Shows
Counter HegemonyCH#49: Israel's targeted killings of Palestinian journalists Israel's targeted killings of Palestinian journalistsSince the Hamas attacks of October 7, the Israeli military has killed more than 130 Palestinian journalists in Gaza. That's more than in any other country in a single year since 1992. By comparison, six journalists have been killed in the entire Ukrainian war since 2014. In 2023, 75 percent of all journalists killed worldwide died in Israel's assault on Gaza. 73 percent of the victims were Palestinians. In many cases, the Israeli army deliberately targeted Palestinian journalists at home, with their families, or in the line of duty, using sniper fire, drones, and surgical air strikes. Many...2024-02-2403 min
Counter HegemonyCH#48: The questions Putin didn't answer in the Tucker Carlson InterviewThe questions Putin didn't answer in the Tucker Carlson InterviewOn February 6, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was the first interview granted to a Western journalist since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. There are at least three key questions that Putin did not answer during the interview. First, U.S.-Russia relations after the collapse of the Soviet Union; second, the geopolitical importance of Ukraine and thrid, the relationship between capitalism, class domination and democracy.2024-02-1404 min
Counter HegemonyCH#47" The weaponization of anti-SemitismThe weaponization of anti-Semitism Following the Hamas attacks of October 7, the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with its Western allies and the mainstream media, launched a massive public relations campaign. Its goal was and is to smear anyone who criticizes the policies of the Israeli government and stands in solidarity with the Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank. The weaponization of anti-Semitism has played a central role in this hard-hitting media campaign. The charge of anti-Semitism has been used as a powerful political tool and a last-ditch defense by apologists for Israeli...2024-02-0706 min
Counter HegemonyCH#46: What Israel's far-right wantsWhat Israel's far-right wantsOn January 28, Israeli settlers held a conference calling for the rebuilding of settlements in the Gaza Strip. Twelve ministers from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party attended the so-called “Return to Gaza” conference. However, the central figures of the event were Finance Minister and leader of the far-right Zionist National Religious Party, Bezalel Smotrich, and Public Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir of the Zionist Jewish Power party. Smotrich is also an ardent supporter of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. He calls for the annexation of the entire territory. Smotrich refuses to recognize the...2024-01-3005 min
Counter HegemonyCH#45: What the media won't tell you about GazaWhat the media won't tell you about GazaThe Gaza Strip represents about two percent of Palestine’s historic landmass. Prior to the creation of Israel in 1948, it was administratively, politically, and economically linked to the rest of Palestine. Between 1947 and 1949, Zionist paramilitary and later Israeli military forces destroyed more than 500 Palestinian villages. They carried out more than 70 massacres against civilians, killing more than fifteen thousand Palestinians. 750,000 Palestinians, or over 80 percent of the population, were expelled or fled their homes and became refugees. More than one-third ended up in Gaza. Today, more than 80 percent of Gaza's population ar...2024-01-2304 min
Counter HegemonyCH#44: Zionism and Latin America's far-rightZionism and Latin America's far-rightArgentina's new right-wing libertarian president, Javier Milei, describes himself as a “fanatic of Israel". He sees the country as Argentina's main ally and has announced a visit to Tel Aviv in February. Milei plans to move Argentina's embassy to Jerusalem. He is following the example of former U.S. President Donald Trump. In 2017, the U.S. became the first and so far only country to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. In Brazil, former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro is a passionate supporter of the Zionist state of Israel. He regularly raised the Israeli fl...2024-01-1805 min
Counter HegemonyCH#43: What the media won't tell you about HamasWhat the media won't tell you about HamasHamas was founded in the Gaza Strip in 1987 at the outset of the First Intifada, a period of intense Palestinian protest against Israeli occupation. Its name is an Arabic acronym for "Islamic Resistance Movement. Twenty years earlier, in 1967, Israel had occupied Gaza and the West Bank. So Hamas emerged in response to Zionist settler colonization and the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestine. It is a national, Islamist movement and has been at the forefront of armed resistance in the occupied territories. Hamas sees itself as a national liberation movement...2024-01-1306 min
