Politics Theory Other

Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi joins PTO to talk about the US and Israeli war on Iran, as the conflict - apparently expected to last mere days in the Trump White House - approaches its second month. Eskandar explained why the Iranian state and military have proven so resilient despite the overwhelming firepower that the United States and Israel are able to bring to bear, and why in his view the Trump administration made so little apparent effort to prepare for an extended conflict and the closure of the strait of Hormuz. We also talked about the prospect of negotiations and what Iran's red lines might be. And finally, we talked about how the Iranian revolution of 1979 continues to shape how the Iranian regime functions and why it's a mistake to view Iran's allies in the region as mere proxies.

Nathaniel George, a SOAS scholar of modern Arab politics and author on Lebanon, guides listeners through Lebanon’s recent violence. He traces Israel’s repeated violations, Hezbollah’s resilience and motives for entering the Iran conflict. He maps new Israeli tactics, mass displacement and sectarian pressures. He connects historical interventions to likely renewed resistance.

Richard Seymour, writer and political commentator known for sharp analysis of imperialism. He walks through Operation Epic Fury and regional strikes. He discusses who holds military advantage, Iran’s strategic economic targeting, and the fractured aims of U.S. and Israeli policy. He also explores European divisions and the broader signs of U.S. decline.

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On the ongoing crisis within the Labour Party following the resignation of Morgan McSweeney, over the appointment of Jeffrey Epstein associate Peter Mandelson to the position of US ambassador. We talked about why the parliamentary Labour party has stepped back from trying to oust Keir Starmer, and whether or not a left turn from the government is now conceivable. We went on to discuss just how devastating the ongoing revelations about Peter Mandelson might prove to be for the government, and about the broader crisis of legitimacy facing the British state and its key institutions.

If you'd like to listen to this episode of PTO Extra! please consider becoming a £5 patron of the show at patreon.com/poltheoryother Richard responds to some more excellent listener questions. Topics included: - What a left foreign policy might look like in the context of collapsing US hegemony. -Why Mark Carney called time on the so-called 'rules based order' before any major European state. - Marxist theorisations of war and whether conflict lays the basis for future economic growth - Violence and resistance in Minnesota.

Nikhil Pal Singh, historian of race and U.S. political history and NYU professor, outlines the idea of a 'homeland empire' where foreign and domestic power blur. He discusses how policing adopts wartime tactics, the shift from border walls to interior enforcement, continuities and novelties in recent administrations, and why the current project struggles to build lasting hegemony.

On January 7th, Renee Nicole Good, a 37 year old prize winning poet and mother of three was murdered in Minneapolis by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross. Sarah Jaffe has reported extensively on protests and organising in Minnesota and in today's episode we spoke about the political background to the current situation in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul. We talked about the central role of the Somali community in resistance and union organising (and how this has drawn the ire of Donald Trump). And we talked about longer recent history of protest in the region that includes the state's central role in the Black Lives Matter movement. We also spoke about the entwinement of the tech industry, the surveillance state, and the border regime, and how protesters in some US cities have sought to target tech company assets that are believed to be aiding ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. SHOW NOTES: From the Ashes: Grief and Revolution in a World on Fire - Sarah Jaffe https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/from-the-ashes-grief-and-revolution-in-a-world-on-fire/7683592?ean=9781541703490&next=t&affiliate=172 The Most Important Labor Story Right Now Is in Minnesota—It Might Be the Model We All Need: https://inthesetimes.com/article/minneapolis-stpaul-minnesota-unions-labor-strike Sarah's suggested resources: The Awood Center: https://www.awoodcenter.org/ UNIDOS-MN https://unidos-mn.org/ New Justice Project: https://www.newjusticeprojectmn.org/ Tending the Soil: https://tendingthesoil.org/ SEIU Local 26: https://www.seiu26.org/ INQUILINXS UNIDXS POR JUSTICIA: https://www.inquilinxsunidxs.org/ UNITE HERE Local 17: https://www.uniteherelocal17.org/ Take Action MN: https://takeactionminnesota.org/

In the latest episode of Interregnum, Richard Seymour discusses the Trump administrations' attack on Venezuela and its broader global and regional implications. We spoke about whether the US is retreating to becoming a mere regional power, how unprecedented the attack was (given the history of US intervention in central and South America) and we talked about why Trump's actions are - in Richard's view - hastening America's imperial decline and facilitating China's global rise.

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