Geopolitical Economy Report

Economists Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson discuss the rise and fall of the US dollar system, the challenges faced by the sterling system, the economic consequences of World War I, the importance of primary commodities and bank call, the limitations of stable currency and free capital flows, and America's dominance in the post-war economic relationship.

China's Foreign Ministry condemns 'US hegemony' and its crimes, including wars, coups, and foreign interventions. The podcast discusses the escalating Cold War between the United States and China, US hegemony and hybrid warfare, US practices and interference in international affairs, regime change operations and color revolutions, China's condemnation of US interventions, and China's critique of US imperialism and call for multipolarity.

German Member of Parliament Sevim Dağdelen, of the Left Party, Die Linke, condemns the NATO "proxy war" in Ukraine, saying the EU is acting as US "vassals". In this interview with Ben Norton, she also denounces the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines as a "terrorist attack" that "should have resulted in a huge outcry". VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=NYn0ODIL0Qg TRANSCRIPT: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/02/22/germany-ukraine-nord-stream-sevim-dagdelen

The foreign ministers of the US, Germany, and Ukraine told the world at the Munich Security Conference, “Neutrality is not an option” in the West’s proxy war against Russia, implicitly criticizing the vast majority of Global South countries, which are independent. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=UXjDazqxAPo Sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/02/20/west-global-south-neutral-ukraine German foreign minister: ‘We are fighting a war against Russia’: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/01/26/german-foreign-minister-baerbock-war-russia 87% of world doesn’t support West’s new cold war on Russia: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/09/21/global-south-west-cold-war-russia

US officials acknowledged the Chinese balloon they shot down on February 4 had likely been blown off course by unexpected weather. The US Air Force later spent $2 million using missiles to blow up what appeared to be a $12 hobbyist balloon. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=mL9Jz-Qruho Sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/02/18/us-weather-chinese-balloon-hobbyist Our report documenting how the US military is preparing for war on China - and soon: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Iy5FALVrULM

Economist Radhika Desai and Ben Norton discuss the neoliberal myth of "globalization", the contradictions of US hegemony, and the crisis of capitalism. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=GRKHCwVzvTs This is part 1 in a series discussing Radhika's new book "Capitalism, Coronavirus, and War: A Geopolitical Economy". You can download Radhika's book for free here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/02/17/capitalism-coronavirus-war-geopolitical-economy-radhika-desai Other episodes in the series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hNZoKp0XsLFwSxxlMQu6ye8 You can get Radhika's previous book "Geopolitical Economy: After US Hegemony, Globalization, and Empire" here: https://plutobooks.com/9781849648400/geopolitical-economy

Ecuadorian economist Andrés Arauz, who came close to winning the 2021 presidential elections, explains Latin America's attempt to create a new currency and regional financial architecture, to challenge the "hegemonic, neo-colonial" US dollar-dominated system. (NOTE: Andrés' internet connection was a bit unstable in this interview, so some parts are hard to hear. Below you can find links to a transcript and a full video with subtitles.) VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=MQ-LTmT3Zuc TRANSCRIPT: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/02/15/latin-america-currency-plan-ecuador-andres-arauz

Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky admitted he refused to implement the 2015 Minsk II peace deal with Russia. Germany and France said Kiev used the agreement to “buy time” to prepare for war. Israel's ex Prime Minister Naftali Bennett revealed the West "blocked" attempt to hold negotiations. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=QLJDROnssgA Sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/02/10/ukraine-zelensky-minsk-peace-russia West killed peace proposal to end Ukraine war, Russia supported negotiated settlement: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/09/03/west-peace-proposal-ukraine-russia US, UK, France promised USSR not to expand NATO east of Germany, newly discovered document proves: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/02/20/us-uk-france-russia-expand-nato-east-germany US gov’t body plots to break up Russia in name of ‘decolonization’: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/06/23/us-government-decolonize-russia

A decade of proxy war and illegal US and EU sanctions have devastated Syria, and blocked some humanitarian aid after a crushing earthquake killed thousands of people. To save face, Washington agreed to a temporary suspension, but UN experts have demanded a permanent end to the “suffocating” sanctions, saying they “may amount to crimes against humanity”. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=mtiNw3PxRyY Sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/02/09/us-sanctions-aid-syria-earthquake UN expert: ‘Outrageous’ Western sanctions are ‘suffocating’ Syria, may be crimes against humanity: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/11/12/un-expert-western-sanctions-syria

Economists Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson explain the relations between money and debt, their role in imperialism, and the rise of the US dollar system. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ew21FOlftkU TRANSCRIPT: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/02/10/money-dollar-system-radhika-desai-michael-hudson Check out other episodes of their show Geopolitical Economy Hour here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP