Geopolitics & Empire

Geopolitics & Empire · Steven Seegel: The Geographers Who Defined East Central Europe #090 Professor of History Dr. Steven Seegel discusses his book "Map Men: Transnational Lives and Deaths of Geographers in the Making of East Central Europe" and how famous geographers such as Isaiah Bowman or Hungarian Prime Minister Count Pál Teleki influenced maps and policy in the 20th century. Websites https://twitter.com/steven_seegel http://unco.academia.edu/StevenSeegel Books https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo27760776.html About the Guest Steven Seegel is Professor of Russian and European History at the University of Northern Colorado. He is the author, most recently, of Map Men: Transnational Lives and Deaths of Geographers in the Making of East Central Europe, which came out with University of Chicago Press in June 2018. He has also published Ukraine under Western Eyes (Harvard University Press, 2013), and Mapping Europe's Borderlands: Russian Cartography in the Age of Empire (University of Chicago Press, 2012). He has been a contributor to the fourth and fifth volumes of Chicago's international history of cartography series, and has translated over 300 entries from Russian and Polish for the US Holocaust Memorial Museum's Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933-1945, in multiple volumes, published jointly by USHMM and Indiana University Press. Professor Seegel is also a former director at Harvard of the Ukrainian Research Institute's summer exchange program. *Podcast intro music is from the song "The Queens Jig" by "Musicke & Mirth" from their album "Music for Two Lyra Viols": http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)

Geopolitics & Empire · William Engdahl: Are the French Protests a U.S. Color Revolution & is Trump the Real Deal? #089 Strategic risk consultant and best-selling author F. William Engdahl discusses his latest book "Manifest Destiny" describing US-sponsored democratic regime change operations known as "color revolutions" which utilize civil society organizations such as USAID, Soros' Open Society Foundations, and NGOs such as the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). He provides his analysis on whether or not the French "Yellow Vest" revolution is sponsored by the U.S. and discusses his change of mind on whether President Trump is an authentic patriot fighting against globalism. Transcript Podcast:                               On this edition of geopolitics and empire, we interview strategic risk consultant and best-selling author, F. William Engdahl. We'll be talking about his latest book, Manifest Destiny, and the latest in Geopolitics, Economy War, Trump and Empire. Let's start with the main idea of your latest book, Manifest Destiny. Now, I wrote my graduate thesis on this topic of U.S. sponsored democratic regime change otherwise known as Color Revolutions about a decade ago. In my thesis, I tried to look at a color revolution that was not written much about. I looked at Mongolia in the 1990s because I spent some time there as a peace corp volunteer. I was surprised to discover the same U.S. State Department, National Endowment for Democracy NED, Soros' Open Society formula at play there that you detail in your book, Manifest Destiny. After the Soviet Union FELL, sure enough, James Baker paid a visit to Ulan Bator, Mongolia, the capital. The young Mongolian named Elbegdorj who was educated in the U.S. at Harvard, just like Saakashvili, the former leader of Georgia. Elbegdorj founded a liberty center, which Saakash really did as well in Georgia with the same name. They were both funded by Soros, NED, USAID. I documented that about Mongolia and interesting that Elbegdorj eventually became the president in 2009. In your book, Manifest Destiny, you basically look at how Washington has systematically attempted to take over nation after nation including Poland, Yugoslavia, Russia, China, Georgia, Ukraine. Could you, for listeners, describe this basic framework or template that Washington uses to take down foreign governments in a way that makes it look like Washington had nothing to do with it. [spoiler] William Engdahl:              What happened in the 1980s, there was a whole series of congressional investigations, exposés, whistle blowers, et cetera, about the illegal activities of the CIA. Assassinations of people like Pinochet in Chile, the coup d'état against Mosaddegh in Iran, in Guatemala, Árbenz and so forth. As damage control, Reagan's head of CIA, and Will Casey, proposed a privatization of this regime change machine instead of using CIA agents on the street in civilian clothes who can be discovered and then revealed as a government operation. He said, "Let's do it through private NGOs, non-governmental organizations," and then if they're caught in some attempt in some country, we can always say, "Oh, that's private. We can't control what private foundations do. They want human rights, liberty, democracy." You allow them to work in your country. We have no ... Et cetera. That was actually at the beginning of brilliant and very effective way to get rid of regimes that Washington didn't like. This was ruled out in one of the earliest experiments in Poland with the help of the Pope, John Paul II, who had a secret meeting with President Reagan and worked out an agreement where the pope would be informed of the CIA's activities in Poland with Solidarnosc, the trade union movement and then would appear in Poland, in the streets, and give support to the fight for liberty and freedom. Of course, ultimately led to the topelling of the communist government. Then, one by one, the communist countries in the east block,