Counter HegemonyCH#42: Ukraine war at a stalemate? Will the West fight to the last Ukrainian? Ukraine war at a stalemate? Will the West fight to the last Ukrainian? In early November, Ukraine's commander-in-chief, General Zaluzhny, acknowledged that the Ukraine war had reached a stalemate. Since the summer, there have been few territorial advances on either side. Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which began in early June, has not produced the expected outcome. In Ukraine, military morale is declining. Dissatisfaction in civil society and tensions within the country's elite are growing. It is becoming increasingly clear that Ukraine cannot win the war militarily and regain the territory it has lost in the east and south....2023-12-2205 min
Counter HegemonyCH#41: Chile after the referendum: The crisis continues (Interview with Pablo Abufom)Chile after the referendum: The crisis continues (Interview with Pablo Abufom)On December 17, Chilean voters rejected a new constitution drafted by conservative lawmakers in a nationwide referendum. The charter would have replaced the neoliberal and authoritarian constitution passed during the Pinochet dictatorship. The vote came more than a year after an overwhelming majority of Chileans also rejected a separate progressive draft that would have strengthened women's and indigenous rights and addressed the environmental crisis. Chilean President Gabriel Boric said Sunday that his government would not seek to change the constitution for a third time. To talk about...2023-12-2020 min
Counter HegemonyCH#40: Chile after the referendum: What's next? (Interview with Marcela Vera) Chile after the referendum: What's next? (Interview with Marcela Vera) On December 17, Chilean voters rejected a new conservative constitution in a nationwide referendum. The neoliberal and authoritarian constitution adopted in 1980 during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet will now remain in place. In late 2019, Chile was rocked by massive anti-neoliberal and anti-inequality demonstrations. As a response, the political establishment proposed a change of constitution to quell the protests. Last September, an overwhelming majority rejected a progressive constitution that would have made sweeping changes to Chile's judicial and political systems.2023-12-2019 min
Counter HegemonyCH#39: Why the US supports Israel Why the US supports IsraelIsrael is the most important US ally in the Middle East. For decades, US governments have funded Israel's military and political regime and provided financial, intelligence and diplomatic support. Israel is the largest recipient of US military aid. Over the past several decades, Israel has played a crucial role in defending US imperial interests in the Middle East. It has helped the US dominate the region, thus reducing, but not eliminating, the need for direct US military involvement. Israel has served as a quasi-US military outpost in the world's most important geopolitical...2023-12-0706 min
Counter HegemonyCH#38: Is Israel's assault on Gaza about gas?Is Israel's assault on Gaza about gas?There are several videos floating around the Internet claiming that Israel's assault on Gaza has to do with the natural gas reserves located off the Gazan coast. In 1999, the Palestinian National Authority signed a gas exploration contract with the company British Gas. The following year, two wells were drilled, Gaza Marine I and II. In response, Israel began blocking any development of the gas fields. In 2008, Israel went even further by taking full control of Gaza Marine, in clear violation of international law. In 2019, the UN published a study that...2023-11-2905 min
Counter HegemonyCH#37: Why Milei really wonArgentina election: Why Milei really won On November 19th political outsider and self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalist Javier Milei had convincingly won the Argentine presidential election against current Economy Minister Sergio Massa of the ruling Peronist coalition. The podcast analyses three key factors that help understand Milei's victory.2023-11-2106 min
Counter HegemonyCH#36: Israel's assault on Gaza: UN Director resigns citing "genocide"Israel's assault on Gaza: UN Director resigns citing "genocide"In late October, Craig Mokhiber, the Director of the New York Office for Human Rights resigned in protest against the UN’s response to Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza. Mokhiber's public resignation letter contains a scathing critique of the UN. Most of the Western mainstream media ignored it.2023-11-1406 min
Counter HegemonyCH#35: Is another Argentina possible? (Interview with Maristella Svampa)Is another Argentina possible? (Interview with Maristella Svampa)On November 19th, Argentine voters will choose their new president in a runoff election. Sergio Massa of the ruling Peronist coalition will face right-wing libertarian candidate Javier Milei. Today we continue our Argentina Special with an interview with Maristella Svampa, sociologist, activist, writer and professor at the National University of La Plata.2023-11-1017 min
