We owe the peoples of the Third World a debt of solidarity, but beyond that we must realize that the issues of world peace and the global environment which concern us here in the West cannot be solved unless the issues of poverty, women's liberation, land reform, and sustainable economic development are dealt with in the Third World... The principle of 'Thinking Globally, Acting Locally' can and must also be extended to acting locally on behalf of and in solidarity with those in other parts of this globe.
- Connexions Annual

The nationality question... cannot be settled by the use of some vague cliche, even such a fine-sounding formula as 'the right of all nations to self-determination'. For such a formula expresses either absolutely nothing, so that it is an empty, noncommittal phrase, or else it expresses the unconditional duty of socialists to support all national aspirations, in which case it is simply false.
- Rosa Luxemburg

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Connexions Resource Centre:
Focus on International Affairs & Development

Recent & Selected Articles

This is a small sampling of articles related to international issues in the Connexions Online Library. For more articles, books, films, and other resources, check the Connexions Library Subject Index, especially under topics such as international relations, imperialism, human rights international, Iraq, militarism, refugees, U.S. imperialism, transnational corporations, and peace.

The Evil of Humanitarian Wars (2012)
The West’s duty is not to intervene more but to intervene far less. We already massively arm tyrannies such as those in the Gulf so that they can protect the oil that we consider our birthright; we offer military, financial and diplomatic cover for Israel’s continuing oppression of millions of Palestinians, a major cause of political instability in the Middle East; and we quietly support the Egyptian military, which is currently trying to reverse last year’s revolutionary gains.
Connexions Archive Case Statement (September 24, 2011)
Working together to secure a future for the past
The Decline And Fall Of The American Empire (2010)
The demise of the United States as the global superpower could come far more quickly than anyone imagines. If Washington is dreaming of 2040 or 2050 as the end of the American Century, a more realistic assessment of domestic and global trends suggests that in 2025, just 15 years from now, it could all be over except for the shouting.
Connexions Archive seeks a new home (November 18, 2009)
The Connexions Archive, a Toronto-based library dedicated to preserving the history of grassroots movements for social change, needs a new home.
Thirty years on, the holocaust in Cambodia and its aftermath is remembered (October 26, 2009)
John Pilger recalls the stricken society he found in Cambodia in 1979 which he described in his epic dispatches and documentary, Year Zero: the Silent Death of Cambodia. He reminds us that the Pol Pot horror emerged from the bombing ordered by Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, and that Cambodia was again "punished" when its liberators came from the wrong side of the cold war and the Thatcher government send special forces to train the Khmer Rouge in exile.
Fearsome Words? (October 14, 2009)
We are so bemused by the lovely vision of peoples determining themselves, we cannot see that ethnic self-determination is, in the real world, a quest for racial sovereignty, not a bid to enter some international folk dancing festival.
What Some US Reporters Don't Get About Brazil and the Honduras Crisis (September 23, 2009)
Clueless desk editors like those at the New York Times titled these conflicts "Riots in Honduras." But you don't need to be able to understand Spanish to see and hear that, distinct from rioters, the young people of the neighborhood that came out and violated the military curfew to defend their neighborhood from this police invasion know and have memorized complicated political slogans and rhymes which they chanted in unison. "Riots" are disorganized explosions. This neighborhood, and others like it, however, have been forced by the realities of the coup to organize themselves to a greater extent than ever before.
Crisis And Hope: Theirs And Ours (September 4, 2009)
Overcoming the multiple crises means tearing down an enormous edifice of delusions about markets, free trade, and democracy that has been assiduously constructed over many years and overcoming the marginalization and atomization of the public so that they can become participants, not mere spectators of action.
What's the Border Fence Good for? Subsidizing Mexican Scrap Metal Entrepreneurs (August 28, 2009)
It was obvious from the very beginning that Bush#s push for a border fence was nothing more than a political show to boost Republicans' creds with their base.
Looting Africa: Canadian Company Eyes Gold in Democratic Republic of Congo (August 20, 2009)
A Canadian mining company is prepared to bring hundreds of millions of dollars in gold out of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of Africa's most embattled and poorest countries. One expert says that to extract gold, the company will have to cut a deal with a violent African militia.
Why The U.S. Government Hates Venezuela (August 4, 2009)
Having lost in the realm of ideas, those supporting capitalism must compensate by other means.
Confronting fears of Eurabia (July 20, 2009)
Growing anti-immigrant and Islamophobic sentiments have been fueled by statistics that claim to show that countries such as Germany and France will have Muslim majority populations by the turn of the century.
How the World Depression Hits Orissa (July 13, 2009)
The recession in the West is having a profound impact on the deep rural interior of Orissa.
Season of Travesties (July 9, 2009)
Noam Chomsky criticizes the elections in Lebanon and Iran as being inherently flawed - unlike the "free and fair" election held in Palestine in 2006 for which the people were punished for voting the "wrong way". He tries to illustrate a general picture of the health of democracy and freedom in those areas which are of most concern to the US.
Iran and Leftist Confusion (June 29, 2009)
Why are some leftists siding with the Iranian rulers rather than the popular demonstrations against the regime?
