Imperialism, globalization and the battle of Iraq

Introduction

o Place of report in the sessiono Reporter:

a US Jewish gay anti-imperialist … in Holland

o Reporter’s limits: non-economist

Overview of report

I. Imperialism: Lenin’s classic theory

II. Neoliberal globalization

III. Armed globalization and the ‘war on terror’

IV. The war in Iraq

I. Imperialism: Lenin’s theory

The Marxist understanding of imperialism before Lenin Marx and Engels: Ireland, Poland, Algeria and India German social democracy: ‘not a man, not a penny’ Cracks in the consensus: the Moroccan crisis (1911) An outdated vision of capitalism: revisionism and

Hilferding’s Finance Capital Luxemburg’s The Accumulation of Capital The shock of 1914

Basics of Lenin’s theory

(from a non-economist!)Laissez-faire capitalism and monopoly capitalismUneven development and export of capitalCompetition for raw materialsThe division of the planet: colonial empiresSpheres of influence and semi-colonies

Colonial empires 1914

(Official) division of the world

PERCENTAGE OF TERRITORY BELONGING TO THE EUROPEAN COLONIAL POWERS (including the United States)

1876 1900 Increase or decreaseAfrica.......... 10.8 90.4 +79.6Polynesia.... 56.8 98.9 +42.1Asia............ 51.5 56.6 +5.1Australia..... 100.0 100.0 —America...... 27.5 27.2 -0.3

(Unofficial) control of the world

DISTRIBUTION (APPROXIMATE) OF FOREIGN

CAPITAL IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE GLOBE

(circa 1910)

Britain France Germany Total

(in billions of German marks)

Europe.......... 4 23 18 45

America.......... 37 4 10 51

Asia, Africa, and Australia...... 29 8 7 44

Total........ 70 35 35 140

Imperialism, 1916-1982

1914-20 Re-division: German and Ottoman possessions become British, French, Italian, Japanese and US

1936-45 Failed German challenge to re-division; Italy and Japan lose their colonial possessions

1947/1956 Truman Doctrine and Suez crisis mark replacement of British by US hegemony

1949 Chinese revolution1955 Bandung: India, Indonesia, Egypt etc. gain

autonomy1975 US defeat in Vietnam1979/1980/1982 Thatcher elected; Reagan elected; debt crisis

II. Neoliberal globalization

Is imperialism still a relevant framework to analyze the post-1979 world economy?

Claudio Katz’s arguments:• Growth of inequality: dominant and dependent countries• Terms of trade• Extraction of financial resources• Transfer of industrial profits• Loss of political autonomy

Distribution of wealth (2005)

% world pop. % world GDP GDP per cap.

Dominant 14% 78% $ 31,000

countries

Dependent 80% 19% $ 1,410

countries

(Figures from CADTM)

Debt: the poor fund the rich

Marshall Plan aid to Europe,

post-WW2: $ 90 billion

Debt payments from dependent

to dominant countries, 1980-2004:$5300 billion

Number of total Marshall Plans

from poor to rich: 59

Terms of trade and repatriation of profits

Ratio of prices between dependent country exports and dependent country imports:

1980 100

2002 48

Net repatriation of profits from dependent countries by multinational corporations, 1998-2002:

$ 334 billion

Multinationals: monopoly finance capital

Selected GNP of countries and revenues of multinational corporations

Countries (IMF, 2006, $ billion)1. US $ 13,2453. Germany 2,8974. China 2,6306. France 2,23213. India 88716. Netherlands 66321. Indonesia 36429. South Africa 25532. Iran 21247. Philippines 11748. Nigeria 115

Multinationals (Fortune, 2006, $ billion)

1. Exxon Mobil $ 3392. Wal-Mart 3163. Shell 3074. BP 2685. General Motors 1936. Chevron 1897. DaimlerChrysler 1868. Toyota 1869. Ford 17710. ConocoPhillips 167

Loss of political autonomy

IMF/World Bank/WTO: one dollar, one vote

‘Structural adjustment’ and ‘conditionality’

Consequences for social spending and debt repayment

Consequences for negotiating positions

Bancosur: sign of change?

III. Armed globalization and the ‘war on terror’

• Militarism: response to — and cause of — disintegration of peripheral states (Katz)

• Role of US:

* Enforcer of neoliberal world order

* Sole superpower: 50%+ of global military spending

* Military-industrial complex

* Military supremacy & inter-imperialist rivalries

* Oil: Latin America and the Middle East

• Tools: ‘Coalitions of the willing’, NATO and UN

The post-1991 world order

The first US invasion of Iraq (1991): a decisive moment (Achcar)US military return to Gulf region (after 1962 withdrawal)

Demonstration of superior US military technology

Network of bases and alliances

9/11: Bush’s opportunity

The intervention in Afghanistan and the US presence in Central Asia

IV. The case of Iraq

Introduction: imperialism and globalization in the Arab world

Glory of the Arab world

Ottomans

British and French

US imperialism

1933 US contract with Saudi king1953 CIA coup in Iran1956 Suez crisis1962 US withdraws from Dhahran1967 & 1973 US backs Israel1979 Iran revolution; USSR invades Afghanistan1989 USSR leaves Afghanistan1991 First US invasion of Iraq2001 9/11; US invasion of Afghanistan2003-? US invasion and occupation of Iraq

Lessons of Arab history

Depth of Arab anti-imperialism

Oil, imperialism and populism

‘The Arab despotic exception’

Iraq: the stakes

Oil (a quarter of the world’s proven reserves)

‘A new Middle East’

US unilateralism: challenge to Russia, China … France, Germany

The future of the peace movement

Iraq: geography

Iraq: some key dates

1918-20s British conquest, ‘Mandate’ and crushing of (largely Shiite) revolt

1958 Iraqi revolution

1963 First Ba’athist coup: decimation of Iraqi CP

1968 Second Ba’athist coup

1979 Saddam Hussein becomes president

1980-88 War with Iran

1990-91 Annexation of Kuwait; first US invasion

1991-2003 UN embargo

2003- Second US invasion, occupation and civil war

Iraq: 3 major issues in the struggle

The role of Islamic fundamentalism

The role of Shi’ism

Armed and unarmed resistance

Islamic fundamentalism

Islam and Arab identityThe diversity of Islam in IraqThe diversity of Iraqi resistancePetty bourgeoisie and fundamentalismFundamentalism: a deadly enemy‘March separately, strike together’

Shi’ism

A marginal, minority current within IslamThe ‘Shiite crescent’ todayIran and the ‘axis of evil’Ayatollah Sistani and the fight for electionsShiite fundamentalism, women and gaysDiversity of Iraqi Shiite politics: SCIRI, Dawa and Muqtada al-SadrAl-Sadr as US enemy no. 1Shiite fundamentalism is still fundamentalism

Resistance and solidarity

The legitimacy of resistance

The balance of military forces

Armed resistance and sectarian violence

Unarmed resistance: the case of the Oil Workers Union

Solidarity: a political battle

Solidarity: concrete tasks