Counter HegemonyCH#34: Why are settler attacks increasing in the West Bank?Why are settler attacks increasing in the West Bank?The whole world is currently watching Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, armed Israeli settlers and soldiers are taking revenge for the Hamas attacks of October 7. In recent weeks, there has been a marked increase in ethnic cleansing, harassment, attacks, and forced displacement of Palestinians from their villages. According to B'Tselem, an Israeli information center for human rights in the occupied territories, at least 13 Palestinians communities have been displaced as a result of settler violence. There are also reports of torture, abuse...2023-11-0804 min
Counter HegemonyCH#33: Crisis and class struggle in Argentina (Interview with Hernán Ouviña)Crisis and class struggle in Argentina (Interview with Hernán Ouviña)On November 19th, Argentine voters will return to the polls for the second round of the country's presidential election. In the runoff, Argentina's current Economy Minister Sergio Massa of the ruling Peronist coalition, who received 36 percent of the vote in the first round, will face Javier Milei, a right-wing libertarian and political outsider, who came in second. To learn more about the situation on the ground, I spoke with Hernán Ouviña, a professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences and a researcher at the Institute of Lati...2023-11-0317 min
Counter HegemonyCH#32 Israel-Gaza war: Is a regional conflict imminent?Israel-Gaza war: Is a regional conflict immanent?Two days after the Hamas attacks of October 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel’s military operations in Gaza will “change the Middle East” and that “Israel is mobilizing for war, precisely as the United States mobilized after 9/11.” Regional tensions have been on the rise over the past three weeks. The U.S. deployed two aircraft carriers to the eastern Mediterranean off the coast of Israel. Many observers interpreted this move as a blunt message to Hezbollah and Iran. If Israel’s ground invasion in Gaza continues and intensifies, Hezbollah is likely to...2023-11-0204 min
Counter HegemonyCH#31: What Israel really wantsIsrael-Palestine conflict: What Israel really wants Despite numerous negotiations, conferences and agreements, there has never been peace between Israel and the Palestinians following the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. The past 75 years have been marked primarily by Israel's repression, violent displacement, and systematic dispossession of the local Palestinian population. The world has been witnessing the longest ethnic cleansing operation of the 20th and 21st centuries. The international community has allowed this conflict to fester for decades. In the recent past, through its occupation, colonization and territorial expansion, Israel has consistently obstructed the formation of a Palestinian state and...2023-10-2703 min
Counter HegemonyCH#30: Argentina elections: Crisis, Milei and the left (Interview with Horacio Machado)Argentina elections: Crisis, Milei and the left (Interview with Horacio Machado)On October 22, Argentinian voters head to the polls in a presidential election amid skyrocketing inflation and a severe social and economic crisis. Right-wing libertarian political outsider and self-described "anarcho-capitalist" Javier Milei took the lead in the August primaries. The Peronist ruling coalition, led by Argentina's current Economy Minister Sergio Massa, suffered a crushing historic defeat, finishing a distant third. To find out more about the situation on the ground and what's really at stake in the election, I spoke with Horacio Machado, an independent researcher for Argentina's National Council...2023-10-2214 min
Counter HegemonyCH#29: Argentina elections: Will an anarcho-capitalist win?Argentina elections: Will an anarcho-capitalist win? Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in Argentina on 22 October 2023. The primary elections that took place in mid-August ended with quite a surprise. The political newcomer Javier Milei, a right-wing libertarian, came in first place. He now has a chance of becoming Argentina’s next president. In a moment of national crisis, many Argentineans are placing their hopes in the self-proclaimed "anarcho-capitalist". Over the last few years, Argentina has been experiencing a severe economic crisis. Latin America's third largest economy is currently undergoing a recession and is expected to shrink by 2.8% this year. Ad...2023-10-2105 min
Counter HegemonyCH#28: Israel-Palestine conflict and the imperial agenda of Western mediaIsrael-Palestine conflict and the imperial agenda of Western mediaThe media, mainly in the US but also in Europe, has largely misrepresented the recent escalation of violence in the Middle East. There is hardly any objective, balanced and critical coverage. Instead, we are witnessing an organized and systematic campaign to decontextualize the conflict, hide its underlying causes and sway public opinion. Many news sources in the West have characterized the recent attacks by Hamas as “Israel’s 9-11” and as a "war on Israel". Israel is depicted as the victim of “unprovoked” and “unbearable” attacks, as if they had occurred in a vacuum. The...2023-10-1304 min
