Readings about ongoing geo-political clusterf**ks and the possibility of WW3

‘Events’ do seem to be happening at a somewhat dizzying and understandably, confusing pace. Geo-politics hasn’t really been my thing since the mid 1990s. Community, grassroots politics have been my thing since 2003. Having said that, any drive towards the militarisation of the UK obviously is something that greatly concerns me, as you can see from a number of posts I’ve written that are linked to on this page: Anti-war posts.

While I still consider myself to be anti-imperialist and anti-war, because of my commitment to grassroots politics, I’ve not had the time to fully get to grips with the emerging geo-political clusterf**k. I generally find that in these situations, compiling a range of readings from various perspectives is a good way of getting to grips with the situation, and also, to open up a discussion as to just what the f**k is going on.

So, is what’s emerging a piecemeal world war pitting the US, the rest of NATO, and Israel, against an alliance of sorts linking Russia, Iran and China? This is what’s argued in this piece:

Ukraine and Iran: two fronts of a piecemeal world war - Thomas Fazi | Substack | 18.6.25

The eruption of open conflict between Israel and Iran has only deepened the geopolitical fracture lines that were already widening in Ukraine. Though these wars appear geographically and politically distinct, they are, in truth, interlinked fronts in what increasingly resembles a piecemeal world war — one that pits the United States against a de facto alliance of Russia, Iran and China.

This informal bloc, often described as a “strategic partnership” rather than a formal alliance, now features comprehensive military and economic integration. Russia and China conduct regular joint patrols across the Pacific and, together with Iran, stage increasingly frequent naval and military exercises in the Arabian Sea. Their cooperation extends to trade, logistics, energy and, crucially, arms and technology transfers. Financially, they are rapidly de-dollarising their transactions, shifting to rubles and renminbi in an effort to insulate themselves from Western financial pressure.

However, maybe that’s too simplistic a way of looking at things. As argued in this piece, China does have a bit of a ‘relationship’ with Israel:

China Speaks for Palestinian Rights and Acts for Zionist Settlements - Rusere Shoniwa | A Plague on Both Houses | 13.6.25

This entanglement of interests between Israel, the US and its supposed bogeyman, China, is confusing at first sight. I’ll say it again: the only way to make sense of it all is to accept that the apex of power is not national – it sits with the Owners and Controllers of Global Financial Capital (OCGFC). The Chinese and US political systems are merely two of its senior managers. Sometimes they argue and trip over each other as they diligently strive to follow their boss’s instructions, but we shouldn’t mistake those arguments for ‘sovereignty’.

China and the US may even go to war, at which point some may counter my nil-sovereignty argument with something along the lines of: “Look, they’re killing each other now. The rivalry is real and people are dying.” Well, yes, people would die, but ‘They’ would not be killing each other. Ordinary people would be killing each other. War too is an instrument of finance, and a war between the US and China would not happen if it didn’t advance the interests of the parties at the apex of power. It would serve their purposes and they would come out stronger afterwards.

Is is the case that what’s going on is simply global capitalism, which sits well above any national interests, engaging in a re-ordering of it’s interests, regardless of the carnage that is and will be involved? This is what is argued in this piece:

World War III and Other Simulacra - CJ Hopkins | Consent Factory, Inc. | Substack | 18.6.25

The global-capitalist empire, not “America” or “Israel,” has been destabilizing and restructuring the Greater Middle East since the end of the Cold War. It is going to continue to do that until every nation in the region is playing ball with the empire.

“America” is not the empire. “The Zionists” do not control the world. The USA and Israel are components of the global-capitalist empire. Israel is the empire’s Middle East HQ. The US military-industrial complex and its international partners are the empire’s muscle. The empire is conducting a global clear-and-hold op, neutralizing internal resistance, “restructuring” the territory it conquered and now occupies.

That is what is happening in the Middle East. In Gaza. In Iran. In Israel. Look at a map. Note which countries are playing ball with the global-capitalist empire. Note which ones are not playing ball.

Right, that’s the geo-politics out of the way for a short while. My focus is what will be the impact on our lives here in the UK of the increasing militarisation of our society. It’s not often these days that I’ll recommend an article from Freedom News but, this piece is pretty good on what the militarisation of our society will mean for us:

Starmer’s Big Idea: A militarised, impoverished Britain - Tabitha Troughton | Freedom News | 6.6.25

Still, taking the Labour administration at its word (and really, it has been quite solid on the authoritarian, death-dealing side of things), the UK is heading enthusiastically towards a militaristic state, with hundreds of thousands of school children in cadet forces, youth unemployment ‘solved’ by army recruitment, and an economy increasingly based on increasing subsidies for the multinational arms industry. Meanwhile it will ensure that nuclear weapons continue to proliferate, while the inherent apocalyptic threat, once recognised and addressed, will continue unquestioned.

So, there you have it – a range of opinions on what the current geo-political clusterf**k means for us all. While they don’t all align with each other, each in their own way underscores the need for a broad based, effective anti-war movement that has the ability and agility to go beyond the traditional ‘left vs right’ divide. Whether that can emerge in the little time we probably have left before the s**t really hits the fan is a moot point.