Geopolitics & Empire · Dmitry Orlov: How the Technosphere Threatens the Biosphere and our Freedoms #088 Dmitry Orlov rejoins us to discuss his book on the technosphere and how it threatens the environment or biosphere, limits our economic freedoms, and can become weaponized as a political technology. He gives some recommendations on ways to mitigate against the overarching influence of the technosphere. Transcript Podcast: Returning to the Geopolitics and Empire Podcast is author Dmitry Orlov. We'll be discussing his book, Shrinking the Technosphere: Getting a Grip on Technologies that Limit our Autonomy, Self-sufficiency, and Freedom, which touches on ways technology or this thing known as technosphere limits our economic and political freedoms as well as threatens the biosphere and environment. I'd also like to remind listeners to subscribe to all of our social media and weekly newsletter, all of which can be found at geopoliticsandempire.com, and thank the few of you who have left a tip via Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin, and ask new listeners for continued support because it does cost a considerable amount of time, energy, and money to produce this podcast. Without further ado, thanks for coming back on, Dmitry. [spoiler] Dmitry Orlov: Thank you for inviting me. Glad to discuss this topic. Podcast: Yeah, and I purchased this book from you a year ago, and only got around to reading it recently. You put to paper succinctly a lot of thoughts I've had on this subject of the technosphere, but let's start with what is the technosphere. The term, for me, evokes different themes, such as the technocracy, the 1930s scientific dictatorship movement, which I suppose is still alive today in some form. Some people talk about the term globalism, an elite who wield technology to tighten their grip on power, perhaps private corporations who wield greater power than states, such as Silicon Valley, who, at this moment, are purging any anti-establishment voices from their online platforms. It also, the technosphere reminds me of the Belgian utopian Paul Otlet who wanted to classify the world and create some sort of world city, as well as it evokes images of science fiction dystopian literature in film, such as The Matrix. Could you tell us what is the technosphere? Dmitry Orlov: Well, what got me thinking about it initially was this thought that there are systems that human being evolve at various points that are not necessarily in their individual or group interest and that these systems behave as emergent intelligences and as agents independent of the human will, that they manipulate people as opposed to people controlling them.Probably, the first one is agriculture. It made people sicker. It bound them to the earth. It made them unable to move around as they have before, but it increased population density and allowed more powerful systems of control to develop. It gave rise to empires, whereas before, we had basically bands and tribes. That took over. Then, later on, we had the development of the financial realm and money lending, which was only made possible by agriculture and by the accumulation of harvests, of harvested wealth. Eventually, this way of handling wealth involving money and debt took over and grew out of control, so that money became this necessary evil that people required to keep people at bay.Then later on, with industrialization and especially with the development of fossil fuels, we had the full development of the technosphere, which is now a realm onto its own, an emergent intelligence that we have no chance outside of that we must allow to take priority over our own interests, even if our basic interest is just elemental survival in terms of not destroying the biosphere or what's left of the biosphere. Podcast: Just, again, to clarify that note on your definition of the technosphere. It's not any sentient being, but I suppose it can be wielded by political elites? Dmitry Orlov: Yes, well,

