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Articles by David Wearing
Britain’s Role in Yemen’s Brutal War Must End – And Reparations Should Follow
Yemenis who fled their homes due to renewed hostilities between Saudi-backed government forces and the Houthi rebels set up makeshift homes. Photo by Ahmad al-Basha / AFP via Getty Images Championing his decision to impose sanctions on Israeli settlement activities, Prime Minister, “Britain has to stand for fairness against injustice … we will always stand with the underdog and take what action we can to support them.
What is the Tories’ Middle East legacy? Quietly tying Britain to the Gulf states and the brutal war in Yemen | David Wearing
Composite: The Guardian/Guardian Design/Getty If you want a clear sense of the character of the modern Conservative party, and to grasp the full extent of the damage it has done during its latest period in office, there are few better places to start than Yemen. By the late 2010s, Yemen was the scene of the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe , according to the United Nations. This was no natural disaster.
Ukraine and anti-imperialism: thoughts for the British left
Red Pepper has launched a vital Crowdfunder to lay the foundations for our future. Donate today. Putin’s war on Ukraine has led to thousands of deaths, upended the world order, and intensified the global energy crisis. At home in Britain, it has led to an outpouring of support for Ukrainian refugees – if not for black and brown people fleeing war and persecution – and provided cover for Keir Starmer to further crack down on the Left of Labour, from socialist MPs to Young Labour.
Western Elites Aren’t Mourning the Loss of Afghan Life, but of Their Own Power
The United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan last month, and the subsequent Taliban takeover of the country, triggered a tidal wave of righteous indignation from the political establishments on both sides of the Atlantic. Their stated objections to religious fundamentalism and the denial of women’s rights need not detain us for long. Western governments have a long and consistent record of arming and supporting authoritarian states.
The myth of the reforming monarch: Orientalism, racial capitalism, and UK support for the Arab Gulf monarchies
Introduction The narrative of ‘reform’ in Saudi Arabia, promoted by the kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, and taken up by governments and media commentators in the United States and the United Kingdom, was undermined by the October 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, an exiled Saudi journalist critical of the Crown Prince’s rule. The Crown Prince himself likely ordered the assassination (Barnes and Sanger, 2021).
Back on the Hard Road: How Stuart Hall Can Help Us Navigate Our Moment
“History may not repeat itself, but it rhymes”. So goes the famous quote often attributed to Mark Twain. For a British left still reeling and disoriented from the defeat of December 2019, it may be worth finding our own historical rhyming couplet: an earlier moment paired to ours, whose similarities and differences can offer a fresh perspective and help us navigate a new way forward.
The Right Are Panicking About Anti-Racism – As Well They Should Be | Novara Media
Let’s clear up a couple of misconceptions about the so-called ‘culture war’. It’s not a technique employed by the right to manage the news cycle by ‘distracting’ us from the ‘real issues’. Nor is it being waged by the right from a position of proactive strength. As it pertains to anti-racism at least, the ‘culture war’ is western conservatism’s defensive fight against a tectonic shift in political values which threatens to sweep it away in the medium and longer term.
England’s Football Team is Changing Because England is Changing
Something is changing around the England football team. On the pitch, an ability to control possession, to manage games, to perform under pressure – all of this is new. But there’s something else as well, something more profound. The fandom around the England team is changing – slowly, painfully, but tangibly – from a hostile environment for those of us whose faces didn’t previously fit, to something kinder, more inclusive and more welcoming. Take one small but emblematic example.
Biden’s New Cold War With China Will Be Justified With Racism
Confrontation with China is shaping up to be a central theme of Joe Biden’s presidency. At recent meetings of the G7 and NATO, Biden’s main aim was to corral and recruit allies for Washington’s new Cold War. A subsequent summit with Vladimir Putin appears to be the first step in a long-term effort to shape a US-Russia rapprochement, and thus prise Moscow and Beijing apart.
