Politsturm invites comrades to study Marxist-Leninist theory and participate in communist work in our organization. Fill the application: t.me/redrecruit_inter_bot
Serious politics can only be promoted by the masses; non-party masses that do not follow the lead of a strong party are, however, disunited, ignorant masses, with out staying power, prone to become a plaything in the hands of adroit politicians, who always emerge "opportunely" from the ranks of the ruling classes to take advantage of "favourable" circumstances. — Vladimir Lenin, Bewildered Non-Party People
Socialism has grown into a force and, throughout the civilised world, has already upheld its right to existence. It is now fighting for power and the bourgeoisie, disintegrating and realising the inevitability of its doom, is exerting every effort to defer that day and to maintain its rule under the new conditions as well, at the cost of partial and spurious concessions. — Vladimir Lenin, Reformism in the Russian Social-Democratic Movement
Democrats are slated to win the House in the US midterms. Will this significantly change the course of domestic and foreign policy?
Details. The upcoming November midterm elections will decide control of the US Congress legislative apparatus, where Republicans currently hold majorities in both chambers. The vote puts all 435 seats in the House of Representatives (two-year terms) and one-third of the 100 Senate seats (six-year terms) on the ballot.
► The House is expected to have a Democratic majority. The Senate is tighter, Democrats need to flip four seats in key Republican-held states, and Republicans remain slight favourites to hold the chamber.
Context. The US legislative process relies on two distinct chambers. The House is designated to react quickly to immediate political needs, while the Senate acts as a slower, deliberative body insulated by six-year terms. Any newly introduced law must successfully pass both chambers.
► The President cannot force Congress to adopt laws, but holds a powerful veto requiring a two-thirds congressional supermajority to override. Furthermore, the President shapes the state apparatus by dismissing executive officials at will and nominating Supreme Court justices to lifetime appointments, which are subject to Senate approval.
► Congress has some executive oversight. The House holds the authority to investigate and vote on articles of impeachment, while the Senate conducts the trial and determines removal. Democrats used this power to impeach Trump twice, before the Senate voted not to remove him.
► The House can also block presidential proposals through budgetary control and legislative blocks, as when it denied Trump border wall funding in 2019 and defeated his repeal of the Affordable Care Act in 2017.
► The constitutional separation of powers frequently breaks down in foreign policy. The executive branch holds vastly expanded war powers, allowing the President to largely bypass Congress to initiate military actions and broker foreign agreements through executive pacts.
Important to Know. The Republicans seek unified control of Congress and the Senate to wield executive authority without legislative friction, recently leaning on tech and finance billionaires to inject millions into the 2026 midterms. By dropping bourgeois democratic rhetoric to openly prioritise business interests and foreign aggression, his administration has exposed the class nature of the state and intensified class contradictions.
► The Democrats seek to restore the more liberal form of capitalist rule, pacifying growing unrest through minor social concessions, less openly aggressive foreign policy, and a tolerated “democratic socialist" wing to channel popular discontent back into the two-party electoral system.
► They have postured as "resistance" to Trump while in the minority, gaining popularity without having to enact anything. The few times they staged this resistance by blocking bills, individual Senate Democrats crossed the aisle to reverse them, as with weapons sales to Israel and increased ICE funding. The minority position gives them cover to posture without accountability.
► Even winning both chambers would not allow Democrats to significantly impede Trump's core agenda. They represent the same capitalist class interests and cannot agree on reversing even his most unpopular measures. On foreign policy, their objections are over process, not objectives. For example, Kamala Harris called the capture of Maduro "unlawful and unwise", but the Biden administration had raised the bounty on him to $25 million weeks before leaving office.
► Biden's presidency clearly illustrated the continuation of the essence of Trump’s first term policy. The Democrats preserved Trump's China tariffs, sustained military commitments abroad, and further expanded deportations. Both parties ultimately defend the expansion of US capitalist profits and foreign interests against rival imperialist China – the course of US imperialism will continue regardless of which party wins the midterms.