Geopolitics & Empire · Dmitry Orlov: How the Technosphere Threatens the Biosphere and our Freedoms #088 Schiller Institute science advisor Jason Ross discusses China's imperial ambitions in Africa through its Belt And Road Initiative and the challenges it poses to the US-dominated Bretton Woods system. Show Notes Extending the New Silk Road to West Asia and Africa https://schillerinstitute.com/extending-new-silk-road-west-asia-africa Why China’s ‘Debtbook Diplomacy’ is a Hoax https://schillerinstitute.com/why-chinas-debtbook-diplomacy-is-a-hoax Africa's Bright Future on China's Belt and Road Initiative https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIvC_Kdvc4E China: A New Imperial Power? https://www.transcend.org/tms/2018/10/a-new-imperial-power Websites https://schillerinstitute.com https://www.twitter.com/JasonA_Ross About the Guest Jason Ross is a Science Advisor at The Schiller Institute. In America, the Institute, a non-profit corporation headquartered in Washington, D.C., was founded in May 1984. The Schiller Institute is also established in Australia, Canada, Russia, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, and has a growing influence in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Helga Zepp LaRouche, the founder of the Schiller Institute internationally, is also Chairman of its Board of Directors in the United States. A German citizen, Mrs. Zepp LaRouche is wife of Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr., statesman and economist, who, with his wife, is a true citizen of the world, in Schiller's sense. In her Founding Message for the American Schiller Institute, in 1984, Chairman Helga Zepp LaRouche outlined the Institute's objectives as follows: "The clock of mankind has advanced to a point where the old lackluster ways will no longer work. According to all established criteria, mankind has gambled away all its chances for survival. Too many catastrophes are crowding in upon us, the entropic process has proceeded too far and the rift between the U.S.A. and Western Europe is all but accomplished. For precisely this reason, we are founding the Schiller Institute. We do so not only because there is a vacuum we need to fill with institutions willing to revive the spirit of the American Revolution and the German classical period. We are founding the Schiller Institute because Schiller's special method of approaching world-historical problems is the only one which can still bring about a solution today. The kernel of this method can be defined in Schiller's own words: Man is greater than his fate. Even if the objective situation looks almost hopeless and desperate, we, like Schiller, are sure that a courageous spirit and human reason will always be able to find the higher level where the problems are solvable...."The Schiller Institute will work for this perspective. You, dear citizens of America, are called upon to help in this process. We can win, but. as Schiller stated, 'world history is the world's court of justice!''' *Podcast intro music is from the song "The Queens Jig" by "Musicke & Mirth" from their album "Music for Two Lyra Viols": http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)

Geopolitics & Empire · Noah Coburn: The Invisible Workers of America’s Global War #086 Political Anthropologist Dr. Noah Coburn discusses his latest book "Under Contract: The Invisible Workers of America's Global War" as we delve into the lives of over 3 million private contractors who service the logistics and underbelly of the Global War On Terror in Afghanistan. Show Notes Trump’s Disastrous Plan to Increase Contracting in Afghanistan https://thediplomat.com/2018/08/trumps-disastrous-plan-to-increase-contracting-in-afghanistan Trump’s Afghanistan strategy won’t end human rights violations among immigrant contractors https://qz.com/1062034/trumps-afghanistan-strategy-wont-end-human-rights-violations-among-immigrant-contractors Websites https://noahcoburn.com http://noahcoburn.bennington.edu https://www.twitter.com/NCoburnNoah Books https://www.amazon.com/Noah-Coburn/e/B005MYUBQM/ref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=29268 About the Guest Noah is a political anthropologist focusing on political structures and violence in the Middle East and South Asia and the Director of the Consortium for Innovative Environments in Learning. At Bennington College he teaches courses on the overlap of politics, power and culture. He has conducted over 5 years of field research in Afghanistan, and has also conducted field research in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Nepal, Georgia, Turkey and India.  His most recent work focus on international contractors from Nepal, the Republic of Georgia and India, who fought during the war in Afghanistan. He tells their stories and looks at what this means for the future of war and the American Empire in his book Under Contract: The Invisible Workers of America’s Global War. Follow him on twitter: @NCoburnNoah. *Podcast intro music is from the song "The Queens Jig" by "Musicke & Mirth" from their album "Music for Two Lyra Viols": http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)

