Category: North America

Intervention vs Isolation: Paradoxical Logic in Trumpian Foreign Policy?

Predicted to be an isolationist president, Trump has since demonstrated the unpredictability of his foreign policy directions. Is Trump pivoting to a more interventionist approach from what was promised, or has he always been aiming to retain a large military presence? If so, how can we identify a pattern in this seemingly abstract picture? … Continue readingIntervention vs Isolation: Paradoxical Logic in Trumpian Foreign Policy?

Cost-of-Living Crisis, Contract Killers, and Cobalt Kings: The Global Architecture of Insecurity

Too poor to afford a house, not enough space in the market to get a job; governments hiring modern-day mercenaries, committing unspeakable acts without any form of punishment; and, in our pockets, goods, made from the suffering of the bruised, bloodied, and broken.
We are living through an insecurity crisis, a global crisis that few are safe from. While there are many factors that have helped sculpt this issue, the hand of exploitation has been a principal architect of this state we find ourselves in.
… Continue readingCost-of-Living Crisis, Contract Killers, and Cobalt Kings: The Global Architecture of Insecurity

The Dictator’s Ghost: The Cold War Network Still Haunting South America 

1976. In the cold streets of Buenos Aires, an estimated 300 academics, activists, trade unionists and journalists are taken from an ordinary van into a nondescript garage named Automotores Orletti in the dead of night. People scream, never to be heard again. Fifty years on. The nondescript garage still stands; however, the sound of the screams are replaced with a deafening silence. … Continue readingThe Dictator’s Ghost: The Cold War Network Still Haunting South America 

Saving Women, Selling War: Feminist Foreign Policy as a Tool of Imperial Power

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invoked the rights of Iranian women to rally international support for military action against Tehran, it brought people a sense of deja vu. The language was familiar — the appeal to women’s dignity, the implicit promise of liberation — but so was the source: a long tradition of Western imperialism that historically used the rhetoric of saving women to legitimise war.  … Continue readingSaving Women, Selling War: Feminist Foreign Policy as a Tool of Imperial Power

Empire Strikes Back: Imperialism as the Final Frontier of the United States

The United States has long been losing global power to China, as Beijing challenges Western dominance by leveraging strategic pressure points such as Venezuela, Greenland, and Iran. Imperialism becomes the final frontier of a falling hegemon, a move arising out of diplomatic insecurity, not power. As such, it can be concluded that such interventions globally sends a single message across nations, about the uncertain fate of the global order. … Continue readingEmpire Strikes Back: Imperialism as the Final Frontier of the United States

Mark Carney, a Non-Aligned Movement and The Middle Power Conundrum – Is There a Third Way?

In a speech that may be considered one of the great speeches of history, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated a need to stop operating under the pretence that the international order is working ‘as intended’ and that alignment with the great powers protects member states of the world. What is perhaps most notable about Carney’s statement however is not its unique challenge to the world order, but its replication and parallels to a challenge issued more than 60 years ago.
… Continue readingMark Carney, a Non-Aligned Movement and The Middle Power Conundrum – Is There a Third Way?

The Neo-Monroe Doctrine: Post-Maduro Venezuela and a New Age of American Interventionism

Reports of low-flying aircraft and explosions over Caracas, Venezuela, hit Australian media in the early evening, and quickly, it was all over. For many international commentators, leaders, and political figures, this intervention in Venezuela was not just shocking, but unprecedented. However, such American interventionism in Latin America has a history that precedes Trump, and is representative of a renewed age of superpower intervention in geopolitics. The real question is, what comes next? … Continue readingThe Neo-Monroe Doctrine: Post-Maduro Venezuela and a New Age of American Interventionism

Australia-Canada: the alliance growing in importance

The uncanny similarities between the two recent Australian and Canadian elections are not a mere coincidence. They are reflective of the political convergence between Australia and Canada in a world that is becoming increasingly uncertain under the second Donald Trump presidency. Indeed, the two countries share historical, political and cultural ties that date back over a century. Both countries have fought wars together, are members of the British Commonwealth, have diverse multicultural populations and, at least until recently, been staunch allies of the United States. … Continue readingAustralia-Canada: the alliance growing in importance

The Kennedy legacy: A Gen Z twist, family divisions, and an all-American love story

Kennedy served as a symbol of patriotism and political hope until his untimely death. Currently, his retrospective approval rate sits at a whopping 90 per cent. Despite only serving just over 1,000 days as President, Kennedy left a monumental legacy which would follow his family for generations. It was ultimately his assassination that crowned him as “the martyred prince of American politics”. … Continue readingThe Kennedy legacy: A Gen Z twist, family divisions, and an all-American love story

History v geography: understanding Australia’s approach to national defence

Defensive has become offensive. Yet Australian defence policy remains entrenched in stagnant, myopic directives that do not consider long term challenges, as we are experiencing today. It can be said that we are witnessing a polycrisis unfold: multiple global catastrophes playing out with such force that strategic shocks are now the new norm, leaving policymakers to answer the difficult question of how best to respond. This question renews calls for a better directed national defence stratagem, if it is to withstand our current predicament. While our historical partnerships with countries like the US remain important, we must acknowledge our place in the world, and make the most of our regional potential. … Continue readingHistory v geography: understanding Australia’s approach to national defence