Journal of International Solidarity

In the first part of this episode, we looked back at the rise of the West and of the capitalist world-system from a political ecology perspective, discussing the divorce between society and nature that began with Western colonialism and capitalism. We looked at the rise of the global South in reaction to this long rise of capitalism and imperialism, and looked at the agrarian question in the global South as the basis of Southern sovereignty.

In this second part, we look more precisely at how China and India approached their agrarian questions differently, and why China was actually able to resolve its agrarian question to guarantee national sovereignty, while India hasn’t yet. We also look at the significance of China’s approach to ecological civilization within this longer history of capitalism’s rise being premised on ecological dispossession. Finally, we end by discussing the liberation struggles that are ongoing in West Asia today, including Palestine, Lebanon, and Iran, but with a particular focus on the recent developments in Yemen.

Still Minab (Helyeh Doutaghi, Bikrum Gill): https://youtu.be/RYd8ePRlq1U?si=vmJFdqoFr1yXKUOH

Political Ecology of Colonial Capitalism: https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526181350/

Anti-Imperialism in a Multipolar World: Lessons from V. I. Lenin and M. N. Roy: https://youtu.be/90ZMzjPyc-k?si=lNiaklSws2fOWGU6

Journal of International Solidarity Links

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/InternationalSolidarityPodcast/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/journalofintlsolidarity/

Substack: https://intlsolidarity.substack.com/

In Part 1 of this episode, we look back at the rise of the West and of the capitalist world-system from a political ecology perspective. In particular, we discuss how the rise of capitalism meant the beginning of a qualitatively different relationship between society and nature that started with the colonial encounter in the Americas. We also looked at how the rise of capitalism and imperialism meant the appropriation of ecological systems that were co-created by Indigenous peoples and how these systems and their peoples were subordinated to capital accumulation. We then shifted to look at the rise of the global South in reaction to capitalism and imperialism, and looked at the agrarian question in the global South as the basis of Southern sovereignty.

Still Minab (Helyeh Doutaghi, Bikrum Gill): https://youtu.be/RYd8ePRlq1U?si=vmJFdqoFr1yXKUOH

Political Ecology of Colonial Capitalism: https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526181350/

Anti-Imperialism in a Multipolar World: Lessons from V. I. Lenin and M. N. Roy: https://youtu.be/90ZMzjPyc-k?si=lNiaklSws2fOWGU6

Journal of International Solidarity Links

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/InternationalSolidarityPodcast/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/journalofintlsolidarity/

Substack: https://intlsolidarity.substack.com/ 

In this episode, Jyotishman Mudiar and I discuss the recent student protests in India and the underlying material concerns behind them, as well as the strength of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the state of the opposition and left forces in response to it. We also looked at the history of India’s solidarity with the Third World and of Palestine in particular, as well as some of the contradictions contained within that tradition. Finally, we look at India’s recent moves to draw closer to Russia and China at the recent BRICS and SCO summits, and what that might mean for Indian development.

Jyotishman Mudiar is a researcher and the host of India & Global Left on Youtube.

Journal of International Solidarity Links

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/InternationalSolidarityPodcast/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/journalofintlsolidarity/ 

Substack: https://intlsolidarity.substack.com/ 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@journalofintlsolidarity/ 

In this episode, I sat down with David Hundeyin to unpack the historical and contemporary quest for African sovereignty against imperialist domination. We began by examining the longue-durée impact of Western capitalism, colonialism, and the slave trade on Africa's systemic underdevelopment. We then shifted to contemporary issues and looked at how the US is weaponizing health aid to try to poach Africans’ healthcare related data. We also explored the legacy of both sovereignty and neocolonialism in Nigeria, and the various ways it remains dominated by the West. We then turned our attention to the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) as a bold beacon of anti-imperialist, sovereign development, while also discussing some of the military and political threats they face. Finally, we looked toward the future of African politics and the extent to which conditions are becoming favourable for a decisive exit from imperialist domination.