What the Left Should be Learning From Iran (June 19, 2009)
There are those on the left who mirror neocon thought: They argue that since Washington is in opposition to it, Iran must therefore be considered a 'good' government, worthy of solidarity. Others argue that if the Iranian state offers social programs and even if it only somewhat resists global capitalism then therefore its violent and authoritarian actions can somehow be justified, forgiven or denied.
Grassroots Power and Non-Market Economies (May 1, 2009)
People are organized across many sectors that have never chosen to step out into the popular movement before. For example, indigenous peoples in the last 10 years or so have made a determination that they could no longer organize just as indigenous but had to become part of the so-called anti-globalization movement.
Support the Iranian people, oppose Tehran's clerical fascism (February 9, 2009)
Tragically, the leadership of the UK and US anti-war movements have been sleep-walking into making the same mistakes over Iran as they made over Iraq. They are silent about the regime#s despotism and oppression. Mirroring the neo con indifference to human rights abuses in Iran, they refuse to show solidarity with the Iranian peoples# struggle for secularism, democracy, social justice, human rights and self-determination for national minorities. There is nothing remotely left-wing about this is sad and cruel betrayal. Put bluntly: it is collusion with tyranny.
Abettors of war crimes will be held accountable (January 10, 2009)
Taking action to bring perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity to justice.
And Then They Came For Me (January 7, 2009)
An editorial by Lasantha Wickrematunge shortly before he was murdered on January 8, 2009, and published three days after his death.
Of Sowing and Harvests (January 4, 2009)
Perhaps our word can manage to join forces with others in Mexico and the world and perhaps first it's heard as a murmur, then out loud, and then a scream that they hear in Gaza. We don't know about you, but we Zapatistas from the EZLN, we know how important it is, in the middle of destruction and death, to hear some words of encouragement.
Rosa Luxemburg's Shock Doctrine (May 10, 2008)
Luxemburg's discussion regarding capitalism and democracy speaks to the world we live in today. Imperial war, she wrote, shows capitalism in 'all its hideous nakedness.' This bloody nakedness is not only essential to capitalist development, but depends on it. Indeed, it is the most cataclysmic and radical of all capitalist shocks.
Broken Barricades: The Oaxaca Rebellion in Victory, Defeat, and Beyond (March 27, 2008)
An analysis of the 2006 Oaxaca rebellion and its contradictions. Its diversity encompassed workers, indigenous groups, Stalinists, anarchists and others. Its weapons and tactics included general assemblies, strikes, barricades, mirrors and fireworks.
The Most Wanted List, International Terrorism (February 26, 2008)
Revealing the difference between America's use of the term "the world" and the conception which would actually include the entire globe, Chomsky demonstrates that if the "world's" voice were heeded, other terrorist concerns would likely top the agenda.
Great Game II (2008)
The US is playing the Great Game II from Estonia to Korea as a strategy to keep the Eurasian powers off balance and to preserve the ever-growing mass of nomad dollars from deflation and displacement.
Why Israel? (August 19, 2007)
A routine strategy of Israel's defenders is to continually redirect attention to the human rights failings of countries hostile to Israel, or to catastrophes like Darfur that are used to argue the ongoing need for the sort of 'humanitarian interventions' that provide cover for the advancement of U.S. interests. Yet the question of why Israel is being targeted and not some other country assumes, erroneously, that other countries are not being targeted. The reverse, in fact, is usually the case. Often, countries deemed acceptable for criticism by supporters of Israel are already subject to political and diplomatic sanctions by the U.S. and its tool, the UN Security Council -- sometimes for acting in ways identical to Israel.
Zimbabwean feminist speaks (June 1, 2007)
If one looks at the experience of women in Zimbabwe and one looks at the role of the state in relation to women#s lives, the state has never had the interests of women at heart. Women are only considered citizens when the state has something to gain.
What If Iran Had Invaded Mexico? (April 5, 2007)
Noam Chomsky reverses roles and questions how America would respond if a threatening invader took over Canada or Mexico in a "liberation" attempt. Would America stand by quietly?
On the US-Israeli Invasion of Lebanon (August 23, 2006)
The supposed justifications for the invasion are a cynical fraud.
Manifesto of the Third Camp against US Militarism and Islamic Terrorism (August 16, 2006)
The human and genuine solution to the problem of nuclear weapons, to Islamic terrorism and its horrific crimes against the people of the world, and to the militaristic bullying of the US and Western governments lies in the hands of us people.
The real aim of Israel's attacks on Lebanon (July 16, 2006)
The real aim is to change the regime in Lebanon and to install a puppet government.
Why an Economic Boycott of Israel is Justified (January 14, 2006)
If singling out South Africa for an international economic boycott was defensible, it would seem equally defensible to single out Israel's occupation, which uniquely resembles the apartheid regime.
It's Imperialism, Stupid (2005)
Chomksy claims that when Bush proclaimed the presence of Weapons of Mass Destruction as the premise for invading Iraq, imperialism was, in fact, the genuine motivation.
The Iraq Crisis in Context (March 12, 2003)
A rogue state, heavily armed with weapons of mass destruction, openly contempuous of international law and the United Nations, plunges the world into crisis.
Moral Truisms, Empirical Evidence, and Foreign Policy (2003)
Noam Chomsky systematically discusses terrorism and "just war" in relationship to moral standards such as "what goes for others goes for us". He demonstrates that, according to US behavior in the past and this principle, other actors may be entitled to use terrorist strategy against the USA.

