Alex Callinicos

Trump is escalating an ideological war

It’s always been a mistake to underestimate Donald Trump. This is especially true now, when he’s fighting ferociously to stay in the White House. Not underestimating him means taking him seriously as a political operator, but also as an ideologist.

International law is made for capitalism

International law helps to regulate the relations between capitalist states. It plays an increasingly important role in providing a framework for the activities of transnational corporation

Brexit bluster can’t hide Tories’ EU troubles

A year ago Brexit dominated the headlines to the point of utter tedium. Now, of course, it’s the Covid-19 pandemic, which is too deadly to tolerate boredom. But Brexit is mounting a comeback, with a vengeance.

Energy rows in the Mediterranean reflect deepening imperialist rivalries

There is a scramble going on to grab the gas reserves in the north eastern Mediterranean. Competition over energy is interwoven with the growing struggle for dominance in a Middle East thrown into chaos

Trump opens a rift with US ruling class

Many in the US ruling class may be beginning to wonder whether Trump is worth the trouble

Trump banks on racial polarisation

The protests against the killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police are swelling into an uprising of national proportions.

Is EU singing from Hamilton songbook?

Alexander Hamilton, one of the brilliant group of “founding fathers” of the United States and its first finance minister, was once remembered mainly because he was killed in a duel by vice president Aaron Burr in 1804.

Bosses will use debt crisis against poorest

On the other side of the pandemic, many fear there will be a debt crisis. This fear is mainly motivated by the huge amounts of money governments are spending to prop up companies and subsidise wages.

Economic crash could leave lasting scars

The bank of England’s latest monetary policy report is a classic example of bad news and good news. The bad news is that the British economy will shrink by 14 percent this year.

Imperialist rivalries heighten the crisis

The Coronavirus pandemic represents a crisis that is simultaneously biological, economic, and political

Science advice is shaped by politics

The latest bombshell to explode in the government’s face has hit its claim to base its policy for the Covid-19 pandemic on “the science” or “the evidence”

Will US hegemony survive pandemic?

Donald Trump's decision to withdraw United States funding for the World Health Organisation symbolises how the coronavirus pandemic has been dominated by national responses to what is a global problem.

We’re in the fight of our lives—to save our lives

“History has brought mankind to that pinnacle on which the total obliteration of mankind is at last a practical possibility,” wrote the radical scholar Norman O Brown.

Lockdown policies hit the Global South

There’s an old cliche about the economy falling off a cliff. This time it really has, all over the world.

Coronavirus crisis exposes the myth of a progressive EU

The coronavirus crisis has exposed political leaders as wanting. The systematic bungling by Boris Johnson’s government is summed up by the fact that he, his health secretary and the chief medical adviser have all tested positive for the virus.

Coronavirus crisis is a big blow to neoliberalism

If you want a sense of how bad the crisis is, just look at Boris Johnson’s face

Rulers want to cure capitalism of virus

We’ve already learned two important things in the Covid-19 crisis. The first is that the future is here.

Bosses’ virus fears are only for profits

“New data paint grim picture of coronavirus fallout,” read a headline in the Financial Times newspaper last week. My heart sank when I saw it. But when I anxiously scanned the article, it wasn’t about the spread of the coronavirus or the deaths it is causing.

Erdogan’s imperial play comes undone

The Brazilian Marxist Ruy Mauro Marini coined the concept of “sub-imperialism” back in the 1960s. The concept applies perfectly to Turkey under president Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Labour leadership don’t inspire hope

Why is the Labour Party leadership election so depressing? Clearly it has something to do with the line-up. In all probability it will come down to the choice between Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, and Rebecca Long-Bailey, the candidate of the left.