David Hundeyin is an award-winning Nigerian investigative journalist and author based in Ghana who is also a founder of the Spearhead, which is a media outlet dedicated to telling the stories of Africa and Africans on their own terms from an anti-imperialist perspective.

Journal of International Solidarity Links

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/InternationalSolidarityPodcast/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/journalofintlsolidarity/ 

Substack: https://intlsolidarity.substack.com/ 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@journalofintlsolidarity/ 

In this episode, I have Isabella Aidar on the podcast to discuss Russia and the Russia-Ukraine war through an anti-imperialist and socialist lens. We began our conversation by examining Europe’s economic self-sabotage and its elites' complicity in prolonging the conflict to serve US geopolitical hegemony. We then traced the deeper structural roots of the war beyond the mainstream narrative that history started in 2022. We also deconstructed the false liberal equivalence between Ukraine and Palestine and looked at how Ukraine's alignment with Israel and strikes on Iranian assets expose the global architecture of Western imperialism and, consequently, the anti-imperialist forces. Furthermore, we challenged the unhelpful framework of "Russian imperialism," instead analyzing Russia's engagement in the Global South, particularly in West Africa's Sahel region. Finally, we discussed the extent to which Russia can be understood as an anti-imperialist actor and whether its ongoing war should be supported as an anti-imperialist war.

Isabella Aidar, known online as Socialista Champagne, is a Brazilian‑Canadian political educator, writer, and UX & interface designer for Tech for Palestine. With a focus on anti-imperialism, geopolitics, and applying historical and dialectical materialism, Isabella’s goal is to make materialist analysis and Marxist-Leninist theory accessible to a wide range of audiences coming from all sorts of biases and ideological backgrounds.

Socialista Champagne on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialista.champagne/

Socialista Champagne on Substack: https://socialistachampagne.substack.com/

Journal of International Solidarity Links

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/InternationalSolidarityPodcast/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/journalofintlsolidarity/

Substack: https://intlsolidarity.substack.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@journalofintlsolidarity/

In this episode, I speak with Jasmine Peardon and Yves Engler from Capitalism Can’t Be Fixed, which is a socialist and anti-imperialist formation in Canada seeking social transformation. Later this month, Capitalism Can’t Be Fixed is organizing two important actions to counter Mark Carney’s corporate agenda, which we get further into toward the end of the discussion. Otherwise, we discussed the state of Canadian politics since Carney has come to power and the rightward turn his government has taken, including expanding opportunities for capital accumulation in the fossil fuel sector, in the military industry, and in AI.

On September 14, Capitalism Can’t Be Fixed is organizing a mass protest at Nathan Philips Square in downtown Toronto to counter Carney’s attempt to host his own Davos summit in the city, where he’ll invite a wide range of members from the Epstein class to find profitable investment opportunities in Canada.

Capitalism Can’t Be Fixed website: https://capitalismcantbefixed.ca/

Capitalism Can't Be Fixed Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capitalismcantbefixed/

Journal of International Solidarity Links

Patreon: ⁠https://patreon.com/internationalsolidaritypodcast/⁠ 

Instagram: ⁠https://instagram.com/journalofintlsolidarity/⁠ 

Substack: ⁠https://intlsolidarity.substack.com/

In this episode, we discuss how China’s official trade union federation — the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (the ACFTU) — has been remarkably successful in organizing the working class in China and in boosting the conditions and wages of the working class. We discuss the connection between the ACFTU and the Communist Party of China, how the ACFTU has been able to successfully manage large-scale internal labour migration, how it’s successfully unionized digital platform gig workers, how AI is impacting the working class in China, as well as where China is along the socialist path.

Immanuel has graciously made this book open-access which means you can get a PDF of the book online completely for free. Otherwise you can also buy a hard copy of the book for a relatively affordable price.

Check out the book: https://brill.com/display/title/74520

Immanuel Ness is a Professor of Political Science at the City University of New York. He is a Marxist scholar whose work looks at migration and workers’ struggles. He is also a longtime labour organizer.