Selected Websites and Organizations

This is a small sampling of organizations and websites concerned with international issues in the Connexions Directory. For more organizations and websites, check the Connexions Directory Subject Index, especially under topics such as international relations, imperialism, human rights international, Iraq, militarism, refugees, U.S. imperialism, transnational corporations, and peace.

The Alternative Information Center
A Palestinian-Israeli organization which disseminates information, research and political analysis on Palestinian and Israeli societies as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while promoting cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis based on the values of social justice, solidarity and community involvement.
Association for Women's Rights in Development
AWID's mission is to connect, inform and mobilize people and organizations committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women's human rights.
Bees for Development
An information service working at the centre of an international network of people and organisations involved with apiculture in developing countries. Beekeeping is an effective way for poor people to strengthen their livelihoods, and Bees for Development works to provide information to assist them.
Chomsky.Info
The Noam Chomsky Web site.
Collective Reinventions
Focusing on contemporary social movements in Mexico.
Connexions Library: Economy, Poverty, Work Focus
Selected articles, books, websites and other resources on the economy and economics.
Connexions Library: Human Rights and Civil Liberties Focus
Selected articles, books, websites and other resources on civil liberties and human rights.
Connexions Library: Peace Focus
Selected articles, books, websites and other resources on peace and conflict resolution.
The Corporate Consensus
A detailed guide to the institutions and corporations which occupy the commanding heights of corporate power in the world today.
Countercurrents
An alternative news site based in India. "We bring out what the mainstream media fails to tell you, or hides from you. These are the things that really matter. The things which may determine the fate of planet earth! The future of our children! In a word, the survival of the species!"
Electronic Intifada
Palestinian portal for information about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its depiction in the media. News, commentary, analysis, and reference materials about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from a Palestinian perspective.
Europe solidaire sans frontiéres
ESSF is an association for international solidarity. Covering a wide range of topics, our website offers militant information on many struggles and campaigns, as well as in-depth articles, elements of debates, documents of varied types. We would like it to become a useful tool for all those who are fighting for a world of solidarity.
New Internationalist Online
Articles from the New Internationalist, chat forum, ethical shopping, more.
OneWorld Online
Focus on Third World issues, alternative journalism, non-governmental organizations. Dialy news on important issues. Site groups over 100 organizations working for human rights, global justice, and sustainable development. Well-organized index with options to view news by country or theme.
Physicians for Human Rights - Israel
Physicians For Human Rights-Israel was founded with the goal of struggling for human rights, in particular the right to health, in Israel and the Occupied Territories. Human dignity, wellness of mind and body and the right to health are at the core of the world view of the organization and direct and instruct our activities and efforts on both the individual and general level. Our activities integrate advocacy and action toward changing harmful policies and direct action providing healthcare.
Redress Information & Analysis
Aspires to redress the balance of world news and information by being a voice for the voiceless, by focusing on injustice and by providing an alternative interpretation of international and domestic issues. It is run by UK-based editors and academics of various nationalities.
The Third Camp
We must stand up with all our power to the US government#s and its allies# bullying. We must put an end to the crimes of the opposite pole, i.e. Islamic terrorism. We must help the people of Islam-stricken countries to get rid of the menace of Islamic terrorist states and forces. American militarism and Islamic terrorism have brutalised the world. Neither of them has a solution to the present crisis and its resulting problems. Rather, they are themselves the cause of this crisis and its aggravation. Civilised humanity must rise up against both these poles and the suffering that they have imposed on the world.

