Geopolitics in Broad Strokes

the way I see it in easy to understand terms

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With everything going on in the world right now, it can be hard to make sense of it all. These times are dynamic and often terrifying.

In periods of great volatility, it’s important to remember that change is inevitable. Right now, our actions can make a big difference. But we need to base our actions on accurate information.

Before October 7th, 2023, I paid some, but not a lot, of attention to geopolitics. However, when Israel, backed by the USA and its allies, started committing full scale genocide in Gaza, I wanted to have a better understanding of the big picture.

Since then, I’ve been seeking out the perspectives of people around the world to get a more accurate idea of what’s going on.

Probably no one knows the whole story. They say that the truth is the first casualty of war. And during times like these, there is a lot of posturing and theatre on all sides.

Here, then, is my understanding of the current global dynamics in broad strokes, so that people who feel overwhelmed get a better sense of the big geopolitical picture.

We all have a bias, so here’s mine: I’m pro peace, and I care about fairness and accuracy. I’m a systems thinker, so tend to pay attention to relational dynamics. And I think it’s important to understand the perspectives of all parties involved in conflicts.

As well, I’ve heard repeatedly that we in the west are the most propagandized people in the world. Through mainstream news, social media, Hollywood and even video games, we’re influenced and often misled. We’re fed a narrative about the west being the good guys — the bringers of democracy, upholders of human rights and often misunderstood by the rest of the world. We’re set up to see things in opposition to each other: good/bad, right/wrong, true/false, win/lose. This leaves very little room for nuance, differences of opinion, and peaceful negotiation.

For many of us, the ongoing genocide in Gaza is shattering these myths. But what now? What are we to believe?

If we’re not the good guys, who are?

I think we, the people of all nations, are inherently good. But for centuries we have been governed by people with colonialist and imperialist ambitions. That means everything is turned into a commodity, including people. The values of those in power don’t reflect ours. You can see that by their support of Israel as it commits genocide, their lack of attention to societal and environmental issues, and their love of tweaking the financial system so that it enriches them at the expense of everything else.

Many of us are questioning our societal values. We make land acknowledgements before gatherings as a commitment to indigenous people. Our ancestors stole the land we now live on, and destroyed so many people in the process. What are our obligations to their descendants now? How do we honour those obligations?

We buy fairly traded coffee and chocolate, and try to understand past atrocities so we can stop repeating them.

But those whose families have benefitted for centuries from colonialist and imperialist pursuits still feel entitled. And we’re all at different stages of questioning the way we should live in the world, and how our countries should interact with the other countries.

The beneficiaries of such exploitive systems also control the cultural narrative. So when those who aren’t discerning can easily be persuaded to absorb the views of the privileged. We wrongly believe non-western countries are backwards and uncivilized, and should aspire to be more like us.

Most of us knew that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction when the USA invaded it many years ago. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. So many countries have been, and are still being, bombed back into the stone ages by our countries for no good reason. As well, our global economic and justice systems favour western nations.

Partly because of this, the global majority, which used to be called the global south, has been organizing and supporting each other with organizations such as BRICS. Like all of us, they want to be treated fairly. In a way, BRICS is the mother of all fair trade movements. Here’s what it stands for:

BRICS and its political and economic impacts

BRICS is growing rapidly, representing over half of the world’s population and close to 50% of global GDP. This at a time when the western world is in debt, and losing political, economic and reputational ground. If I were a non-western country I’d like to find a group that shared these guiding principles:

• mutual respect and understanding, equality, solidarity, openness, inclusiveness and consensus,

• full consultation and promoting concrete cooperation based on consensus,

• strengthening multilateralism, strengthening and reforming the multilateral system and upholding international law,

• strengthening cooperation under the three pillars of political and security, economic and financial, and cultural and people-to-people cooperation,

• maintain the identity, coherence and consensus-based nature of BRICS by consolidation of cooperation and promoting institutional development, BRICS Membership Expansion: Guiding Principles, Standards, Criteria and Procedures

• acceptance of the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations as an indispensable cornerstone of multilateralism and international law

• increased representation of, and a more significant role for, emerging and developing countries in the international system, including geographical balance

• a comprehensive reform of the United Nations, including its Security Council, with a view to making it more democratic, representative, effective and efficient, and to increase the representation of developing countries in the Council’s memberships so that it can adequately respond to prevailing global challenges and support the legitimate aspirations of emerging and developing countries from Africa, Asia and Latin America, including Brazil, India and South Africa, to play a greater role in international affairs, in particular in the United Nations, including its Security Council

• commitment to the central role of the United Nations in an international system in which sovereign states cooperate to maintain peace and security, advance sustainable development, ensure the promotion and protection of democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all.

