Rania Khalek Dispatches

All things having to do with Russia are seen in the West through a renewed Cold War prism, with simplistic portrayals more befitting a Hollywood villain. Western media has been in a panic about an impending Russian invasion of Ukraine, while they celebrated a countrywide uprising in Kazakhstan that after a few days was put down. So what's really happening? Is it all right-wing color revolutions provoked by the West? Local anger manipulated by elites? Perhaps a bit of both? What are the local dynamics at play? To discuss, Rania Khalek was joined by Volodymyr Ishchenko, a research associate at the Institute of East European Studies at Free University Berlin.

As Israel enters its 74th year of occupying Palestine, labeling all its critics as antisemitic, world public opinion is finally changing. But is it shifting fast enough for those being pushed off their land? What is the relationship between, and relative importance of, Western public opinion in connection with regional resistance? How should we deal with the new brand of political leaders who claim solidarity with Palestinians while campaigning but then disappoint when in office?  Also, is a multipolar world good for Palestine and what does 2022 have in store for the Middle East?To discuss this Rania Khalek was joined by Ali Abunimah, director of The Electronic Intifada and author of the Battle for Justice In Palestine.

In 2018, the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran, but if you follow mainstream media you’d think Iran was responsible for the deal’s collapse. In the recent seventh round of negotiations to restore the deal, the U.S. government added new sanctions on Iran while Biden was urged to “restore Iran’s fear” with military build-ups. Meanwhile, Israel continues to threaten war.But how do Iranians see all this? Here to explain is Prof. Mohammad Marandi, an advisor to the Iranian negotiating team in Vienna and a Professor of English Literature and Orientalism at the University of Tehran.

The U.S. government has tried to destabilize the tiny island nation of Cuba for 60 years all as punishment for Cuba daring to have a revolution and forge a path independent of U.S. capitalism. Yet Cuba has survived, and even thrived, most recently developing its own highly effective COVID vaccine while dispatching doctors around the world.How did Cuba keep the revolution alive even as socialist projects in other Global South countries failed with the collapse of the Soviet Union? What was the role of individuals like Che Guevara in laying the foundation for all of this? What are Cuba’s greatest challenges today? Rania Khalek is joined by Helen Yaffe, a lecturer in economic and social history at the University of Glasgow and author of “We Are Cuba! How a Revolutionary People Have Survived in a Post-Soviet World.”

China is imposing harsh regulations on private education, big tech, and billionaires. The new Cold Warriors in the U.S. government and media call these moves authoritarian, leftward tyranny, and bad for business. But Chinese president Xi Jinping calls it part of a “common prosperity” agenda to create a more equitable society on the road to building socialism.To help understand the Chinese point of view, Rania Khalek was joined by Tings Chak, a writer and researcher with Dongsheng News and the Tricontinental Institute.

Why is the coverage of the war in Ethiopia so one-sided? What’s really happening on the ground? And how does it compare to the narrative being presented in U.S. media? Rania Khalek is joined by Jemal Countess, a photojournalist with Getty Images and Redux Pictures who was formerly based in Ethiopia and has reported from around the country since the war started. He is currently based in the United States.

Lebanon has endured constant attacks and pressure from Israel, America and their allies for decades, sometimes in the form of direct military confrontation and more recently through a hybrid war involving sanctions, propaganda, violent provocations, social media, western NGOs and embassies -- all to weaken Hezbollah. To discuss all of this Rania Khalek is joined by researcher and journalist Julia Kassem, who has a masters degree from the American University of Beirut and is a contributor to the Al Akhbar, a widely circulated Lebanese leftist newspaper.

Why does capitalism need imperialism? What is the magnitude of colonial and imperial theft of resources from the Global South? How did global capitalism adapt after World War II and in the neoliberal era? And how is it fueling neofascist movements today? Rania Khalek was joined by renowned Marxist Economist Utsa Patnaik. She is co-author of "A Theory of Imperialism" and the more recent "Capital and Imperialism: Theory, History, and the Present," with Prabhat Patnaik.

When we think of Palestine we think of the struggle for liberation against occupation, settler colonialism, and brutal military oppression. What often gets left out is how this fits into neoliberal capitalism. Adopting private development and neoliberalization under Israeli occupation not only failed to promote Palestinian sovereignty but instead it led to further subjugation to israel.To delve into this topic, Rania Khalek was joined by Kareem Rabie, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Illinois and author of the book, “Palestine is Throwing a Party and the Whole World is Invited: Capital and State Building in the West Bank.”

Chile is set to have its first elections following the 2019 uprising, which was provoked by growing inequality and fueled by a violent and deadly police response. But as the left has made gains, so too has the far right in Chile. Here to break it all down and discuss how it fits into the broader Latin American scene, including Peru and Argentina, is Renato Vélez, a left-wing Chilean activist and researcher currently completing a PhD in Latin American studies.