... In a world so fragmented by the competition of powers and empires, colonial forms are also being transformed. US invasions and bombings anywhere in the world will not disappear, but they will become increasingly shorter, more devastating in their technical effectiveness, and without prolonged military occupations. The preferred weapon for subjugating states will now be tariff wars, blockades and economic blackmail.
This is a type of “hard economic power” characteristic of times of competitive hegemonies; different from the “soft economic power” (debt, unequal exchange, etc) favoured by the now-extinct phase of exclusive US hegemony. This type of “soft power” will not disappear. But it will no longer be the most active. And, once inside the US “area of influence”, the colonial form will undergo two substantial modifications. First, we will repeatedly witness acts of force aimed at expanding the US’ territorial reach. Trump’s statements about renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America,” his threat to retake control of the Panama Canal, to make Canada the 51st US state, or to claim ownership of Greenland, all demonstrate a clear desire to expand US sovereign territory among its neighbours. These expansionist ambitions toward the north and centre of the continent, to integrate them into a “living space,” will continue in the coming years. Second, the figure of protectorates will be revived to maintain economic and political control of countries possessing “strategic” raw materials (oil, rare earths, lithium, copper, etc) for North American industry, or of geographical areas of high interest to private investors.... Read full article here https://links.org.au/alvaro-garcia-linera-rise-21st-century-protectorates -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#40879): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/40879 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/118072995/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
