Van Jackson
@vanjackson.bsky.social
The class politics of geopolitics. Newsletter, http://Un-Diplomatic.com. Co-host, https://www.BangBangPod.com; https://www.undiplomaticpodcast.com. 🇺🇸🇵🇭🇳🇿. https://www.vanjackson.org
I have written all of this down in book, article, and blog form. I’ve talked about it extensively. You know where to find my shit if you’re remotely serious about making the world suck less
February 14, 2026 at 12:30 AM
I have written all of this down in book, article, and blog form. I’ve talked about it extensively. You know where to find my shit if you’re remotely serious about making the world suck less
Many things to do in response to this 💩 conjuncture but the five priorities are: Repudiate US primacy and imperialism; avoid WWIII at all costs; try arms control for once; establish detente 2.0 with China; and begin rectifying historical imbalances with the global South...
February 14, 2026 at 12:30 AM
Many things to do in response to this 💩 conjuncture but the five priorities are: Repudiate US primacy and imperialism; avoid WWIII at all costs; try arms control for once; establish detente 2.0 with China; and begin rectifying historical imbalances with the global South...
Look, this is not as complicated as people would like to make it seem. The twin root sources of global insecurity right now are transnational oligarchy and the permanent war economy (primarily the US’s), which 1) need each other and 2) combine to produce imperialism...
February 14, 2026 at 12:29 AM
Look, this is not as complicated as people would like to make it seem. The twin root sources of global insecurity right now are transnational oligarchy and the permanent war economy (primarily the US’s), which 1) need each other and 2) combine to produce imperialism...
No disagreement, even from her
February 13, 2026 at 10:25 PM
No disagreement, even from her
Correct bsky.app/profile/vanj...
Munich attendee: Should we re-evaluate military aid to Israel?
AOC: “The idea of completely unconditional aid--no matter what one does--does not make sense. I think it enabled a genocide in Gaza”
AOC: “The idea of completely unconditional aid--no matter what one does--does not make sense. I think it enabled a genocide in Gaza”
February 13, 2026 at 10:15 PM
Correct bsky.app/profile/vanj...
Absolutely correct. bsky.app/profile/vanj...
Munich attendee: Should we re-evaluate military aid to Israel?
AOC: “The idea of completely unconditional aid--no matter what one does--does not make sense. I think it enabled a genocide in Gaza”
AOC: “The idea of completely unconditional aid--no matter what one does--does not make sense. I think it enabled a genocide in Gaza”
February 13, 2026 at 10:14 PM
Absolutely correct. bsky.app/profile/vanj...
Munich attendee: Should we re-evaluate military aid to Israel?
AOC: “The idea of completely unconditional aid--no matter what one does--does not make sense. I think it enabled a genocide in Gaza”
AOC: “The idea of completely unconditional aid--no matter what one does--does not make sense. I think it enabled a genocide in Gaza”
February 13, 2026 at 10:13 PM
Munich attendee: Should we re-evaluate military aid to Israel?
AOC: “The idea of completely unconditional aid--no matter what one does--does not make sense. I think it enabled a genocide in Gaza”
AOC: “The idea of completely unconditional aid--no matter what one does--does not make sense. I think it enabled a genocide in Gaza”
Hypocrisy is the diplomatic vocabulary for bullshit
February 13, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Hypocrisy is the diplomatic vocabulary for bullshit
AOC💪at the Munich Security Conference: “In a rules-based order, hypocrisy is vulnerability...kidnapping heads of state, threatening allies, colonizing Greenland, or looking the other way on a genocide”
February 13, 2026 at 6:48 PM
AOC💪at the Munich Security Conference: “In a rules-based order, hypocrisy is vulnerability...kidnapping heads of state, threatening allies, colonizing Greenland, or looking the other way on a genocide”
Reposted by Van Jackson
"The worker-forsaking nature of US foreign policy (most countries’ foreign policies) reflects a class blind spot” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/working-cl...