That the bourgeoisie hate us so passionately is one of the most striking proofs that we are showing the people the right ways and means of overthrowing the rule of the bourgeoisie. — Vladimir Lenin, Can the Bolsheviks Retain State Power?
The slogan of “solidarity with the Cuban people” and “defence of the revolution” is opportunistically used by Centrists, social-chauvinists, Trotskyists, broad left activists, and even American Imperialists.
Details. After the US intensified its embargo and sanctions on Cuba, followed by a 176 reforms package which officialised the restoration of capitalism on the island. Numerous “left-wing” organisations were quick to come out and declare their solidarity with the Cuban people.
► Cuba’s President justified the reforms around the vague concept of “defence of the revolution and its gains”. Meanwhile, Castro’s grandson, whilst claiming he would never sacrifice the principles of the revolution, began negotiating with the US and framing this as his “revolutionary duty”. He has continued to meet up with US executives to explore setting up real estate transfer opportunities. The deputy foreign minister said the reforms are “for the Cuban people, to improve Cuba”.
► Solidnet affiliated parties, such as the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), responded to the legalisation of capitalism warning vaguely of "serious dangers", before calling on communists to support "the Cuban people", with no mention of the government's role in the restoration. Solidnet held its 24th International Meeting in Havana between August 7-9. One of the latest examples of this is the Communist Party of the USA which declared defending Cuba "a core party priority".
► Social-chauvinists celebrated the capitalist reforms as a strategic socialist adaptation in the interests of the Cuban people, a “defence of socialism under siege”, making no mention of GAESA, the military-bourgeois elite, or the class character of the regime overseeing them. Prominent member of the social-chauvinist American Communist Party Haz Al-Din said this “would be great for Cuba… If [they] do this the right way”.
► The slogan of solidarity is also adopted by Trotskyists, with the International Marxist Tendency calling for the defence of “the Cuban Revolution with all our might”, whilst the Socialist Worker offers solidarity with the “class struggle against the state capitalist bureaucracy” but then effectively opposes domestic protests, because “if the Cuban regime implodes…there would be nothing progressive about its fall”. Both parties use this as an opportunity to attack the USSR, its achievements and the concept of socialism in one country.
► Even the US government and businesses use this slogan. In late July, the US State Department announced a humanitarian flight to Cuba, $100 million in food and hygiene kits for up to 700 families, vaguely framed as aid for "the people, not the Cuban government”, with Rubio saying he envisions “a brighter future for Cuba and its people”. By using the loophole “Support for the Cuban People”, private companies are bypassing the embargo and increasing exports to Cuba, with the State Department claiming the US is a top exporter of food and humanitarian aid to meet the “basic needs” of the people.
Context. Trump intensified his pressure over Cuba in January by blocking Venezuelan oil shipments and issuing an executive order authorizing tariffs on any country supplying oil to the island. The blockade and embargo are responsible for exacerbating Cuba's medical supply shortages, falling nutrition and blackouts across the island.
► The Cuban reforms that followed are a continuation of a decades-long process of capitalist restoration. Today Cuba is a bourgeois dictatorship flying a socialist flag, as Díaz-Canel himself confirmed by pointing to China and Vietnam as a model.
Important to Know. The slogan of “solidarity with the Cuban people” is empty phrase-mongering. The slogan fails to specify which Cuban people it is referring to, fails to distinguish the different classes and does not clarify whether it supports the Cuban state or not. The vagueness of the slogan means it can be used by various left and right deviations, by the Cuban state itself, and even by US imperialists.
►By adopting this slogan, the various “communist” organisations end up supporting the actions of the bourgeois Cuban government, by calling on workers and activists to lend their support to capitalist restoration under the guise of “protecting the revolution”. It portrays communists as incapable of distinguishing between a workers' state and a capitalist one.
► Communists must turn this vague slogan into something more concrete, that offers an independent working-class position and exposes the capitalist nature of the Cuban economy, its leadership, and the reforms. A more suitable slogan for us would be "solidarity with Cuban workers in their fight against American imperialism and new Cuban capitalists".