Ignore the Naysayers: Anti-Imperialism Will Be Central to the Socialism of the 2020s
What place will anti-imperialism have in the socialism of the 2020s? This is one of the big strategic questions the British left needs to grapple with as it slowly recovers and reconfigures itself after the general election defeat of 2019. The question is becoming more pressing for a number of reasons. For one thing, the Labour party leadership appears to be reverting to its traditional role of broad consensus with the Tories.
The Ceasefire in Gaza Shows Us Exactly Where the Power Lies in US-Israeli Relations
To confront systems of power successfully, we first need to map them: to identify their driving interests, interpret their legitimating ideology, and, crucially, locate their strengths and weaknesses. In this process of reconnaissance, certain historical episodes will be worth paying particular attention to. It is often in specific moments that the system inadvertently reveals something of itself. So it is with the recent US-Israeli assault on Gaza.
Post-Brexit ‘Global Britain’ is Becoming a Threat to International Security
This month sees the most concrete demonstration yet of what the UK’s post-Brexit foreign relations will look like. In the coming days, HMS Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s newest aircraft carrier, will set sail for the Pacific at the head of a strike group comprising two Type 45 destroyers, two Type 43 frigates, and an Astute-class submarine. A squadron of F35 jets from the US Marine Corps are also along for the ride, in a joint Anglo-American display of lavish destructive power.
‘America is Back’, Says Biden. What Does This Mean for the Rest of the World?
“America is back”, Joe Biden has declared. And the ideological construct known as “America” is certainly back at the forefront of mainstream political discourse. This is America – i.e. US state power – as the good guys on the world stage: the enlightened leaders of humanity, beating back the barbarians and extremists, working to solve the big problems on everyone’s behalf, and guided at all times by the “American values” of liberty and democracy.
Labour is Running a Saudi Apologist in Hartlepool – And It Should Be a Scandal | Novara Media
Imagine if, at any point between 2015 and 2019, a Labour MP aligned with Jeremy Corbyn had gone on a regime-funded trip to Syria, and come back parroting the talking points of the Assad dictatorship. Moral horror across Westminster and Fleet Street would have been unconfined, and rightly so. Imagine if Corbyn had then batted away the criticism and stuck by his ally. The scandal would have gone into the stratosphere. We would still be talking about it today.
Unfinished Revolutions: What’s the Future of the Arab Uprisings?
Ten years ago, a wave of popular uprisings erupted across the Middle East, threatening not only local monarchs and dictators but the strategic interests of the Western powers that backed them. In this series, David Wearing looks back on these events, their causes and consequences, and asks what they can teach us about the nature of imperialism in the twenty-first century. – In a small, beleaguered pocket of north-western Syria, the aspirations of the original 2011 uprising somehow endures.
Unfinished Revolutions: How Syria’s Uprising Turned Into a War
Ten years ago, a wave of popular uprisings erupted across the Middle East, threatening not only local monarchs and dictators but the strategic interests of the Western powers that backed them. In this series, David Wearing looks back on these events, their causes and consequences, and asks what they can teach us about the nature of imperialism in the twenty-first century.
Unfinished Revolutions: How the Arab Uprisings Were Drowned in Oil
Ten years ago, a wave of popular uprisings erupted across the Middle East, threatening not only local monarchs and dictators but the strategic interests of the Western powers that backed them. In this series, David Wearing looks back on these events, their causes and consequences, and asks what they can teach us about the nature of imperialism in the twenty-first century.
Unfinished Revolutions: How the UK and Gulf Monarchies Helped Crush Bahrain’s Pro-Democracy Movement
Ten years ago, a wave of popular uprisings erupted across the Middle East, threatening not only local monarchs and dictators but the strategic interests of the Western powers that backed them. In this series, David Wearing looks back on these events, their causes and consequences, and asks what they can teach us about the nature of imperialism in the twenty-first century.
