The great transition: Non-alignment and the rise of the global south

The great transition: Non-alignment and the rise of the global south

Khalid Malik* August 8, 2023 In the 17th century, Ming China represented roughly one-third of global output, and Mughal India a little less. Together the two countries accounted for more than half of the world’s output, with a corresponding size of populations (as a proportion of the total global population). By the 1950s, Mao China […]

Rebecca Solnit on Hope in Dark Times, Resisting the Defeatism of Easy Despair, and What Victory Really Means for Movements of Social Change

Rebecca Solnit on Hope in Dark Times, Resisting the Defeatism of Easy Despair, and What Victory Really Means for Movements of Social Change

Photo by Cherry Laithang on Unsplash Maria Popova August 3, 2023 “This is an extraordinary time full of vital, transformative movements that could not be foreseen. It’s also a nightmarish time. Full engagement requires the ability to perceive both.” “There is no love of life without despair of life,” wrote Albert Camus — a man who […]

BRICS: The world is a-changing – and for the better

BRICS: The world is a-changing – and for the better

The story of the BRICS countries and their accelerating role in world affairs. Jan Oberg March 31, 2023 We bring you this 13:45 minutes video from US-based Sino Sphere on YouTube about BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Watch it with your colleagues, friends or family and ask yourself why you hear […]

Ben Norton: The West is out of touch with the rest of world politically, EU-funded study admits

Ben Norton: The West is out of touch with the rest of world politically, EU-funded study admits

Meetings of the G7 and NATO (top) and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (bottom) Ben Norton March 29, 2023 A study by the elite EU-funded European Council on Foreign Relations found the West is out of touch politically with the rest of the world. Most people in China, India, and Türkiye see Russia as an important ally, […]

Peter Peverelli: In the Dragon’s Shadow – A book review

Peter Peverelli: In the Dragon’s Shadow – A book review

Source: http://www.cambodia-roads.fr Sebastian Strangio, In the Dragon’s Shadow – Southeast Asia in the Chinese Century, Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 2022. Peter PeverelliTFF Associate This text is a combination of a book review and a report of a visit to Cambodia in January 2023. Both texts were published earlier in Dutch on Chinasquare. […]

Why BRI is back with a bang in 2023

Why BRI is back with a bang in 2023

Photo Credit: The Cradle Pepe Escobar February 1, 2023 As Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative enters its 10th year, a strong Sino-Russian geostrategic partnership has revitalized the BRI across the Global South. The year 2022 ended with a Zoom call to end all Zoom calls: Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping discussing all aspects of the […]

Baher Kamal: Forget About All This Humanitarian Blah Blah (And Buy More Weapons)

Baher Kamal: Forget About All This Humanitarian Blah Blah (And Buy More Weapons)

The estimated cost of the humanitarian response going into 2023 is US$ 51.5 billion, a 25% increase compared to the beginning of 2022. That is less than one-tenth of the total sales of weapons which reached 592 billion US dollars just in one year: 2021. Baher Kamal January 30, 2023 MADRID, Dec 22, 2022 (IPS) […]

Baher Kamal: Go and Tell the Hungry that Their Food Is Being Thrown in the Garbage

Baher Kamal: Go and Tell the Hungry that Their Food Is Being Thrown in the Garbage

Controlling the loss and waste of food is a crucial factor in reaching the goal of eradicating hunger in the world. Credit: FAO October 17, 2022 Baher Kamal MADRID, Sep 28 2022 (IPS)* – These are facts, not guesses: about 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted and lost … every single year, the equivalent of […]

Kishore Mahbubani: The G-7, G-20 paradox

Kishore Mahbubani: The G-7, G-20 paradox

Image: Wikimedia Commons By P&I Guest Writers August 24, 2022 The G-7 countries are democratic domestically but are dictatorial globally. By contrast, the G-20 group, which has many autocratic regimes, represents a more democratic forum for governance. The G-7 is dictatorial, while the G-20 is democratic. This statement is obviously paradoxical. The G-7 countries are very […]

Pepe Escobar: Say hello to Russian gold and Chinese petroyuan

Pepe Escobar: Say hello to Russian gold and Chinese petroyuan

Russia says half its gold assets were frozen – is this for real or a slick play by Moscow? Photo Credit: The Cradle Pepe Escobar March 29, 2022 The Russia-led Eurasia Economic Union and China just agreed to design the mechanism for an independent financial and monetary system that would bypass dollar transactions. Originally posted […]

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