanon
- The Wretched of the Earth, by Franz Fanon
- On Contradiction, by Mao Zedong
- Vocal Politics: Why did the US and Israel launch their war of aggression against Iran? by Bikrum Gill
- The Long Twentieth Century, by Giovanni Arrighi
Related episodes:
- Listen to our ongoing series on Iran
- Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism / Breht O'Shea and Alyson Escalante
- Imperialism in the 21st Century by John Smith
- Alliance of Sahel States Pt. 3: Hyperimperialism and the Fight for Sovereignty w/ Mikaela Nhondo Erskog
- Listen to our ongoing series on Venezuela
- [UNLOCKED] Oil, Monopoly Capitalism, and Imperialism w/ Adam Hanieh
- Listen to our ongoing series on Cuba
- Listen to our ongoing series on Palestine
- Listen to our ongoing series on China
- Third Worldism and the Bandung Spirit w/ Pranay Somayajula
- Listen to our ongoing series on Mexico
Intermission music: "Another War" by Carsie Blanton
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