Yemen's Houthis attack Saudi Arabia's Abha airport
Yemen rebels say four of its drones targeted Abha airport located around 120km from the border, leaving an aircraft in flames The Houthis have previously hit Abha international airport, and regularly launch drones and missiles into Saudi Arabia (AFP) Published date: 10 February 2021 14:50 UTC | Last update: 7 sec ago Yemen's Houthi movement has claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Abha airport in southern Saudi Arabia that left a civilian aircraft on fire.
Yemen's Houthis renew offensive to capture government stronghold Marib
The push comes as UN special envoy to Yemen is in Iran to discuss the crisis in a sign of renewed diplomatic efforts with new US administration A pro-government tribal fighter sits in a position where he fights against the Houthis in Marib, Yemen October 2 2020 (Reuters) Published date: 8 February 2021 16:34 UTC | Last update: 16 min 58 sec ago Houthi fighters have renewed their push to seize the oil-rich province of Marib, the government’s last stronghold in northern Yemen, a government...
Yemen: UK should follow Biden's lead and end support for Saudi war
President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that he was “ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen” waged by a coalition of countries led by Saudi Arabia. We should pause and take this in. Washington’s reversal on Yemen could prove to be one of the most important events in global politics for years, offering a way out of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Unfinished Revolutions: How the West and the Rest Conspired to Thwart the Arab Uprisings
Ten years ago, a wave of popular uprisings erupted across the Middle East, threatening not only local monarchs and dictators but the strategic interests of the Western powers that backed them. In this series, David Wearing looks back on these events, their causes and consequences, and asks what they can teach us about the nature of imperialism in the twenty-first century. – In the heady days of 2011, the talk was of ‘revolution’ sweeping the Arab majority world.
Unfinished Revolutions: What Were the Roots of the Arab Uprisings?
Ten years ago, a wave of popular uprisings erupted across the Middle East, threatening not only local monarchs and dictators but the strategic interests of the Western powers that backed them. In this series, David Wearing looks back on these events, their causes and consequences, and asks what they can teach us about the nature of imperialism in the twenty-first century. – A decade ago today, the Arab uprisings began in earnest.
Summer 2019
For Syria, and the rest of the world, the era of liberal peacebuilding has passed. But there are other ways to make peace, which call for a return to basics and a new kind of “software”
What’s Really at Stake in the West’s Rivalry With Russia?
There is a simple and familiar narrative framing the current moment in international relations. The story goes that the liberal, democratic West – and the ‘rules based international order’ it built after World War 2 – is now under threat from an assortment of wreckers led by the authoritarian Russian president Vladimir Putin. Last week, Putin made some disparaging remarks about the state of liberalism in the West, which were swiftly rejected by several European politicians.
To Be Taken Seriously, Labour’s Soft Left Needs to Do Much, Much Better on Yemen
The debate over the future of the Labour party’s foreign policy has begun. Last week, the soft left grouping Open Labour published a pamphlet entitled A Progressive Foreign Policy for New Times, with a foreword co-written by Alex Sobel MP and the respected academic Mary Kaldor. The document’s launch event featured Sobel and shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy, in a significant show of support from senior party figures.
The Conservative Government is a Threat to National Security
The government’s current risk assessment of the threats facing the UK is set out in the 2015 National Security Strategy. Each threat is evaluated according to the likelihood of it occurring, and the severity of impact if it did occur.
Evil Without Villains: How Does the Left Challenge Empire After Trump?
We’re brought up to think of evil as something manifested in monstrous figures and their deeds. What we find harder to accept is that evil – profoundly immoral actions and outcomes – can just as easily result from the behaviour of entirely ordinary people. Even otherwise good people. Often, what makes this possible are relations or systems of power. Empires are one such example.
Win or Lose, One Thing is Clear: Donald Trump’s Fascism is No Aberration
Back in 2012, on the eve of Barack Obama’s reelection, Republican senator Lindsay Graham made a frank and telling observation. “The demographics race, we’re losing badly. We’re not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business for the long term”. This analysis may well be true, and there is a large body of evidence to support it. But as John Maynard Keynes famously remarked: “In the long run, we are all dead”.