American and Chinese capitalists meet again in Washington to negotiate tariffs, AI, and escalating conflicts.
Details. From September 23–25, Trump hosted Chinese President Xi on an official state visit in Washington, following their meeting in Beijing in May. The talks covered ongoing trade disputes and escalating global conflicts.
► Xi received a lavish welcome, including a 100-foot red carpet. Trump also staged a military flyover featuring a nuclear bomber, attempting to outdo the reception he received in Beijing in May. Both sides have used military posturing to impress and intimidate one another, while diplomatic courtesy maintained a facade of inter-imperialist stability and harmony.
► American tech capitalists – including Musk, Zuckerberg, and Nvidia's Huang – attended the Trump-Xi meetings to discuss AI and semiconductor competition. Chinese capitalists from monopolies like BYD and Xiaomi also travelled to Washington, but were excluded from official meetings, participating only from the sidelines. Despite close dialogue between both countries' tech elites, they reached no substantive agreement on the AI race.
► Trump claimed "tremendous progress," and Xi called it "very successful", but there were no major breakthroughs. The two sides agreed to cut tariffs on $30 billion of goods (only a fraction of total trade volume) and extended their tariff war truce by two months. They also agreed that Iran should not develop nuclear weapons, and that no state should impose transit tolls on waterways like the Strait of Hormuz.
Context. Contradictions between the imperialist blocs headed by America and China are sharpening. Global conflicts are now at their highest level since WWII, with 65 active conflicts across 35 countries. The two powers are increasingly colliding directly: Iran reportedly used Chinese satellite imagery to strike American bases, and the US military nearly struck a Chinese ship in the Middle East after an AI targeting error. Trump is also considering a $14 billion arms package for Taiwan.
► Negotiations between the imperialist powers under Trump's second term have delivered little of substance. The US-China trade truce remains temporary, with disputes over tariffs, rare earth exports, and semiconductors still unresolved. Trump's negotiations with Putin have stalled, and the Iran conflict drags on – contradicting his claims that he would end the “SMO” in a day, or that the Middle East crisis would end "very soon."
► The trade war between the US and China was temporarily suspended last year, with a truce agreed to last until November 2026. This summit was supposed to produce a long-term solution, but it only extended the truce to January 2027.
► A month before the summit, China imposed sanctions on multiple American entities, after the US imposed multiple trade restrictions on China. Previously, the May summit in Beijing was preceded by China’s moves to consolidate its bloc, whilst the US attacked Chinese dependencies in Latin America.
At the UN’s General Assembly, Trump gloated about defunding the “far-left” UN and denounced the “anti-American” International Criminal Court. In the lead-up to WWII, fascist powers left international institutions that attempted to restrict their actions.
Details. Speaking at the 81st UN General Assembly, Trump gloated about the first cuts to the UN budget, claiming that his administration had reduced it by 15% and eliminated over 4,000 positions, although the final cut was approved at 7%. The White House claimed that over $1 billion had been cut in six months.
► Trump criticised the UN as being run by unelected “globalist bureaucrats” imposing a “far-left agenda”, citing the international carbon tax on shipping as an example of policies he opposes. Negotiated through the UN, the tax was ultimately scrapped with US pressure.
► Trump then attacked the International Criminal Court, calling it an “anti-American tribunal” and a “rogue institution”, and called on other countries to leave it. He restated that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the US.
Context. International organisations such as the UN facilitate relations between capitalist states and provide a framework through which the major imperialist powers pursue their interests.
► The US helped establish the post-Cold War international order and has long used these institutions to advance its own interests. As they increasingly obstruct US actions or provide a platform for criticising them, Washington has become more willing to withdraw from or undermine them, including recently leaving 66 international organisations.
► The UN has criticised US actions in Iran, stating that there are grounds for investigating potential war crimes, and condemned US sanctions against Cuba. Relations with the ICC deteriorated after it issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, prompting the US to impose sanctions on the court.