Other Links & Resources

Africa Topic Index in Sources Directory of Experts
A subject guide to experts and spokespersons on topics related to Africa in the Sources directory for the media.
Alternatives.ca
Alternatives, Action and Communication Network for International Development, is a non-governmental, international solidarity organization. Alternatives works to promote justice and equality amongst individuals and communities located in the North and the South. Active in over 35 countries, Alternatives supports local, community-based initiatives working towards the greater economic, social, and political rights of people and communities affected by poverty, discrimination, exploitation, and violence.
Asia Topic Index in Sources Directory of Experts
A subject guide to experts and spokespersons on topics related to Asia in the Sources directory for the media.
Canada Haiti Action
A website devoted to examining Canada's role in the ongoing occupation of Haiti. Includes articles on breaking developments, essays on the history of Haiti's exploitation, and links to associated groups for Haitian emancipation.
Caribbean Experts and Information in the Sources Directory
Organizations and experts on Caribbean topics.
Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid
Believes that Israel is an apartheid state that resembles South African Apartheid and that justice will not be achieved without equal rights for everyone in the region, regardless of religion, ethnicity or nationality.
Connexions Library: Africa Focus
Selected articles, books, websites and other resources on Africa.
Connexions Library: Central America and the Caribbean Focus
Selected articles, books, websites and other resources on Central America and the Caribbean.
Connexions Library: Central and South Asia Focus
Selected articles, books, websites and other resources on central and southern Asia.
Connexions Library: China Focus
Selected articles, books, websites and other resources on China.
Connexions Library: East and Southeast Asia Focus
Selected articles, books, websites and other resources on east and southeast Asia.
Connexions Library: Europe Focus
Selected articles, books, websites and other resources on Europe.
Connexions Library: Middle East Focus
Selected articles, books, websites and other resources on the Middle East.
Connexions Library: Pacific Region Focus
Selected articles, books, websites and other resources on the Pacific region.
Connexions Library: Russia Focus
Selected articles, books, websites and other resources on Russia.
Connexions Library: South America Focus
Selected articles, books, websites and other resources on South America.
Connexions Library: USA Focus
Selected articles, books, websites and other resources on the United States of America.
Development Issues Topic Index in Sources Directory of Experts
A subject guide to experts and spokespersons on topics related to international development in the Sources directory for the media.
Embassy Row Online
Contact names and numbers for all embassies to Canada and all Canadian embassies abroad.
International Forum on Globalization
An alliance of activists, scholars, economists, researchers and writers formed to stimulate new thinking, joint activity, and public education in response to economic globalization.
International Middle East Media Center
Media center developed in collaboration between Palestinian and International journalists to provide English language media coverage of Israel-Palestine.
International Solidarity Movement
A Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land using nonviolent, direct-action methods and principles.
International Topic Index in Sources Directory of Experts
A subject guide to experts and spokespersons on international topics in the Sources directory for the media.
Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information
A joint institution of Israelis and Palestinians dedicated to the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the basis of "two states for two peoples". Recognizes the rights of the Jewish people and the Palestinian people to fulfil their national interests within the framework of achieving national self-determination within their own states and by establishing peaceful relations between two democratic states.
Left Turn
A network of anti-capitalist, radical feminist, anti-racist, anti-imperialist activists engaged in exposing and fighting the consequences of global capitalism and imperialism and working to build resistance and alternatives to corporate power and empire.
The Left Worker-communist Party of Iraq
Socialism Now. "The basis of socialism is the human being... Socialism is the movement to restore human beings' conscious will."
Palestine Chronicle
An independent online newspaper that provides daily news, commentary, features and book reviews on a variety of subjects, yet is largely focused on Palestine, the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Middle East as a whole. The Palestine Chronicle team consists of professional journalists and respected writers and authors who don't speak on behalf of any political party or champion any specific political agenda.
PRAXIS
An International development home page that groups archival resources and links concerning social and economic development.
Radical Statistics Group
We believe that statistics can be used to support radical campaigns for progressive social change. Statistics should inform, not drive policies. Social problems should not be disguised by technical language.
Research Unit for Political Economy (India)
Concerned with analysing, at the theoretical and empirical levels, various aspects of the economic life of India and its institutions. Aims to compile, analyse, and present information and statistics so as to enable people to understand the actual mechanics of their every day economic life. Aims to take the assistance and insights of people engaged in every sphere of productive work and society.
Worker-communist Party of Iran
To change the world and to create a better one has always been a profound aspiration of people throughout human history. It is true that even the present-day so-called modern world is dominated by fatalistic ideas, religious as well as non- religious, which portray the present plight of humanity as somehow given and inevitable. Nevertheless the actual lives and actions of people themselves reveal a deep-seated belief in the possibility and even the certainty of a better future. The hope that tomorrow's world can be free of today's inequalities, hardships and deprivations, the belief that people can, individually and collectively, influence the shape of the world to come, is a deep-rooted and powerful outlook in society that guides the lives and actions of vast masses of people.
Worker-communism, first and foremost, belongs here, to the unshakable belief of countless people and successive generations that building a better world and a better future by their own hands is both necessary and possible.
Zatoun
Distributes olive oil from occupied Palestine and highlights the plight of Palestinian farmers and the destruction of their livelihood. Olive oil is a basic food which reminds us of our common humanity and the need for justice and peace. Web site: http://www.zatoun.com.
ZNet Israel-Palestine Watch
Progressive Web site with extensive coverage of Israel-Palestine.

