Imperialism and geopolitical disorder*

Outline

Imperialism and global geopolitical disorder (Ana Cristina)

I. Imperialism in the 20th century

a) The foundations of Lenin's theory (J.A. Hobson, Hilferding, Rosa and Bukharin) Are the characteristics according to Lenin still valid today? b) Imperialism in the two Wars c) Cold War imperialism and the struggles for national liberation

II. Neo-liberal globalisation

a) Financial globalisation (Chesnais, Husson), globalisation of the chains of production and accumulation by dispossession (David Harvey) b) Imperialism and global inequality: the theses of Claudio Katz c) Armed globalisation - the "war on terror" and the war on drugs militarise life; the passing dream of a unipolar imperialism.

III. Imperialism and neoliberalism in the 21st century: apogee or radicalisation?

a) A new historical epoch - Daniel Bensaïd, 1995 NAFTA (1993), Maastricht (1992), WTO (1995) b) The rise of China and the transformation of Russia c) New characteristics of the system? The Dardot and Laval thesis d) Anti-imperialist waves: the Latin American "Pink Tide" and the Arab Spring

IV. Imperialism in a new crisis (since 2008) and reconfiguration

a) The nature of the imperialist crisis b) The rise of China, phase II: trade wars, sea lanes, one belt, one road - and Hong Kong c) The role of Putin's Russia d) Crises in the Middle East and fundamentalisms e) Brexit, Trump and the new global far right, Bolsonaro, Duterte, Modi, Duda, Orban - what do they mean? The dispute between two fractions of imperialist capital

V. The current picture: the world of pandemics and climate catastrophes

a) Covid-19, the convergence of crises and changes in the world situation b) The defeat of Trump and the weakening of Modi and Bolsonaro c) The enduring strength of the far right, despite the multiplication of resistance. The weakness of the reformist and anti-capitalist left. d) Imperial strategy under Biden: Back to Obama? - the US, China, 'the Quad' and Europe e) Opening up opportunities for the anti-capitalist left?

Readings

I. Lenin, Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, (Excerpts), 1917

Claudio Katz, "Imperialism in 21st Century", (Excerpts) 2002

Dadot and Laval - "Anatomy of the New Neoliberalism", 2019.

[Capitalist globalisation, imperialisms, geopolitical chaos and its implications; Parts I, II, IV and IX (document of the IV World Congress 2018)]

[Rousset, Chinese ambitions - An imperialism in formation, Part I only, June 2014 (English translation)]

[2021: Report on International Situation, Introduction, IV, V and VI, 2021]

Supplementary reading:

Alex Callinicos, "Brexit: a world-historic turn", International Socialism 151, 27 June 2016, excerpts

Dardot, Pierre and Laval, Christian, La nouvelle raison du monde - essay on neoliberal society, Gedisa, Barcelona, 2013. La nouvelle raison du monde, edition La Découvert, Paris, 2009-2010. The new way of the world - on neoliberalism, Verso Books, 2017 Introduction and Conclusions.

Pierre Rousset, What could be the international implications of Donald Trump’s election? Questions on the evolution of the global geopolitical situation, up to subhead 'Impact on the relationship of forces between powers'

Wood, Ellen Meiksins, Empire of Capital, Verso Books, 2003.