► At the same time, the UN faces a serious financial crisis, as not all 193 member states are paying their dues. The US, in particular, owes billions. If this issue is not resolved, there is a significant risk that the UN will be unable to sustain itself financially and will cease to exist.
Important to Know. Parallels can be drawn with the collapse of the League of Nations during the rise of fascism. The major imperialist powers were unwilling to confront fascist expansion, hoping for them to invade the Soviet Union, contributing to the League’s inaction. Fascist powers withdrew when the League obstructed their initial military expansion and territorial ambitions, helping to undermine its authority.
► Japan withdrew after the League condemned its invasion of Manchuria. Germany withdrew from the League and Disarmament Conference as the Nazi government pursued rearmament, while Italy withdrew after the League condemned its invasion of Ethiopia and imposed sanctions.
► Like the League, the UN and ICC can issue condemnations, resolutions and calls for action without possessing an independent means of enforcing them. The UN commission’s finding that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, for example, did not result in sanctions or other measures against Israel through the UN itself.
► These institutions cannot resolve the contradictions between competing imperialist powers. When international rules conflict with a major power's interests, that power can simply disregard them, withdraw from them, or try to weaken them.
Mankind is faced with the alternative of going over to Socialism or of suffering years and even decades of armed struggle between the "great powers for the artificial preservation of capitalism by means of colonies, monopolies, privileges and national oppression of every kind. — Vladimir Lenin, Socialism and War
Politsturm International
Politsturm invites comrades to study Marxist-Leninist theory and participate in communist work in our organization. Fill the application: t.me/redrecruit_inter_bot
6 hours ago | [YT] | 46
View 2 replies
Politsturm International
Serious politics can only be promoted by the masses; non-party masses that do not follow the lead of a strong party are, however, disunited, ignorant masses, with out staying power, prone to become a plaything in the hands of adroit politicians, who always emerge "opportunely" from the ranks of the ruling classes to take advantage of "favourable" circumstances. — Vladimir Lenin, Bewildered Non-Party People
7 hours ago | [YT] | 52
View 1 reply
Politsturm International
Socialism has grown into a force and, throughout the civilised world, has already upheld its right to existence. It is now fighting for power and the bourgeoisie, disintegrating and realising the inevitability of its doom, is exerting every effort to defer that day and to maintain its rule under the new conditions as well, at the cost of partial and spurious concessions. — Vladimir Lenin, Reformism in the Russian Social-Democratic Movement
1 day ago | [YT] | 111
View 4 replies
Politsturm International
Democrats are slated to win the House in the US midterms. Will this significantly change the course of domestic and foreign policy?
Details. The upcoming November midterm elections will decide control of the US Congress legislative apparatus, where Republicans currently hold majorities in both chambers. The vote puts all 435 seats in the House of Representatives (two-year terms) and one-third of the 100 Senate seats (six-year terms) on the ballot.
► The House is expected to have a Democratic majority. The Senate is tighter, Democrats need to flip four seats in key Republican-held states, and Republicans remain slight favourites to hold the chamber.
Context. The US legislative process relies on two distinct chambers. The House is designated to react quickly to immediate political needs, while the Senate acts as a slower, deliberative body insulated by six-year terms. Any newly introduced law must successfully pass both chambers.
► The President cannot force Congress to adopt laws, but holds a powerful veto requiring a two-thirds congressional supermajority to override. Furthermore, the President shapes the state apparatus by dismissing executive officials at will and nominating Supreme Court justices to lifetime appointments, which are subject to Senate approval.
► Congress has some executive oversight. The House holds the authority to investigate and vote on articles of impeachment, while the Senate conducts the trial and determines removal. Democrats used this power to impeach Trump twice, before the Senate voted not to remove him.
► The House can also block presidential proposals through budgetary control and legislative blocks, as when it denied Trump border wall funding in 2019 and defeated his repeal of the Affordable Care Act in 2017.
