Majeed Malhas is a Palestinian-Canadian freelance journalist and managing editor at Spheres of Influence. His writing addresses issues of political economy and foreign policy in North America and the Middle East.
Rather than accept that its foreign policy objectives in Syria have failed, the United States is continuing to dig its heels in. And as the recent earthquake shows, the Syrian people — not Bashar al-Assad’s government — are the ones paying the price.
Western nations rightly accused World Cup host Qatar of worker exploitation and authoritarianism. The postcolonial world responded with well-founded accusations of Western hypocrisy. In the meantime, transnational capital has been let off the hook.
Brazil’s president-elect, Lula da Silva, appears eager to challenge Western dominance. But instead of siding with China against the US in a new cold war, he’s likely to pursue a sovereign third path in the vein of the 20th century’s Non-Aligned Movement.
In response to OPEC+’s decision to cut oil production to protect profits, the Biden administration is proposing market intervention. But when American oil companies acted similarly earlier this year, the White House was fine with it.
For the last two years, Washington and its allies have sought to consolidate influence in the region. This bid for hegemony is coming up against a new force: Chinese capital.
As the US loses its grip on the Middle East, it is fostering new alliances between Israel and the Arab states to shore up its hegemony. Those alliances, looking to form a “Middle Eastern NATO,” could provoke Iran and spark new conflict in the region.
From the persecution of Chevron opponent Steven Donziger to the murder of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the US government disregards free speech in situations where corporate allies stand to benefit.
For the last two years, the US and its allies have engaged in a frenzy of infrastructure projects in the Middle East, seeking to consolidate influence in the region. This bid for hegemony is coming up against a new force: Chinese capital.