Counter HegemonyCH#27: Where is football headed?Where is football headed? Early this year, the Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo announced his transfer to the Saudi club Al-Nassr, making him the world's highest-paid athlete, thanks to his yearly salary of over $200 million. In August, another famous football player, Neymar from Brazil, confirmed his transfer to the Saudi club Al-Hilal. Neymar will make at least $160 million a year, which is about six times his previous salary at Paris Saint-Germain. With Ronaldo, Neymar and the French striker Karim Benzema, three global football celebrities have already relocated to the Saudi Pro League. Several younger football players from European clubs have...2023-10-0405 min
Counter HegemonyCH#26: Is Austria still neutral?Is Austria still neutral? Austria has pursued a policy of neutrality for 68 years. In July 2023, the country joined the European Sky Shield, an air and missile defense initiative, launched by Germany in late 2022 in the context of the Ukraine war. 17 of the 19 countries participating in the project are NATO members or applicants. The decision to join Sky Shield has raised questions about the future and the usefulness of Austria’s policy of neutrality. Most political parties officially support the status quo. It's not surprising, as more than 70 percent of the population wants neutrality preserved. Government officials have reiterated that Sky Sh...2023-09-2104 min
Counter HegemonyCH#25: What’s really behind the European Sky Shield?The European Sky Shield is a military project launched by Germany in August 2022 in the context of the Ukraine war. The aim is to build a ground-based, unified European air and missile defense system in the next five years that is capable of intercepting drones and missiles. Once completed, Sky Shield will be integrated into NATO’s air and missile defense system. To date, nineteen European states have confirmed their participation in the initiative. Seventeen are NATO members. The two others are the neutral countries Austria and Switzerland. The initiative has raised questions about the future of their longstanding policy of...2023-09-1304 min
Counter HegemonyCH#24: Lessons from the Pinochet coup in Chile?Lessons from the Pinochet coup in Chile? On September 11,1973, Chile was rocked by a military coup. Led by General Augusto Pinochet, the Chilean military toppled the socialist government of President Salvador Allende and established a dictatorship. Pinochet ruled Chile for 17 years. During that period, the military junta committed numerous crimes, violated human rights, banned political parties, suppressed unions, and persecuted, tortured, and murdered leftists and supporters of the Allende government. What lessons can the Chilean left and the left elsewhere draw from the military coup? What do the events tell us about the relation between liberal democracy...2023-09-0604 min
Counter HegemonyCH#23: BRICS expansion: What's really at stake?BRICS is a a geopolitical and economic alliance between Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Formed in 2010, the group encompasses more than a quarter of the world's land surface, over 40 percent of the global population, around 30 percent of global GDP, about 20 percent of international trade and 50 percent of the world's foreign exchange reserves. In August 2023, the BRICS announced that Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would become full members in 2024. Around 20 other countries have shown interest in joining the bloc.2023-09-0204 min
Counter HegemonyCH#22: Why are rents going up in Europe?Why are rents going up in Europe?In recent years, most European countries have been grappling with a sharp increase in living expenses. According to Eurostat, rents have soared by 18 percent and house prices by 48 percent since 2010. As a consequence, more and more households are having trouble paying bills. The crisis has been further exacerbated by rising inflation and high energy costs. On closer inspection, the rent problem is a problem of land and real estate ownership under capitalism. The growing unequal distribution of land and real estate is a major cause of rising rents. Rents are a noiseless transfer...2023-08-3101 min
Counter HegemonyCH#21: Ecuador's drug warOver the past years, Ecuador has become a major battlefield in the transnational drug war. On August 9, presidential hopeful Fernando Villavicencio was shot dead at a campaign rally in Quito. Villavicencio was a member of the National Assembly and spoke out against organized crime and corruption. His murder marked the culmination of Ecuador’s worsening security crisis and of an unprecedented cycle of violence unleashed by criminal organizations operating in the country. Ecuador was once one of Latin America’s most peaceful countries. Between 2020 and 2022, the country’s homicide rate jumped by 245 percent. Ecuador sits in a strategic geopolitical positi...2023-08-1705 min