The west considers BRICS a threat, since it challenges its economic and political dominance. In reality, all nations are welcome to join BRICS if they adopt its values. But western ruling elites covet the privilege they’ve wielded for centuries, and don’t want to give it up.

In order to find out what’s really going on, I pay attention to people who share my values of fairness and accuracy, and present perspectives from their countries.

Here are some of the sources of geopolitical analysis that I trust, and I hope you’ll check them out. These are good starting points, although there are many other excellent sources. But please be careful not to believe everything you read or hear. For me, the jury tends to be out until I’ve heard something from a number of sources I trust.

With the ongoing attacks on Iran by Israel, Professor Sayed Mohammad Marandi is a geopolitical rock star these days. Here’s a recent clip of Marandi commenting on the current situation.

Recently someone who just returned from their first trip to Iran that said it was nothing like the way it was portrayed by the media. He said he didn’t see any police on the streets, that it felt very safe, and that the people there were kind and helpful. He said that the experience taught him to trust absolutely nothing the western media tells us about other countries. And I believe him. I’ve heard this from many others who’ve spent time immersed in the cultures of different countries.

I’ve also noticed that international incidents are reported without context in mainstream media sources. For example, we heard that Russia invaded Ukraine in a way that makes it sound like Russia did this for no reason. Is the Russian government just evil and crazy?

We didn’t hear anything about NATO expansion, the CIA backed coup of Ukraine in 2014, or that Zelensky campaigned on a platform of peace. From Russia’s point of view, Ukraine wanting to join NATO was an existential threat. It would be as though Mexico had placed missiles from hostile political enemies pointed at the USA right on the border. This article gives some background. As well, Karl Sanchez translates many of Putin’s speeches, where you can see for yourself what his priorities are.

China is another country that is demonized by the west. I appreciate the perspective of KJ Noh who gives us a glimpse into Chinese philosophy and culture in his talks, and gives excellent historical context to what is going on in the region. Here he explains the hair raising recent events in South Korea.

And these are just the most high profile conflicts. Many countries in Africa, South and Central America and other parts of the world are claiming their independence from western powers that have dominated them for centuries.

In essence, the global majority is organizing in a way that promotes win-win relationships, negotiated conflict resolution and non-interference between countries. The western neoliberal system is failing economically, is spread too thin militarily and has lost moral legitimacy with its support for Israel’s genocide of Gaza. And we’re watching the fallout of this dynamic.

Many say that what we’re witnessing is the end of western domination and the rise of a multipolar system. And western powers are lashing out in such violent and unpredictable ways because their in their systems’ death throes. It’s why there’s a push for more NATO spending and increased austerity.

As ordinary people, we’re not benefitting from the success of western elites. More war and austerity hurts us. Life will only get harder if we increase military spending at the expense of everything else. More of us will become hungrier and homeless, or will come home in body bags after fighting senseless wars. We will experience even more severe weather events. Our governments’ priorities will compromise our efforts to restore our environment and improve our social safety nets. So it’s in our best interests to reject more NATO spending. Instead we need to build community and care for ourselves and each other.

And every act of healing helps to create the kind of world we want. After decades of austerity, our environment and our societies are in need of replenishment. Our relationships from the personal to the geopolitical could probably use some restoration. We’re all in this together, and we need to stop trying to dominate and start co-operating.

Israel’s genocide in Gaza is opening people’s eyes, and more of us are questioning everything.

I believe our mission is to help to get to a world that is more fair and equal without blowing ourselves up during the transition.

We’ve got the money, expertise and resources to have the kind of world where all of us have our needs met. There’s enough for everyone in the world to have adequate food, housing, education, health care, and robust infrastructure. We can prioritize peace. But our economies and societies have to be restructured, and that’s something, in our own unique ways, we can all work towards.

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I love the BDS campaign and the effect it’s having on Israel’s economy.

Here's an excellent list of products from Israel: https://boycott.thewitness.news/browse/1

Here's a way to help others not in your bubble to boycott Israel: https://www.cjpme.org/stickies_2024_en

And here's where you can support Palestine by buying a keffiyeh: https://www.hirbawi.ps/