Working-Class Interests in Progressive Foreign Policy
AOC’s forthcoming remarks at the Munich Security Conference are said to center the working class, which is a much-needed departure from US foreign policy as it’s actually existed my entire life.
www.un-diplomatic.com
February 12, 2026 at 10:40 PM
"The worker-forsaking nature of US foreign policy (most countries’ foreign policies) reflects a class blind spot” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/working-cl...
"The worker-forsaking nature of US foreign policy (most countries’ foreign policies) reflects a class blind spot” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/working-cl...
Working-Class Interests in Progressive Foreign Policy
AOC’s forthcoming remarks at the Munich Security Conference are said to center the working class, which is a much-needed departure from US foreign policy as it’s actually existed my entire life.
www.un-diplomatic.com
February 12, 2026 at 10:40 PM
"The worker-forsaking nature of US foreign policy (most countries’ foreign policies) reflects a class blind spot” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/working-cl...
“You want to do what’s in the common good, and you have a naïve sense that signing up and following orders is the way to do it...But then you get in the system and find that...Your buddies are getting PTSD and committing suicide for depraved abstractions.” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/working-cl...
Working-Class Interests in Progressive Foreign Policy
AOC’s forthcoming remarks at the Munich Security Conference are said to center the working class, which is a much-needed departure from US foreign policy as it’s actually existed my entire life.
www.un-diplomatic.com
February 12, 2026 at 10:39 PM
“You want to do what’s in the common good, and you have a naïve sense that signing up and following orders is the way to do it...But then you get in the system and find that...Your buddies are getting PTSD and committing suicide for depraved abstractions.” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/working-cl...
“The world is broken, and the US is a direct threat to Europe…Even European elites grasp that now…even Euro-hawks are likely to find AOC quite appealing in certain respects, though pandering to them should not be a priority” open.substack.com/pub/undiplom...
Anticipating AOC’s Munich Security Conference Speech
What to look for from a left-populist counter to imperialism, fascism, white supremacy, and oligarchy.
open.substack.com
February 10, 2026 at 9:24 PM
“The world is broken, and the US is a direct threat to Europe…Even European elites grasp that now…even Euro-hawks are likely to find AOC quite appealing in certain respects, though pandering to them should not be a priority” open.substack.com/pub/undiplom...
Why is America declining? Why is the US engaged in predatory behavior abroad? And if we’re past the era of neoliberal globalization, what is US decline ushering in its stead? open.substack.com/pub/undiplom...
What’s Causing America’s Imperial Decline?
And why is it ushering in an age of primitive accumulation?
open.substack.com
February 10, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Why is America declining? Why is the US engaged in predatory behavior abroad? And if we’re past the era of neoliberal globalization, what is US decline ushering in its stead? open.substack.com/pub/undiplom...
Not sure it penetrated the bubble here but Tom Malinowski just lost in NJ because he had previously taken votes to support and fund ICE…just like most Democrat incumbents. 2026 is going to have lots of surprises for the Nate Silver, Yglesias, Rahm Emmanuel wing of the party
February 9, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Not sure it penetrated the bubble here but Tom Malinowski just lost in NJ because he had previously taken votes to support and fund ICE…just like most Democrat incumbents. 2026 is going to have lots of surprises for the Nate Silver, Yglesias, Rahm Emmanuel wing of the party
Really relished this episode on Demolition Man (1993), which depicted a simultaneously dystopian and utopian LA in ways that proved very prescient www.bangbangpod.com/p/demolition...
Demolition Man (1993) w/ Daniel Bessner | Ep. 59
Van and Lyle are joined by historian and American Prestige co-host Danny Bessner to revisit Marco Brambilla’s Demolition Man, a silly 1993 action movie that doubles as a surprisingly sharp meditation ...
www.bangbangpod.com
February 9, 2026 at 7:39 PM
Really relished this episode on Demolition Man (1993), which depicted a simultaneously dystopian and utopian LA in ways that proved very prescient www.bangbangpod.com/p/demolition...