Counter HegemonyCH#20: Niger coup: What’s really at stakeOn July 26, a military coup took place in the African country Niger. President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown by a small group within the military. He was the first democratically elected president since Niger gained independence from France in 1960. The UN and the African Union condemned the coup. The United States and European leaders also expressed major concerns and demanded Bozoum’s immediate release. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu went much further. Backed by France and the U.S., he issued a threat on behalf of the Economic Community of West African States or ECOWAS. The threat included the possibility of imposing ha...2023-08-1005 min
Counter HegemonyCH#19: Is the U.S. an empire?Is the US actually an empire? And if so, why does hardly anyone talk about it? In 2012, Leo Panitch and Sam Ginidin published an award-winning book. They argue that the US is indeed an empire and that the American state was the primary force behind the expansion of capitalism around the world after WWII . The authors hold that the US established a new form of imperial rule with unprecedented features: First, the American Empire is an informal empire. The US refuses to acknowledge itself as such to its own citizens and to the rest of the world. Second, the American...2023-08-0304 min
Counter HegemonyCH#18: American decline?The thesis of American decline has been around for several decades. In recent years, the Ukraine war and the growing conflict between the U.S. and China have given the debate a new lease of life. Declinistic scholars have argued that the U.S. is militarily overextended, financially overspent and ideologically bankrupt. They view China’s rise as a new global hegemon as inevitable. Anti-declinist researchers have rejected these arguments as a myth. They doubt that the American Century will be over anytime soon. What is often lacking in the debate, is a critical understanding of the structural underpinnings of U...2023-07-2704 min
Counter HegemonyCH#17: Is the U.S. headed for war with China?The growing conflict between the United States and China will define the coming decades. The new bloc confrontation has increased the danger of a world war and is currently fuelling an international arms race. China’s rise as a global hegemon would bring 500 years of Western domination to an end. American decline goes hand in hand with the “de-westernization” of the world. It is highly doubtful that this will occur peacefully. So far all U.S. strategies to stop China’s rise have failed. The first strategy, pursued under George W. Bush, was to control global energy reserves in the Middle E...2023-07-2004 min
Counter HegemonyCH#16: U.S. military buildup in Asia-PacificThe episode analyzes the current escalation of a military buildup in the Asia Pacific. The US has been strengthening its military positions in the region for more than a decade. The aim is to stop China’s rise as a global competitor. In recent years, the US has deepened its military cooperation with its allies in the Asia Pacific (Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Taiwan and Australia).2023-07-1305 min
Counter HegemonyCH#15: The geopolitical impact of the Ukraine war Many international observers believe that the growing conflict between the US and China will be the major conflict of the 21st century. In the 2022 National Security Strategy, the Biden administration affirmed that it would “advance America’s vital interests” and “position the United States to outmaneuver” its main geopolitical rivals. By the latter, the US is referring to China and Russia. The ongoing war in Ukraine is part of the struggle over a new world order. It takes place in the context of a systemic crisis of capitalism, which is related to the decline of US hegemony and the rise of China...2023-07-0704 min
Counter HegemonyCH#14: Ukraine: Who profits from war?Over the past two years, the war in Ukraine has dominated mainstream media. What is rarely discussed, however, is the question of how the war has facilitated the expansion of U.S. and global capital. As long as the war in Ukraine drags on, big oil and gas companies and the US weapons industry will reap the profits.Ukrainian resources have been in the crosshairs of global capital for many years. Ukraine is one of the world's largest producers of barley, wheat and sunflower oil. There are extensive plans to privatize the country’s vast agricultural resources and hand them ov...2023-06-3005 min
Counter HegemonyCH#13: Colombia: Peasant struggles under capitalism between war and peaceColombia has been rocked by a bloody armed conflict for more than six decades. The overwhelming majority of the more than nine million victims are poor peasants. So Colombia’s rural areas have always been the principal battlegrounds of the ongoing war. Historically, the political conflict dynamics in the countryside have been closely related to the development and the expansion of capitalism. To find out more about Colombia’s peasants and their struggles under neoliberalism, I spoke with Nazih Richani, Professor of Political Science at Kean University. Prof. Richani has a new book coming out in August titled “Colombian Peasan...2023-06-2322 min
