Globalisation, Resistance and Trump: contesting the political economy of global restructuring

Voting for Donald Trump did not require civil disobedience, there were no strikes against other businesses and there was no significant violent protest. Trump’s electoral victory was however the result of a fundamental resistance to globalisation. More than that, and to the chagrin of his voters, Trump’s election demonstrates the beginnings of Marxist theory on capitalism. America, considered the bastion of global capitalism, had forsaken its proletariat in favour of allowing market forces to profit. The political elite had succumbed to the powers of multinational lobbyists and no longer sought to benefit ‘real Americans’. Such was the view of Trump voters, and whether or not it was true, their demand for a candidate outside of the political elite was fundamentally a rejection of globalisation. It was the culmination of a want for a return to isolationism and a revision of America’s relationship with the global economy.

Photo by LeoLondon

The Bolivarian Revolution: a Popular Backlash against Neoliberalism.

Photo by David Hernandez

In the global North, the nuances of the Bolivarian Process, and the truly radical, popular element at its heart is too frequently wilfully overlooked. In truth, the Process, and the Venezuelan Government led first by Hugo Chávez and now Nicolás Maduro is the product of a long tradition of popular resistance against a political and economic order which for decades systematically ignored, excluded and exploited the mass of the Venezuelan poor. This blog post aims to shed light on the Revolution by emphasising its origin as a popular backlash against a neoliberal order which had exacerbated the already stark inequalities and divisions within Venezuela.

Deepwater Horizon, Nine Years Later

It has been nine years since the Deepwater Horizon disaster and the effects of the consequent oil spill are still felt today. On the 20^th of April 2010, the oil drilling rig Deepwater Horizon exploded resulting in the death of 11 people. Then only two days later, the rig sank which led to five million barrels of oil being spilt into the Gulf of Mexico over a three-month period. It is the worst spill in US history and one of the catalysts behind the climate change movement.  What have we learned from it?

Photo by Deepwater Horizon Response

Afghanistan and the Enlightenment Movement: modernisation in troubled times.

Since the withdrawal of the international forces from Afghanistan in 2014, insecurity, political unrest, rapid economic deterioration and the number of suicide attacks has dramatically increased in the country. The Taliban are not only gaining confidence on the ground in terms of engaging in fierce battles against the Afghan National Army, but they are also gaining more international military support particularly from Iran and Russia; therefore, Taliban’s controlled territory is continuously expanding.

Photo by Todd Huffman

On July 23, 2016, when the Enlightenment Movement had organised a mass demonstration in Kabul, a suicide bomber who belonged to an ISIS group operating in Afghanistan, has managed to penetrate inside the protesters and blew himself up. This resulted in more than 80 members of the Enlightenment Movement losing their lives. In this blog post, I will report on Afghanistan’s new generation behind the Enlightenment Movement and their struggle for modernisation.  

The Largest Capitalist Challenge

Photo by Cepёҗa Pyccқий

This blog post will discuss the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, arguing that the revolution led to the rise of Communism and greatly challenged capitalist globalisation for seventy four years until the fall of the USSR in 1991.

RuPaul’s Drag Race has (in some sense) fucked up Drag

When Jasmine Masters published her video “Jasmine Masters RuPual’s Dragrace fucked up Drag” three years ago, she probably didn’t think it would become viral and then a meme. Jasmine Master’s critique of RuPaul’s Drag Race (RPDR) is somehow still a compelling critique of the show. In her video, she criticizes how Drag in general is being shaped by what people see on the show and describes the way ‘the Drag scene has gone downhill’ from the kind of Drag she grew up in. She asserts how Drag performers 8 years from the start of RPDR have started to wear corsets, leotards, ‘panties and bras’, how performers now have the same face and how this kind of Drag is far from the one she knew growing up. Jasmine provides meaningful insights on the homogeneity and normative effects that RPDR has had on the art of Drag.

This blogpost will explore the points highlighted by Jasmine Masters three years from her video and question whether RPDR has really fucked up Drag or not. I will first talk a bit about what beneficial effects the show has had and then discuss its negative consequences.

Modernity's curse: Excavating the historical roots of the Sinhalese-Tamil conflict in Sri Lanka.

Photo by Daniel Bago

Since independence from the British in 1948 the majority Tamil population of Sri Lanka formerly known as Ceylon has been facing systemic political and economic discrimination by the majority Sinhalese government. These systematic discriminations over the years propelled the formation of many Tamil militant groups. The most famous of which were the Tamil Tigers. Many questions arise from these distinctive acts of oppression and racism. The first and most obvious being, what was the reason for Sinhalese oppression of the Tamils? In this blog post, the answers to that question are traced back to the implementation of modernity during British colonial rule.

One Thousand Definitions of Freedom: what Occupy teaches us about resistance

Occupy Wall Street began with an image. In July 2011, the Canadian organisation Adbusters came up with a striking poster of a ballerina,serenely perched atop the Wall St statue of a bull. It stated the date of the protest – September 17^th – and the hashtag that gave the movement its name - #occupywallstreet. But more importantly, it asked the participants a very important question: What is our one demand? Ironically, this is also what other commentators have been asking ever since, but that does not mean that Occupy should have – or could have – given one such demand.

Photo by Michael Fleshman