► The constitutional separation of powers frequently breaks down in foreign policy. The executive branch holds vastly expanded war powers, allowing the President to largely bypass Congress to initiate military actions and broker foreign agreements through executive pacts.
Important to Know. The Republicans seek unified control of Congress and the Senate to wield executive authority without legislative friction, recently leaning on tech and finance billionaires to inject millions into the 2026 midterms. By dropping bourgeois democratic rhetoric to openly prioritise business interests and foreign aggression, his administration has exposed the class nature of the state and intensified class contradictions.
► The Democrats seek to restore the more liberal form of capitalist rule, pacifying growing unrest through minor social concessions, less openly aggressive foreign policy, and a tolerated “democratic socialist" wing to channel popular discontent back into the two-party electoral system.
► They have postured as "resistance" to Trump while in the minority, gaining popularity without having to enact anything. The few times they staged this resistance by blocking bills, individual Senate Democrats crossed the aisle to reverse them, as with weapons sales to Israel and increased ICE funding. The minority position gives them cover to posture without accountability.
► Even winning both chambers would not allow Democrats to significantly impede Trump's core agenda. They represent the same capitalist class interests and cannot agree on reversing even his most unpopular measures. On foreign policy, their objections are over process, not objectives. For example, Kamala Harris called the capture of Maduro "unlawful and unwise", but the Biden administration had raised the bounty on him to $25 million weeks before leaving office.
► Biden's presidency clearly illustrated the continuation of the essence of Trump’s first term policy. The Democrats preserved Trump's China tariffs, sustained military commitments abroad, and further expanded deportations. Both parties ultimately defend the expansion of US capitalist profits and foreign interests against rival imperialist China – the course of US imperialism will continue regardless of which party wins the midterms.
1 day ago | [YT] | 62
View 5 replies
Politsturm International
That the bourgeoisie hate us so passionately is one of the most striking proofs that we are showing the people the right ways and means of overthrowing the rule of the bourgeoisie. — Vladimir Lenin, Can the Bolsheviks Retain State Power?
3 days ago | [YT] | 170
View 4 replies
Politsturm International
The slogan of “solidarity with the Cuban people” and “defence of the revolution” is opportunistically used by Centrists, social-chauvinists, Trotskyists, broad left activists, and even American Imperialists.
Details. After the US intensified its embargo and sanctions on Cuba, followed by a 176 reforms package which officialised the restoration of capitalism on the island. Numerous “left-wing” organisations were quick to come out and declare their solidarity with the Cuban people.
► Cuba’s President justified the reforms around the vague concept of “defence of the revolution and its gains”. Meanwhile, Castro’s grandson, whilst claiming he would never sacrifice the principles of the revolution, began negotiating with the US and framing this as his “revolutionary duty”. He has continued to meet up with US executives to explore setting up real estate transfer opportunities. The deputy foreign minister said the reforms are “for the Cuban people, to improve Cuba”.
► Solidnet affiliated parties, such as the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), responded to the legalisation of capitalism warning vaguely of "serious dangers", before calling on communists to support "the Cuban people", with no mention of the government's role in the restoration. Solidnet held its 24th International Meeting in Havana between August 7-9. One of the latest examples of this is the Communist Party of the USA which declared defending Cuba "a core party priority".
► Social-chauvinists celebrated the capitalist reforms as a strategic socialist adaptation in the interests of the Cuban people, a “defence of socialism under siege”, making no mention of GAESA, the military-bourgeois elite, or the class character of the regime overseeing them. Prominent member of the social-chauvinist American Communist Party Haz Al-Din said this “would be great for Cuba… If [they] do this the right way”.
► The slogan of solidarity is also adopted by Trotskyists, with the International Marxist Tendency calling for the defence of “the Cuban Revolution with all our might”, whilst the Socialist Worker offers solidarity with the “class struggle against the state capitalist bureaucracy” but then effectively opposes domestic protests, because “if the Cuban regime implodes…there would be nothing progressive about its fall”. Both parties use this as an opportunity to attack the USSR, its achievements and the concept of socialism in one country.