Counter HegemonyCH#12: The truth behind BerlusconiOn June 12, Silvio Berlusconi, the flamboyant billionaire, media tycoon and politician died at a Milan hospital. Like no other, Berlusconi had dominated Italian politics over past three decades. What is less know, however, is the fact that Berlusconi was a member of the anti-communist clandestine organization Propaganda Due or P2. Founded during the Second World War, the P2 has functioned like a state within a state over the past decades. It has infiltrated civilian and military decision-making and undermined Italian’s democratic institutions from within. The organization is widely believed to be the mastermind behind a series of neo-fascist terrorist at...2023-06-1604 min
Counter HegemonyCH#11: ChatGPT and capitalismIn November 2022, the US corporation OpenAI released ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence language model. The chatbot has been trained on a massive amount of data to generate human-like responses to text-based questions. ChatGPT will have a profound impact on labor relations, employment, geopolitics and the very sense we perceive reality itself. Under capitalism, ChatGPT is not primarily a tool for liberation, in the sense that it liberates us from tedious work and allows us to pursue more pleasant activities. It is first and foremost a tool for appropriation, privatization and profit-making. What we are currently witnessing is the appropriation of all...2023-06-0706 min
Counter HegemonyCH#10: Austria’s Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) at the crossroads (2/2)On June 3, Austria’s Social Democratic Party or SPÖ will determine its new leader at a party congress. In a runoff election, Hans Peter Doskozil, governor of the state of Burgenland, will face left-wing contender Andreas Babler, who many observers compare with Jeremy Corbyn or Bernie Sanders. What would Doskozil’s or Babler’s victory mean for the SPÖ? What impact would the vote have on the existing power relations in the country? And what would be the implications for Austria’s revitalized Communist Party or KPÖ? As former Defense Minister and incumbent governor, Doskozil is an integral part of the SPÖ’s e...2023-05-2806 min
Counter HegemonyCH#9: Turkey election: What's at stake?On May 28th, Turkish voters will head back to the polls for a runoff election between incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his challenger Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Erdogan is in a good position to win in the second round. He is supported by a party alliance of ultranationalist, fascist and Islamist parties. Kılıçdaroğlu, chair of the Republican People's Party or CHP, heads a secular-nationalist bloc and promises to reverse all forms of democratic backsliding in the country. The runoff election is held in the context of a severe economic crisis. The Turkish lira is at a r...2023-05-2606 min
Counter HegemonyCH#8: Austria’s Social Democracy at the crossroads (1/2)Austria’s Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) is currently determining its new leader. Over the past years, the SPÖ has failed to make political headway in the context of inflation, declining real wages, rising rents and impoverishment as the largest opposition party. Following the debacle in the 2023 Carinthian election, the SPÖ decided to hold a membership referendum on who should lead the party into the future.Pamela Rendi-Wagner is supported by the party establishment, apparatchiks, and most former chancellors. She stands for a chic, capital-friendly, state-managerial, technocratic and “more of the same” SPÖ, devoid of the party’s working-class and trade-unionist tradition. H...2023-05-1906 min
Counter HegemonyCH#7: The surge of communism in Austria (2/2)In November 2021, Elke Kahr was sworn in as mayor of Graz, Austria’s second largest city. Kahr is not only the first Communist mayor of an Austrian city but of any major city across Europe. There are four factors that explain the surge of Communism and Elke Kahr’s success in Graz. First, the KPÖ’s focus on social issues and the common good. Over the past decades, the Styrian Communists have effectively campaigned for affordable housing and actively supported those in need. Second, the KPÖ’s credibility among voters. Kahr has been holding regular office hours for anyone to come by to...2023-05-1106 min
Counter HegemonyCH#6: The surge of communism in Austria (1/2)In late April, regional elections were held in the Austrian state of Salzburg. The big surprise was the historic success of the Communist Party. There are several factors that explain these developments. First, the party addressed the right issues. Its campaign was focused on municipal social policies, primarily on the issue of affordable housing. Second, the top candidate Kay-Michael Dankl convinced many to cast their vote. During the campaign, Dankl managed to communicate radical positions, such as that housing should not be a commodity and that the basic needs of the working majority should prevail over the interests of...2023-05-0305 min
KZYX Public AffairsTalking About California: ChileApril 21, 2023--On Talking About California, co-hosts Loreto Rojas and Cal Winslow conclude the four-part series on the Americas. They interview Aaron Tauss about Chile.2023-04-2558 min
