Morbid Symptoms: Relapse in the Arab Uprising (2016). He was interviewed by Stephen R. Shalom for
New Politics on 5 May 2021.
New Politics: Gilbert, you’ve recently published a much-discussed article in
The Nation on anti-imperialism. [1] I wonder if we could begin with you telling us why you wrote the article and briefly summarizing your argument.
Gilbert Achcar: Thank you, Steve. I wrote this article because of the big confusion that exists nowadays on the left on the meaning of “anti-imperialism.” I believe that this confusion is primarily a result of the sea change in the global situation that followed the collapse of the USSR. There has also been a change in the type of wars waged in the global South. Imperialist wars against national liberation movements or regimes are no longer the predominant type, as in the first decades after the Second World War. Since the 1990s we have seen imperialist wars against oppressive regimes such as in Iraq, the Balkans, and Afghanistan. The situation got yet more complicated with what has been called the Arab Spring in 2011. Western imperialist powers — Barack Obama’s United States in the first place — appeared as if supportive of the popular uprisings against dictatorial regimes.