► Even the US government and businesses use this slogan. In late July, the US State Department announced a humanitarian flight to Cuba, $100 million in food and hygiene kits for up to 700 families, vaguely framed as aid for "the people, not the Cuban government”, with Rubio saying he envisions “a brighter future for Cuba and its people”. By using the loophole “Support for the Cuban People”, private companies are bypassing the embargo and increasing exports to Cuba, with the State Department claiming the US is a top exporter of food and humanitarian aid to meet the “basic needs” of the people.
Context. Trump intensified his pressure over Cuba in January by blocking Venezuelan oil shipments and issuing an executive order authorizing tariffs on any country supplying oil to the island. The blockade and embargo are responsible for exacerbating Cuba's medical supply shortages, falling nutrition and blackouts across the island.
► The Cuban reforms that followed are a continuation of a decades-long process of capitalist restoration. Today Cuba is a bourgeois dictatorship flying a socialist flag, as Díaz-Canel himself confirmed by pointing to China and Vietnam as a model.
Important to Know. The slogan of “solidarity with the Cuban people” is empty phrase-mongering. The slogan fails to specify which Cuban people it is referring to, fails to distinguish the different classes and does not clarify whether it supports the Cuban state or not. The vagueness of the slogan means it can be used by various left and right deviations, by the Cuban state itself, and even by US imperialists.
►By adopting this slogan, the various “communist” organisations end up supporting the actions of the bourgeois Cuban government, by calling on workers and activists to lend their support to capitalist restoration under the guise of “protecting the revolution”. It portrays communists as incapable of distinguishing between a workers' state and a capitalist one.
► Communists must turn this vague slogan into something more concrete, that offers an independent working-class position and exposes the capitalist nature of the Cuban economy, its leadership, and the reforms. A more suitable slogan for us would be "solidarity with Cuban workers in their fight against American imperialism and new Cuban capitalists".
3 days ago | [YT] | 97
View 14 replies
Politsturm International
Politsturm regularly publishes Marxist-Leninist analysis of the key political and economic issues. Follow us on:
Telegram – t.me/politsturm_international
X – x.com/PolitsturmInter
Join our Discord server for discussion: discord.gg/42TkwbWcmZ
4 days ago | [YT] | 133
View 4 replies
Politsturm International
American and Chinese capitalists meet again in Washington to negotiate tariffs, AI, and escalating conflicts.
Details. From September 23–25, Trump hosted Chinese President Xi on an official state visit in Washington, following their meeting in Beijing in May. The talks covered ongoing trade disputes and escalating global conflicts.
► Xi received a lavish welcome, including a 100-foot red carpet. Trump also staged a military flyover featuring a nuclear bomber, attempting to outdo the reception he received in Beijing in May. Both sides have used military posturing to impress and intimidate one another, while diplomatic courtesy maintained a facade of inter-imperialist stability and harmony.
► American tech capitalists – including Musk, Zuckerberg, and Nvidia's Huang – attended the Trump-Xi meetings to discuss AI and semiconductor competition. Chinese capitalists from monopolies like BYD and Xiaomi also travelled to Washington, but were excluded from official meetings, participating only from the sidelines. Despite close dialogue between both countries' tech elites, they reached no substantive agreement on the AI race.
► Trump claimed "tremendous progress," and Xi called it "very successful", but there were no major breakthroughs. The two sides agreed to cut tariffs on $30 billion of goods (only a fraction of total trade volume) and extended their tariff war truce by two months. They also agreed that Iran should not develop nuclear weapons, and that no state should impose transit tolls on waterways like the Strait of Hormuz.
Context. Contradictions between the imperialist blocs headed by America and China are sharpening. Global conflicts are now at their highest level since WWII, with 65 active conflicts across 35 countries. The two powers are increasingly colliding directly: Iran reportedly used Chinese satellite imagery to strike American bases, and the US military nearly struck a Chinese ship in the Middle East after an AI targeting error. Trump is also considering a $14 billion arms package for Taiwan.