Never thought I would have a plum tree. So juicy
February 8, 2026 at 10:50 PM
Never thought I would have a plum tree. So juicy
Reposted by Van Jackson
"Even the oligarchs think we should be in the streets with pitchforks; they’re just confident we won’t bother because we’re drunk on consumption.” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/my-hip-hop...
My Hip-Hop Conscience
The first sign Washington, DC might not be the place for me appeared in 2009.
www.un-diplomatic.com
February 8, 2026 at 2:52 AM
"Even the oligarchs think we should be in the streets with pitchforks; they’re just confident we won’t bother because we’re drunk on consumption.” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/my-hip-hop...
Jiu jitsu highlights from the weekend--armbars, flower sweep, leg entries from k-guard
February 8, 2026 at 3:08 AM
Jiu jitsu highlights from the weekend--armbars, flower sweep, leg entries from k-guard
"Even the oligarchs think we should be in the streets with pitchforks; they’re just confident we won’t bother because we’re drunk on consumption.” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/my-hip-hop...
My Hip-Hop Conscience
The first sign Washington, DC might not be the place for me appeared in 2009.
www.un-diplomatic.com
February 8, 2026 at 2:52 AM
"Even the oligarchs think we should be in the streets with pitchforks; they’re just confident we won’t bother because we’re drunk on consumption.” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/my-hip-hop...
Jiu jitsu puts everything else in perspective
February 7, 2026 at 11:55 PM
Jiu jitsu puts everything else in perspective
An 8-part mini-series into the politics of Andor www.bangbangpod.com/p/the-comple...
The Complete Andor Mini-Series
Our grand Andor mini-series is finally complete!
www.bangbangpod.com
February 7, 2026 at 12:16 AM
An 8-part mini-series into the politics of Andor www.bangbangpod.com/p/the-comple...
“Even the oligarchs think we should be in the streets with pitchforks; they’re just confident we won’t bother because we’re drunk on consumption.” open.substack.com/pub/undiplom...
My Hip-Hop Conscience
The first sign Washington, DC might not be the place for me appeared in 2009.
open.substack.com
February 6, 2026 at 11:46 PM
“Even the oligarchs think we should be in the streets with pitchforks; they’re just confident we won’t bother because we’re drunk on consumption.” open.substack.com/pub/undiplom...
🚨New episode!
—How the Pentagon is facilitating concentration camps in America.
—Why arms control is dying and what to make of the New START Treaty’s expiration.
—Jeff Bezos has effectively killed The Washington Post.
www.un-diplomatic.com/p/the-end-of...
—How the Pentagon is facilitating concentration camps in America.
—Why arms control is dying and what to make of the New START Treaty’s expiration.
—Jeff Bezos has effectively killed The Washington Post.
www.un-diplomatic.com/p/the-end-of...
The End of Arms Control | Pentagon Concentration Camps | Bezos Kills the Washington Post | Neocons Still Run DC? | Ep. 284
Matt Duss and Julia Gledhill join me in this week’s episode of the pod, unpacking and commiserating about:
www.un-diplomatic.com
February 6, 2026 at 8:27 PM
🚨New episode!
—How the Pentagon is facilitating concentration camps in America.
—Why arms control is dying and what to make of the New START Treaty’s expiration.
—Jeff Bezos has effectively killed The Washington Post.
www.un-diplomatic.com/p/the-end-of...
—How the Pentagon is facilitating concentration camps in America.
—Why arms control is dying and what to make of the New START Treaty’s expiration.
—Jeff Bezos has effectively killed The Washington Post.
www.un-diplomatic.com/p/the-end-of...
Watching Canadian Bacon for the pod and OMG, I enjoyed this film when I was a kid but I did not grasp how political it was. Also foreshadowed a lot about politics now
February 6, 2026 at 6:21 PM
Watching Canadian Bacon for the pod and OMG, I enjoyed this film when I was a kid but I did not grasp how political it was. Also foreshadowed a lot about politics now