Global South: Gold-Backed Currencies to Replace the US Dollar

Pepe Escobar The adoption of commodity-backed currencies by the Global South could upend the US dollar’s dominance and level the playing field in international trade. Let’s start with three interconnected multipolar-driven facts. First: One of the key take aways from the World Economic Forum annual shindig in Davos, Switzerland is when Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan,…

Russia Asia Relations: The Emerging International Order

Nivedita Das Kundu Russia-Asia relations are considered one of the highest priorities in Russian foreign policy. Russia’s pivot to Asia entails a wider regional policy involving key Asian states, writes Nivedita Das Kundu, Senior Researcher at York University, Academic Director at Liaison College. This article was prepared for the Valdai Club’s 13th Asian Conference. The strategic debate over whether…

Abandoning Afghanistan is Dangerous for its Neighbors

F.M. Shakil Despite the Taliban’s many shortcomings, only a unified, multilateral approach to negotiating with and recognizing the Islamic Emirate will safeguard the borders of neighboring states. Following the withdrawal of US and NATO forces from Afghanistan in August last year, the Taliban-led schismatic government in Kabul appears to have reached a diplomatic impasse. It seems like its…

‘Not a Choice, but Necessity:’ Iran, India Recalibrating Ties Amid Geopolitical Shifts

Zafar Mehdi Following a drop in trade brought on by US sanctions, New Delhi and Tehran – boosted by their mutual strong relations with Moscow – are set to revamp ties in a new era of Eurasian multipolarity. “Not a choice, but a necessity.” That’s how Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani stressed the importance…

Being Excess Bodies: Shame in the Age of Climate Coloniality

Shreya Parikh For many in the Global South, instead of recognizing that their suffering is a result of local and global socio-economic and racial structures, they feel shame. As COP27 takes place in Egypt, Shreya Parikh writes about climate change, overpopulation, and shame in Tunisia and India, and how suffering is often interpreted as being…

Everybody Wants to Hop on the BRICS Express

Pepe Escobar Eurasia is about to get a whole lot larger as countries line up to join the Chinese and Russian-led BRICS and SCO, to the detriment of the west Let’s start with what is in fact a tale of Global South trade between two members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). At its heart is…

A War Russia is Set to Win: The Europeans Have Been Nicely Played by the Americans

MK Bhadrakumar India should expect the defeat of the US and NATO, which completes the transition to a multipolar world order. Two massive terrorist strikes misfired spectacularly and a terrible beauty is born in the Ukraine war. These two carefully planned attacks in quick succession — on Nord Stream gas pipelines and Crimean Bridge —…

Why is India Arming Armenia Against Azerbaijan?

Yeghia Tashjian Trade routes and national security interests in the South Caucasus are central to New Delhi’s decision to arm Armenia After the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war and the shift in the South Caucasus balance of power toward Turkey, India has expressed concern that its vision to connect Europe and Russia to its Indian ports through the…

In the Battle for the ‘Global South’, an Ancient Evil Rears its Head

Dr. Mathew Maavak World map showing a traditional definition of the North–South divide (red countries in this map are grouped as “Global South”, blue countries as “Global North”). ©  Wikipedia There has been much chatter of late about an alleged Russian-Chinese plot to take over an artificial geopolitical construct called the Global South. These allegations…

The Challenges of Eurasia-Global South Integration

Pepe Escobar The geoeconomic pathway away from the neoliberal order is fraught with peril, but the rewards in establishing an alternative system are as promising as they are urgent. It is impossible to track the geoeconomic turbulence inherent to the “birth pangs” of the multipolar world without the insights of Professor Michael Hudson at the University…

The SCO Summit and the Need for a New Global Security Architecture

Matthew Ehret During a meeting held between Putin and Xi the recent Shanghai Organization Summit in Samarkand, the Chinese leader re-affirmed his understanding both of the historical moment now shaping the world and also the vital role he understands both Russia and China must play in navigating humanity through this storm saying: “Dear President Putin, my…

SCO Summit Offers Vision of Hope Amid U.S.-Led Insanity for War

Strategic Culture Foundation The SCO summit this week offers much welcome hope for a saner, more peaceful world. The 22nd summit this week of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization explicitly and unreservedly promotes peaceful partnership and multilateralism – in stark contrast to the de facto Western worldview of hegemony and endless conflict. The SCO summit, held…

‘Samarkand Spirit’ to Be Driven by ‘Responsible Powers’

Pepe Escobar The SCO summit of Asian power players delineated a road map for strengthening the multipolar world Amidst serious tremors in the world of geopolitics, it is so fitting that this year’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) heads of state summit should have taken place in Samarkand – the ultimate Silk Road crossroads for 2,500…

Asia’s Future Takes Shape in Vladivostok, the Russian Pacific

Pepe Escobar Sixty-eight countries gathered on Russia’s far eastern coast to listen to Moscow’s economic and political vision for the Asia-Pacific The Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok is one of the indispensable annual milestones for keeping up not only with the complex development process of the Russian Far East but major plays for Eurasia integration. Mirroring an immensely…

100 Years of Russian Gas for India

M. K. BHADRAKUMAR Yamal LNG Project in Siberia, Russia (File photo) India is taking baby steps toward green energy. Two of India’s biggest business houses are spearheading it — Adani and Ambani groups. India has made several ambitious commitments at the Glasgow climate summit and two key pledges were that India’s non-fossil energy capacity will…

When Government Won’t Provide Housing, India’s Communists Organize People to Build it Themselves

Vijay Prashad Sagar, the CPI(M) secretary of Ragasaipeta and a leader of the Jakkaloddi Struggle Committee, addresses members at a general body meeting of the Jakkaloddi campaign on June 18, 2022. | Jagadish Kumar / CPI(M) It all started with a survey. In April 2022, members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M),…

India’s BJP’s Poor Record in Tribal Welfare

Subodh VarmaPresident Droupadi Murmu. (Photo: ANI) Droupadi Murmu was recently elected as India’s first tribal president. However, behind the celebrations lies the reality of how the ruling party has failed to address the issues faced by tribals. From the day the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Parliamentary Board announced that Droupadi Murmu, a Santhal [a…

Recent Developments With Russia and the World Point Inexorably to a New World Order

James ONeill Last week there was a meeting of Russian President Putin and President Erdogan of Turkey and President Raisi of Iran in Iran’s capital Teheran. Only a short time ago a meeting of these three men, especially in Iran’s capital of Teheran, would have been unthinkable. The meeting was a measure of how much…