Dismantling the Empire
Two new books – "Insurgent Empire" and "Hostile Environment" – take on Britain's national myths, confronting their racist legacy.
Donald Trump Has Exposed the US-UK ‘Special Relationship’ for What It Really Is
The defiance of fascism stands at the heart of our national mythology. It is an ever-recurring theme, not restricted to the real moment of existential peril in 1940, but wheeled out whenever Britain squares up to some monster-of-the-week, from Gamal Abdel Nasser to Saddam Hussein to Osama Bin Laden. At such moments, serious voices urge us to remember the lessons of appeasement. And more than that, to live up to who we are as a nation.
If Trump Wins the US Election, It’s Countdown to War With Iran
The greatest dangers posed by Donald Trump’s presidency have always been to the Global South. The prospect of his retaining power carries multiple severe threats, including a potential war with Iran. Such a conflict, barely avoided in his first term, would be cataclysmic for the wider Middle East and devastating for the world economy. Tensions between Washington and Tehran are deep-rooted.
Iran rejects Saudi accusation it trained terrorist cell uncovered in kingdom
Riyadh says it arrested 10 people earlier this month and seized weapons and explosives from the group Saudi Arabia said the cell had received training from Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (Reuters) Published date: 29 September 2020 12:30 UTC | Last update: 25 sec ago Iran rejected on Tuesday an accusation by Saudi Arabia that it had trained a terrorist cell, which Riyadh said it had taken down.
To Tackle the Right’s ‘Culture War’, the Left Needs to Build New Forms of Solidarity
The reasons for the widespread despair on the British left are no mystery. The right seems to have rendered itself unassailable through mobilisation of the misnamed ‘culture war’. Ejection from the Labour leadership further compounds the sense of hope dashed and agency lost. The defeats are real, but there is also a route back, and practical work we can get stuck into right now. In an earlier column, I argued that the ‘culture war’ is really a struggle to define our collective sense of ourselves.
Blood and Oil: Saudi palace gossip, orientalism and MBS's invisible war
It was the enduring image from Donald Trump’s 2017 visit to Saudi Arabia, in his first trip abroad as president of the United States. In it, Trump appeared alongside Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi with their hands placed on a glowing orb of unexplained meaning or purpose. The photo immediately went viral, eliciting a mixture of bafflement and derision worldwide.
Keir Starmer’s Strategy is Revealing His Politics – and They Aren’t Progressive | Novara Media
The first question we need to ask of any leading Labour figure is this: are their politics managerial, or are they transformative? Is their goal to fundamentally change the political economy of the country? Or just to more competently manage the status quo as they find it? A recurring theme in recent discussion of Keir Starmer’s leadership is that his politics are yet to be defined, or that he is simply non-ideological.
What Would a Biden Presidency Mean for the Rest of the World?
It pays to think in terms of foreign relations, rather than merely foreign policy. No incoming US president starts with a blank slate. They assume a managerial role within a system of global power relations that long predates their presidency. Imperialism, like capitalism, is a structure, not a policy choice. In a US election campaign, it is therefore insufficient to focus on the individual candidates and their policy preferences.
Paranoid Hysteria is a Near-Constant Feature of Modern Conservatism
When you live in one of the richest and most lavishly armed countries in the world, and a small number of desperate refugees wash up on your shores, how do you respond? With empathy and hospitality? Or with derision for their reasons for coming to you, and hysterical claims that they pose a threat to your economy and security? The British right’s shrill panic about an ‘invasion’ of migrants has surged to the foreground of news coverage and political debate this past week.
Russia Report: Explaining Moscow’s Actions Would Expose the West’s Hypocrisy
National security discourse is a serious business for serious people, or so those engaged in it would have us believe. In reality, that seriousness is rarely more than a veneer, concealing layers of self-serving ideology, wrapped around a core commitment to state power, rather than public safety. The way the political class talks about Vladimir Putin’s Russia is a good example of this.