Geopolitics & Empire · Isa Blumi: The Geopolitics of the War on Yemen #085 Dr. Isa Blumi discusses his book "Destroying Yemen" which explains how the Atlanticist empire has sought for a century to secure financial, political, and resource control over an independent Yemeni state with the help of GCC actors. Blumi also explains how Saudi Arabia is quickly disintegrating and what this means for the future. Show Notes In Yemen, Hardly A Revolution https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/09/opinion/09blumi.html What's Going On In Yemen? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oJf8g6FDHo Websites https://www.su.se/english/profiles/iblum-1.253921 https://www.twitter.com/isablumi Books https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520296145/destroying-yemen About the Guest Isa Blumi is Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor of Turkish Studies at Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies. He holds a PhD in History and Middle Eastern/Islamic Studies from New York University and a Master of  Political Science and Historical Studies from The New School for Social Research, New York. Dr. Isa Blumi joins Stockholm University after spending the last 10 years teaching and researching in universities located in Germany, Belgium, Turkey, the USA, United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, and Albania/Kosovo. Isa Blumi researches societies in the throes of social, economic, and political transformation. His latest work covers the late Ottoman period and successor regimes, arguing that these events are part of process that interlinks the Balkans, the Middle East, and the larger Islamic world. In this respect, it is key to explore in a comparative, integrated manner how post-Ottoman Turkey fits into what is a global story of transition. As he expands his work to include more of the 20th century, Blumi explores processes of change induced by Muslim refugees who ended up settling throughout the world. Exploring these refugees' stories through this global perspective helps question how we understand identity and social organization, themes Blumi will focus on in the courses he will teach. Beyond his historical research, Blumi also regularly writes, and lectures on contemporary Balkan and Middle Eastern politics (especially Kosovo, Turkey and Yemen) and political Islam. *Podcast intro music is from the song "The Queens Jig" by "Musicke & Mirth" from their album "Music for Two Lyra Viols": http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)

Geopolitics & Empire · Balihar Sanghera: Central Asia as the New Economic Battleground for China, Russia, and the USA #084 Dr. Balihar Sanghera discusses the economic dystopia left behind by the Soviet Union in Central Asia as well as why he thinks the United States holds the upper hand in the region despite Russia's formidable Eurasian Union project and China's Belt and Road. Websites https://www.kent.ac.uk/sspssr/staff/academic/s/sanghera-balihar.html Show Notes https://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/balihar-sanghera/economic-dystopia-in-kyrgyzstan https://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/balihar-sanghera-and-elmira-satybaldieva/global-capitalism-in-central-asia https://theconversation.com/central-asia-is-the-new-economic-battleground-for-the-us-china-and-russia-98263 About the Guest Balihar Sanghera is the Director of Graduate Studies (Taught) and a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Kent’s School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, Medway campus. His main interests are political economy, social theory and ethics. Currently, he is writing up four research projects: Geopolitics and competing economic imaginaries in Central Asia (with Dr Elmira Satybaldieva) The moral economy of credit in Kyrgyzstan (with Dr Elmira Satybaldieva) The neoliberal judiciary and property rights in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan Social justice philanthropy in the UK Before joining SSPSSR in 2004, he was a visiting lecturer at the Sociology Department, American University – Central Asia (2002-04), at the Sociology Department, Novosibirsk State University (2000-02), and at the Economics Department, University of Central England in Birmingham (1999-2000). He was also senior research fellow at the Management Department, University of Central England in Birmingham (1998-1999). *Podcast intro music is from the song "The Queens Jig" by "Musicke & Mirth" from their album "Music for Two Lyra Viols": http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)