Counter HegemonyCH#5: Why is Social Democracy in Crisis? (2/2)The video is the second part of a series about the crisis of social democracy. It analyzes the subordination of social democratic parties to neoliberal hegemony and the adoption of so-called “Third Way” policies during the 1990s. In addition, it examines organizational and cultural changes within social democratic parties that have increasingly alienated the party leadership from members and voters over the past decades. Finally, the video provides some insight on what the future holds for social democracy.2023-04-2006 min
Counter HegemonyCH#4: Why is Social Democracy in Crisis? (1/2)Contemporary capitalism is in many ways shaped by social democracy. Just think of the notions of socially just wages, a regulated market, the right of workers to organize, wealth distribution, social welfare, the ethos of solidarity or the understanding of companies as organizations with social responsibilities. These modifications of capitalism can be traced back to the historical struggles of social democratic parties. Today, social democracy is in its deepest crisis since World War II.The video analyzes two interrelated factors that help understand the decline of social democracy. A first factor that explains the current crisis of social democracy...2023-04-0507 min
Counter HegemonyCH#3: Die wahren Ursachen für die Inflation (2/2)Die meisten Erklärungsversuche blenden die Frage aus, welche Rolle marktbeherrschende Monopole oder Oligopole in der aktuellen Inflationsdynamik spielen, also wie höhere Gewinnmargen für Großkonzernen zur Inflation beitragen. Vor allem die Benzinpreise an Raffinerien und Tankstellen haben sich seit der Eskalation des Ukraine-Kriegs systematisch vom Rohölpreis entkoppelt. Ähnlich verhält es sich auch in den Bereichen Agrar- und Nahrungsmitteln, Finanzen, Telekommunikation, Luftfahrt und bei Pharmazeutika. Auch hier nutzen Konzerne die Inflation als Vorwand, um die Preise zu erhöhen und die Gewinne zu steigern.Ein weiterer Preistreiber, bei dem Großkonzerne ebenfalls eine zentrale Rolle spielen, ist die S...2023-03-2807 min
Counter HegemonyCH#2: Die wahren Ursachen für die Inflation (1/2)Im Februar 2023 stiegen die Verbraucherpreise in Österreich im Jahresvergleich um 10,9 Prozent. Im Monat davor hatte die Inflation sogar den höchsten Wert seit 70 Jahren erreicht. Die vorherrschenden Erklärungsversuche sehen die Ursachen für die Teuerung vor allem in überhöhten Staatsausgaben, einer zu lockeren Geldmengenpolitik und hohen Lohnabschlüssen. Die Erklärungsversuche greifen jedoch bei näherer Betrachtung allesamt zu kurz und blenden entscheidende Faktoren aus. Die Vorstellung, dass die Notenbank direkt über die Geldmengenpolitik den Geldwert und somit die Inflationsrate „steuern“ kann, ist weder theoretisch schlüssig noch empirisch zutreffend. Es gibt auch keine klare Korrelation zwischen höheren Löhnen...2023-03-2207 min
Counter HegemonyCH#1: War and Peace in ColombiaIn November 2016, the Colombian government and FARC-EP guerrillas signed a historic peace agreement that aimed to put an end to decades of civil war. More than six years later, violence continues todominate large parts of the country. Under Colombia's first leftist president, Gustavo Petro, however,the chances have increased to bring the armed conflict to a close. To achieve "total peace," the Petrogovernment must implement the FARC-EP peace agreement, resume peace talks with ELN guerrillas,and target right-wing neo-paramilitary groups and drug cartels.2023-03-0916 min
Social StepsDialogues with the Faculty, Alessandro Morosin (DePauw University) - Social Steps #06Environmental Sociology and Latin American studies are fascinating fields for those willing to investigate the intersection of environmental degradation and other social issues in one of the world's most unequal regions. This interview with my guest, Professor Alessandro Morosin, inaugurates a new category in this Social Steps Podcast. I call this category "Dialogues with the Faculty".
At the beginning of his career, professor Alessandro taught English as a Second Language in Los Angeles public schools, especially for adult migrants from Latin America. The curiosity in understanding what drives Hispanic people to migrate to the United States encouraged...2021-11-1757 min
Political Eh-conomy RadioFocus on Latin America: Colombia’s rejected peace and the Pink Tide in troublePolitical Eh-conomy Radio returns with a new logo, new life and a new episode focused on Latin America. First up: Aaron Tauss, assistant professor of International Political Economy at the Universidad National in Medellin, Colombia. I spoke with Aaron to better understand the devastating and unexpected “No” vote in Colombia’s referendum on a peace deal […]2016-10-1900 min
NACLA Radio48.3: Forrest Hylton and Aaron Tauss on ColombiaHelen talks to Forrest Hylton and Aaron Tauss about their article in the Report. Forrest digs into the article and the transnational economic motivations behind the Colombian peace accord. Helen follows up with Aaron in October to discuss recent developments, and what might happen next.Read NACLA: nacla.orgSupport NACLA: nacla.org/donateFollow NACLA on X: https://twitter.com/NACLA2016-10-1154 min