Labour is an Obstacle to the Anti-Racist Movement
Ten years before the killing of George Floyd and four years before the killing of Eric Garner, the words “I can’t breathe” were also the last to leave the lips of Jimmy Mubenga. A married father of five who had lived in the UK for 17 years, Mubenga died while being restrained by private security contractors attempting to deport him to Angola. His family never saw justice. A subsequent coroner’s report described “pervasive racism” within the guards’ employer, G4S.
Britain’s Covid-19 Death Toll Goes Far Beyond Its Borders
Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, criticism of the British government has focused on the costs of its negligence within the UK’s own borders. But Britain is a global power, and its actions have consequences around the world. To properly understand the government’s responsibility for the total death toll, we need to take a more international view. Nowhere is this more true than in Yemen, scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis even before the pandemic struck.
This Isn’t a ‘Culture War’ – It’s a Battle Over the Terms of Solidarity | Novara Media
There are those on the left who advise us not to get distracted by the ‘culture war’, and to keep our focus on the ‘real issues’. But as the Black Lives Matter movement and this summer’s wider anti-racist uprising have shown, the distinction can often be a false one. Frequently, what happens on the cultural or symbolic terrain plays a vital role in enabling physical and concrete injustices.
Trump’s Police Crackdown is Part of a Global Whitelash
Since the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis last week, violence has spread through major cities across the United States. The vast majority of the violence has been the work of the police themselves, in a pattern of gratuitous assaults on peaceful and defenceless demonstrators, cheered on by president Donald Trump.
The Left’s Approach to Keir Starmer Isn’t Working
The socialist left’s approach to new Labour leader Keir Starmer has so far been light touch and low energy. Starmer enjoyed a serene procession through the Labour leadership campaign, untested by any real scrutiny of his policies and record, and has felt virtually no pressure from the left since his victory a month ago. The outcome is roughly what one would expect, as Labour reverts back to its previous role as a party of status quo managerialism.
Trump is not withdrawing from the Middle East, but he's flailing badly
US President Donald Trump’s green lighting of a Turkish assault on Syria’s Kurds has rightly dominated the headlines over the past two weeks. Less justified is some of the more breathless commentary around these events, where it is claimed that Trump has effectively handed the Middle East over to Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
What Does England’s Cricket World Cup Win Have to Do With Neoliberalism?
On Sunday, the England mens’ cricket team won the World Cup at Lords in London, fulfilling their promise as pre-tournament favourites. What does all this have to do with neoliberalism? More than you might think. Not so long ago, England going on a run to the World Cup final – especially at home and as favourites – would have been a national event comparable to a similar run in the mens’ football world cup. True, cricket has never been quite as popular as football in this country.
Arms, assets and war: Why Britain is betting on the Gulf after Brexit
One could follow the media’s coverage of the contest to become Britain’s next prime minister and learn almost nothing about Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson’s involvement in the war in Yemen. The omission is as striking as it is dismaying. In their respective periods as foreign secretary, both men have played a key part in the creation of the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, while actively enabling the Saudi-led coalition’s indiscriminate killing of civilians.
Opinion | Saudi Arabia Is Running Out of Friends
The Anglo-American relationship with the House of Saud may be entering a perfect storm. By David Wearing Mr. Wearing is the author of “AngloArabia: Why Gulf Wealth Matters to Britain.” June 27, 2019 Image Yemenis digging graves last year for children who were killed by a Saudi-led coalition air strike on a market in the province of Saada. LONDON — Last week was especially bad for the monarchy of Saudi Arabia.
What are we there for?
Please sign in to read the full article. Login It is a cliché that the United States and Britain are obsessed with Middle East oil, but the reason for the obsession is often misdiagnosed. Anglo-American interest in the enormous hydrocarbon reserves of the Persian Gulf does not derive from a need to fuel Western consumption.
How the West helped to make Putin
International institutions through which states are meant to solve disagreements seem in worse shape than ever – who is to blame? A campaign poster that blames Vladimir Putin for Brexit, London, November 2018 This article is a preview from the Spring 2019editionof New Humanist Every hero needs an antagonist to define themselves against.
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