Geopolitics & Empire · Jeremy Kuzmarov: The New Cold War is a Farce #083 Academic and author Jeremy Kuzmarov discusses his latest book "The Russians Are Coming, Again: The First Cold War as Tragedy, the Second as Farce." Topics covered include the true origins of the Cold War, how a Henry Wallace presidency could've altered the course of history, the Military-Industrial-Academic-Complex, the use of propaganda against Russia in the New Cold War, NATO expansion, color revolutions, and how the Democratic left is perpetuating McCarthyism in the age of Trump. Websites https://jeremykuzmarov.com Books https://www.amazon.com/Russians-Are-Coming-Again-Tragedy/dp/1583676945 About the Guest Jeremy Kuzmarov has taught at numerous universities and colleges in the field of U.S. history and foreign relations. He has undertaken extensive specialized research on the following topics: —  Covert dimensions of U.S. foreign policy —  The War on Drugs —  U.S. policing and prisons and the internationalization of U.S. criminal justice —  U.S. airpower and its human cost —  American military base networks —  The false manipulations of the public in selling American wars, among other topics. Kuzmarov has contributed to many progressive publications like The Progressive Magazine, Counterpunch, the LA Progressive, the Huffington Post, Z Magazine, Z Net and has appeared in various media outlets, including on radio and television programs.  He is also a contributor to a peace website, developed by historian Roger Peace, that provides comprehensive overviews of major U.S. wars and assesses them from a just war perspective. Kuzmarov has been active in local peace groups, and is a board member of the Tulsa Peace fellowship, a friend of the Asia-Pacific Journal, and on the Steering committee for Historians for Peace and Democracy. He is also part of a network, headquartered at the University of Exeter, that studies colonial history and counterinsurgencies in comparative perspective. *Podcast intro music is from the song "The Queens Jig" by "Musicke & Mirth" from their album "Music for Two Lyra Viols": http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)

Geopolitics & Empire · Adriel Kasonta: Has Brexit Become a US Foreign Policy Tool Against the EU and Russia? #082 Political analyst and consultant Adriel Kasonta discusses potential Brexit scenarios and how it has been weaponized by the United States against the EU and Russia. Websites https://www.adrielkasonta.com https://www.twitter.com/Adriel_Kasonta About the Guest Adriel Kasonta is a London-based professional with a strong background in law, politics and diplomacy. He is currently serving as editorial board member at the Central European Journal of International and Security Studies (CEJISS) in Prague and European affairs analyst at Wikistrat, a geostrategic consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. He regularly blogs at Russian International Affairs Council. Adriel is former project manager at the British Polish Chamber of Commerce (BPCC) in London and chairman of the International Affairs Committee at the oldest conservative think tank in the United Kingdom, The Bow Group, where he authored a research paper titled “Reflections on the Revolution in Ukraine” and was the editor and leading author of a report titled “The Sanctions on Russia”. Furthermore, in this capacity, he also authored a research paper titled “British Euroscepticism”, which was published by The Bruges Group think tank. His opinion and analysis has appeared in Forbes, The National Interest, National Review, The American Conservative, Antiwar.com, RealClearReligion, CapX, EurActiv, Russia Direct and Sputnik News (PL). *Podcast intro music is from the song "The Queens Jig" by "Musicke & Mirth" from their album "Music for Two Lyra Viols": http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)

Geopolitics & Empire · Dan Kovalik: The CIA and Deep State Plot To Attack Iran #081 Human Rights Attorney Dan Kovalik and author of "The Plot To Scapegoat Russia" and "The Plot To Attack Iran" discusses the US drive to overthrow Iran which includes proxy wars in Nicaragua, Yemen, Libya, and Syria that have the potential to pull Russia and China into a greater conflict. Websites https://twitter.com/danielmkovalik Publications https://www.amazon.com/Dan-Kovalik/e/B06XZ9ZRSD/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1537885269&sr=8-1 About the Guest Daniel Kovalik is Senior Associate General Counsel of the United Steelworkers, AFL-CIO (USW). He has worked for the USW since graduating from Columbia Law School in 1993. While with the USW, he has served as lead counsel on cutting-edge labor law litigation, including the landmark NLRB cases of Lamons Gasket and Specialty Health Care. He has also worked on Alien Tort Claims Act cases against The Coca-Cola Company, Drummond and Occidental Petroleum – cases arising out of egregious human rights abuses in Colombia. The Christian Science Monitor, referring to his work defending Colombian unionists under threat of assassination, recently described Mr. Kovalik as “one of the most prominent defenders of Colombian workers in the United States.” Mr. Kovalik received the David W. Mills Mentoring Fellowship from Stanford University School of Law and was the recipient of the Project Censored Award for his article exposing the unprecedented killing of trade unionists in Colombia. He has written extensively on the issue of international human rights and U.S. foreign policy for the Huffington Post and Counterpunch and has lectured throughout the world on these subjects. *Podcast intro music is from the song "The Queens Jig" by "Musicke & Mirth" from their album "Music for Two Lyra Viols": http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)