Jacobin Radio The Dig: MAGA Empire w/ Aslı Bâli and Greg Grandin
Jan 17, 2026
Aslı Bâli, a law professor specializing in human rights, and Greg Grandin, a historian focusing on U.S. imperialism, dissect the MAGA model of U.S. foreign policy. They explore how Trump's approach mixes resource exploitation with ethno-nationalism. The conversation delves into the implications of U.S. interventions in Venezuela, linking coercion strategies to domestic policing under Trumpism. They also discuss the risks of these tactics backfiring in Latin America and the erosion of liberal internationalism amid rising global multipolarity.
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MAGA's Two-Prong Imperialism
- Trump's foreign policy mixes resource grab imperialism with ethno-national civilizational thinking.
- This merger explains coercive moves like Venezuela and threats across the hemisphere.
Coercion Over Nation-Building
- Aslı Bâli argues Trump targets nearby resource-rich states and frames global order as civilizational spheres.
- He privileges coercion and compliant local elites over liberal nation-building.
Monroe Doctrine Recast As Property Claim
- Greg Grandin links Trumpism to a revived Monroe Doctrine turned into a hemispheric property claim.
- Latin America becomes a testing ground for coercive, extractive tactics.