► Negotiations between the imperialist powers under Trump's second term have delivered little of substance. The US-China trade truce remains temporary, with disputes over tariffs, rare earth exports, and semiconductors still unresolved. Trump's negotiations with Putin have stalled, and the Iran conflict drags on – contradicting his claims that he would end the “SMO” in a day, or that the Middle East crisis would end "very soon."
► The trade war between the US and China was temporarily suspended last year, with a truce agreed to last until November 2026. This summit was supposed to produce a long-term solution, but it only extended the truce to January 2027.
► A month before the summit, China imposed sanctions on multiple American entities, after the US imposed multiple trade restrictions on China. Previously, the May summit in Beijing was preceded by China’s moves to consolidate its bloc, whilst the US attacked Chinese dependencies in Latin America.
4 days ago | [YT] | 64
View 2 replies
Politsturm International
At the UN’s General Assembly, Trump gloated about defunding the “far-left” UN and denounced the “anti-American” International Criminal Court. In the lead-up to WWII, fascist powers left international institutions that attempted to restrict their actions.
Details. Speaking at the 81st UN General Assembly, Trump gloated about the first cuts to the UN budget, claiming that his administration had reduced it by 15% and eliminated over 4,000 positions, although the final cut was approved at 7%. The White House claimed that over $1 billion had been cut in six months.
► Trump criticised the UN as being run by unelected “globalist bureaucrats” imposing a “far-left agenda”, citing the international carbon tax on shipping as an example of policies he opposes. Negotiated through the UN, the tax was ultimately scrapped with US pressure.
► Trump then attacked the International Criminal Court, calling it an “anti-American tribunal” and a “rogue institution”, and called on other countries to leave it. He restated that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the US.
Context. International organisations such as the UN facilitate relations between capitalist states and provide a framework through which the major imperialist powers pursue their interests.
► The US helped establish the post-Cold War international order and has long used these institutions to advance its own interests. As they increasingly obstruct US actions or provide a platform for criticising them, Washington has become more willing to withdraw from or undermine them, including recently leaving 66 international organisations.
► The UN has criticised US actions in Iran, stating that there are grounds for investigating potential war crimes, and condemned US sanctions against Cuba. Relations with the ICC deteriorated after it issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, prompting the US to impose sanctions on the court.
► At the same time, the UN faces a serious financial crisis, as not all 193 member states are paying their dues. The US, in particular, owes billions. If this issue is not resolved, there is a significant risk that the UN will be unable to sustain itself financially and will cease to exist.
Important to Know. Parallels can be drawn with the collapse of the League of Nations during the rise of fascism. The major imperialist powers were unwilling to confront fascist expansion, hoping for them to invade the Soviet Union, contributing to the League’s inaction. Fascist powers withdrew when the League obstructed their initial military expansion and territorial ambitions, helping to undermine its authority.
► Japan withdrew after the League condemned its invasion of Manchuria. Germany withdrew from the League and Disarmament Conference as the Nazi government pursued rearmament, while Italy withdrew after the League condemned its invasion of Ethiopia and imposed sanctions.
► Like the League, the UN and ICC can issue condemnations, resolutions and calls for action without possessing an independent means of enforcing them. The UN commission’s finding that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, for example, did not result in sanctions or other measures against Israel through the UN itself.
► These institutions cannot resolve the contradictions between competing imperialist powers. When international rules conflict with a major power's interests, that power can simply disregard them, withdraw from them, or try to weaken them.
4 days ago | [YT] | 53
View 1 reply
Politsturm International
Mankind is faced with the alternative of going over to Socialism or of suffering years and even decades of armed struggle between the "great powers for the artificial preservation of capitalism by means of colonies, monopolies, privileges and national oppression of every kind. — Vladimir Lenin, Socialism and War
5 days ago | [YT] | 138
View 4 replies
Load more