Books, Films and Periodicals

Selected Books and Book Reviews

This is a small sampling of books related to international issues in the Connexions Online Library. For more books and other resources, check the Connexions Library Subject Index, especially under topics such as international relations, imperialism, human rights international, Iraq, militarism, refugees, U.S. imperialism, transnational corporations, and peace.

Asking The Earth
The Spread of Unsustainable Development
Author: Pereira, Winin ; Seabrook, Jeremy
Periera and Seabrock, using examples from India, argue that Western colonialism destroyed sustainable development in the Third World.
China in the Contemporary World Dynamic of Accumulation and Class Struggle
Author: Goldner, Loren
The Chinese ruling elite is riding the whirlwind precisely because its own necessary reforms are quite visibly setting in motion social processes that could completely overwhelm it, namely a working-class and peasant insurrection which would necessarily assume a truly socialist content.
Democracy in a Neoliberal Order
Doctrines and Reality
Author: Chomsky, Noam
Dilemmas of Domination
The Unmaking of the American Empire
Author: Bello, Walden
Argues that in a not-too-distant future the American empire's hidden weaknesses will pose fatal challenges to American supremacy.
Global Visions
Beyond the News World Order
Author: Brecher, Jeremy; Childs, John Brown; Cutler, Jill
This book seeks to establish how our diverse globalizing world can be turned into a common home. The authors create a dialogue about the two types of globalization occurring in the world: globalization from above and globalization from below.
Globalization from Below
The power of solidarity
Author: Brecher, Jeremy; Costello, Tim; Smith, Brendan
When tens of thousands of protestors brought the World Trade Organization in Seattle to a halt in November 1999, it marked the "coming out party" for a new global movement. Globalization from Below: The Power of Solidaritydraws on the history of past movements and their own experience as activists to propose strategies for building this powerful coalition into a successful movement for global democratization.
Hegemony or Survival
America's Quest for Global Dominance
Author: Chomsky, Noam
Humanitarian Imperialism
Using Human Rights to Sell War
Author: Bricmont, Jean
Since the end of the Cold War, the idea of human rights has been made into a justification for intervention by the world#s leading economic and military powers # above all, the United States # in countries that are vulnerable to their attacks.
The No-Nonsense Guide to Fair Trade
Author: Ransom, David
Ransom suggests that fair, environmentally-conscious trade is not only a viable alternative to unfair free trade, but that it is the way of the future.
The No-Nonsense Guide to Globalization
Author: Ellwood, Wayne
The No-Nonsense Guide to International Development
Author: Black, Maggie
The No-Nonsense Guide to International Migration
Author: Stalker, Peter
The No-Nonsense Guide to Terrorism
Author: Barker, Jonathan
An in-depth look at the nature of terrorism that discusses questioning terrorism, assessing it, the difference between state terrorism and group terrorism, morality and history, and war and politics.
The No-Nonsense Guide to Tourism
Author: Nowicka, Pamela
The No-Nonsense Guide to World Poverty
Author: Seabrook, Jeremy
Relentless Persistence
Nonviolent Action in Latin America
Author: McManus, Philip and Schlabach, Gerald (ed.)
There is in Latin America a tradition of "firmeza permanente," relentless persistence, which has enabled the people to preserve parts of their culture during five centuries of conquest and oppression.

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