Politics Theory Other

Sebastian Budgen returns to PTO to talk about the first round of the French presidential election, and the prospects for the second round vote later this month. We discussed what Marine Le Pen may have learned from her heavy defeat in 2017, how Eric Zemmour's far-right candidacy affected the campaign and why the left can take some heart from the impressive result for Jean-Luc Melenchon - that came close to pushing Le Pen and the national rally into third place.

Richard Seymour responds to the excellent questions sent in by listeners - on topics ranging from the left's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, to the relationship between psychological injury and physical ailments, and the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy.

Kojo Koram returns to PTO to talk about his new book, Uncommon Wealth: Britain and the Aftermath of Empire. We chatted about how the British empire and its legacy continues to structure the UK and world economies, and why the supposed opposition between critics of Britain's imperial inheritance and the material concerns of ordinary working class people - ignores the way the economic innovations of empire and decolonisation - from tax havens and outsourcing, to the corporate form, itself - continue to structure all of our lives.

In the second episode of Interregnum Richard Seymour discusses his recent article, 'The cruelties of self-help culture'. We talked about the magical thinking propagated by what Richard calls "the success wing of self-help literature" and why its claim that success depends almost solely on individual effort is so appealing. We also talked about the history of self-help culture and the significance of Samuel Smiles, the Victorian liberal reformer and author of the 1859 book Self Help: Illustrations of Character and Conduct. Finally we discussed Richard's plans to write a self-help book from the left.

Despite India's deepening alliance with the United States, and the country's regional rivalry with China, the Indian government has refused to join condemnation of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. Ravinder Kaur joins PTO to talk about India's tacit alliance with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, how Russian weaponry continues to be the primary source for India's military, and why there is a striking degree of support for Russia within the country.

James Meadway returns to PTO to talk about his recent article on the economic sanctions imposed on Russia in response to the Putin regime's invasion of Ukraine. We discussed the special significance of targeting the Russian central bank, and the likely consequences for the Russian economy. We also talked about the extraordinary dangerousness of the situation, given the raising of the alert status of Russia's nuclear forces, and the apparent absence of any face-saving way in which Vladimir Putin could deescalate. We also discussed China's gradual distancing from Russia since the start of the invasion.

In the first episode of Interregnum, a new fortnightly show with author Richard Seymour, we talked about the objectives of the Russian invasion, and what Vladimir Putin's broader geo-strategic goals are. And we also discussed his extraordinary claim that the invasion is in part aimed at the "denazification" of Ukraine. Finally, we talked about the risk of direct Western military intervention.

Paul Rogers joins PTO again to talk about his recent article in Open Democracy: Who would benefit from Russia going to war with Ukraine? We chatted about the Russian military build up on Ukraine's borders and whether this portends an imminent invasion. We also talked about the arms industry and how the nexus between arms companies, states, and research institutions encourages policy makers to see military solutions to all security problems. Finally, we discussed Labour leader Keir Starmer's recent article in The Guardian in which he lauded NATO and condemned the Stop the War Coalition. Become a £5 support of PTO to get access to this and all other episodes of PTO Extra: https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother

Camila Vergara joins PTO to talk about Chile's new left wing government and the new president elect, former student leader Gabriel Boric. We talked about what to expect from the new government in the context of a divided congress, how the protest movements that first emerged in 2011 has given rise to both the election of the new government and the constitutional convention - which has been tasked with re-rewriting the Pinochet era constitution. We also talked about the presidential campaign of Boric's opponent, the far-right José Antonio Kast - who, despite losing the election, has displaced the less extreme conservative currents in Chilean electoral politics.

Sebastian Budgen joins PTO to talk about the rise of Eric Zemmour - the new star of the French far right and a candidate in April's presidential election. We discussed Zemmour's career in journalism, and why he is able to attract support from both Le Pen voters and more mainstream conservatives. We also talked about the strategic logic behind Zemmour's efforts to rehabilitate the reputation of the collaborationist Vichy government of WWII.