Journal of International Solidarity Links

Patreon: ⁠https://patreon.com/internationalsolidaritypodcast/⁠ 

Instagram: ⁠https://instagram.com/journalofintlsolidarity/⁠ 

Substack: ⁠https://intlsolidarity.substack.com/

In this episode, Professor Ken Hammond and I discussed the long history of the rise of the West and capitalism, and China’s role within it. We examined the central position of the Chinese economy in the world-system prior to Western dominance, looking at how its society and economy functioned. Furthermore, we discussed the concept of Chinese/socialist modernization – which is current in Chinese academic discourse – and how it differs from Western modernization theories rooted in colonial thinking. Finally, we considered what this socialist modernization trajectory signifies within the broader 500-year history of Western capitalism, alongside recent developments in China’s approach to global politics and the meaning of the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China within this broader historical context.

Ken Hammond is a Professor at the Department of History at New Mexico State University, he is an expert in Chinese and East Asian history, having worked and lived in China for several periods over the past 40 years. He is the author of several books including ‘From Yao to Mao: 5000 Years of Chinese History’ and ‘China’s Revolution and the Quest for a Socialist Future’.

'The Long Transition Toward Socialism' podcast episode with Torkil Lauesen: https://youtu.be/D84K0yH-Cuw?si=U6ORw_a-kKUfYS3b

'Building a New Development Theory from the Global South' (Wenhua Zongheng): https://thetricontinental.org/asia/wenhua-zongheng-2026-1-building-new-development-theory/

Journal of International Solidarity Links

Patreon: https://patreon.com/internationalsolidaritypodcast/ 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/journalofintlsolidarity/ 

Substack: https://intlsolidarity.substack.com/ 

This is the second of a two-part series on the politics of Kashmir with Jalees Hyder as my guest.

If you haven’t already, please check out the first part, in which we discussed the civilizational and historical connections between Kashmir and Iran, and the outpour of support expressed in Kashmir in light of Ayatollah Khamenei’s martyrdom, the connections between Palestine and Kashmir, and the historical origins of the Indian occupation of Kashmir

In this second part, we discuss Pakistan’s role in Kashmir, why,, according to Jalees, Kashmir should become a sovereign and independent state rather than merely joining Pakistan, and how the politics of Kashmir looks like today following both the abrogation of Article 370 and the 2025 Pahalgam attack and the India-Pakistan war that followed shortly after it.

Check out Unlearn Capital, which is a completely free and helpful political education library and resource hub on a wide range of topics relating to anti-imperialism and socialism: https://unlearn.capital/

Journal of International Solidarity Links

Patreon: https://patreon.com/internationalsolidaritypodcast/ 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/journalofintlsolidarity/ 

Substack: https://intlsolidarity.substack.com/ 

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@journalofintlsolidarity/ 

This is the first of a two-part series on the politics of Kashmir with Jalees Hyder as my guest. In this first part, we discussed the outburst of mass rallies and protests in Kashmir to the martyrdom of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and what it is about Kashmiri society and its civilizational and theological connections to Iran that produced such a reaction in the region. We then discussed the connected histories of Kashmir and Palestine as well as the growing India-Israel relationship; we looked at why the plight of Kashmiri Muslims cannot and should not be equated to that of the Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang, in spite of many wrongly making that comparison. Finally, we looked at some of the fundamental and historical origins for why Kashmir came to be occupied by India and why the occupation continues today.

Please keep an eye out for the second part of this conversation as well which discusses Pakistan’s role in Kashmir, why, according to Jalees, Kashmir should become a sovereign and independent state rather than merely joining Pakistan, and how the politics of Kashmir looks like today following both the abrogation of Article 370 and the 2025 Pahalgam attack and the India-Pakistan war that followed shortly after it.

Check out Unlearn Capital, which is a completely free and helpful political education library and resource hub on a wide range of topics relating to anti-imperialism and socialism: https://unlearn.capital/

Journal of International Solidarity Links

Patreon: https://patreon.com/internationalsolidaritypodcast/ 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/journalofintlsolidarity/ 

Substack: https://intlsolidarity.substack.com/ 

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@journalofintlsolidarity/