Portside

US presidents have been appeasing brutal dictatorships for years. Trump merely does it with appalling and brazen clarity

In a new speech, “Building a Global Democratic Movement to Counter Authoritarianism,” Sanders spells out that we must develop a global movement against unaccountable state and corporate power, which are mutually reinforcing.

It would be a mistake to yearn for undisputed U.S. "leadership," or for U.S.-led military alliances. A better alternative is global governance.

Here’s the truth of it, if you just stop to think about America’s wars for a moment: it’s only going to get harder to look a widow or mother in the eye and justify them in the years to come.

“In my view, the United States must seek partnerships not just between governments, but between peoples,” Sanders said. “A sensible and effective foreign policy recognizes that our safety and welfare is bound up with the safety and welfare of others around the world.”

Historians Eric Foner and Matt Karp on the international ambitions of the US slaveholding class — and the abolitionist movement that brought them down.

Rex Tillerson stands a good chance of being confirmed as Secretary of State. His statements about climate change adaptation, whether, hubris, ignorance, or deception talking-it's a dangerous view. It's playing with other people's lives. So why does Rex Tillerson want a job that could easily be seen as a step down in power and influence? He has unfinished business, particularly in Russia, which he likely does not trust the Trump administration to handle.

When a state feels destined to rule – as with ancient Rome, the Chinese “Middle Kingdom” centuries ago, the British Empire from 1750 to 1950, and the US since World War II – compromise is hardly a part of its political vocabulary. Sooner rather than later this leads to the state bankrupting itself ithrough “imperial overreach.”

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