Thread by @ProfSunnySingh

🧵Zelensky being publicly berated by US president and VP (a mass media spectacle par excellence) has left western Europe stunned, shocked, and floundering. There was much ‘unprecedented’ about the spectacle but I want to talk about something that isn’t being discussed.

Over the past 500 years, Western Europe built a world that it looted, occupied, ruled and shaped to its will. This reshaping the world included its settler colonies of which USA is the most imperially successful.

Despite the competition between themselves, European imperial powers (with increasing buy in from the US starting in the 19th century) have repeatedly put aside competition to cooperate amongst themselves to continue their global dominance.

The Monroe Doctrine is a good example of US flexing its early imperial muscles. Yes it blocked European powers from colonial ventures in S. America but it was enforced by UK as part of its own Pax Britannica policy.

It’s easy to pretend that this early Anglo-American partnership was anti-Europe but that figleaf only works if one leaves out the Western colonial enterprise where the same powers would collaborate as needed to extend and maintain their colonies.

Move forward a century and US had become a fully paid up member of the (western) European colonial project. It expanded is dominance albeit indirectly for most part even as Western European empires crumbled.

It even joined the Great Game between Britain and Russia. Conveniently the Russian revolution gave US the opportunity to create a national fairy tale of freedom and democracy. Quickly the narrative became the democratic (but really the capitalist) West against the rest

After their 30 year fratricidal. genocidal squabble (1941-1945), dying W European empires happily handed over the top spot to US. In return they could pretend they were still ‘great,’ be ‘protected’ from a rotating cast of enemies and continue to exploit the planet as they wished

The post WW2 order was intended to continue Western European Empire(s), now with US in the lead. Economic, legal, cultural, political, diplomatic tools were created to ensure that politically liberated colonies would remain shackled to their former masters in all but name

This was a cosy system with exhausted imperial powers basically outsourced dirty work of the empire to the brash new bully in the playground. And the system worked for a while although it has been creaking for a bit

This US-WEurope empire saw the break up of the Soviet Union as an opportunity for expanding its hegemony. Besides this new Indirect Empire was so much cleaner and politer than the old direct one.

This Indirect Empire meant all colonial sins were washed away and W Europe could make pious claims about its own morality while looking down on its uncouth new imperial enforcer, the US.

It meant W Europe could pretend US violence did not ensure its continued hegemony

This imperial handover worked for the US too. It brutalised the world to ‘protect’ Western Europe and anointed itself the protector of liberty

But here’s the unprecedented part: The US empire is now crumbling, in part under its own weight, part due to hubristic over-reach and internal conteadictions, and now due to speeded up self-harm.

For the first time in centuries, Western Europe has nobody it can turn to. Not a more successful fellow coloniser next door. Not a settler-colony spawn that is ready to take their shop keys and keep the business going.

For too long W Europe has retender it could carry on buiness as usual. But yesterday’s disgusting White House spectacle has ended that studied delusion.

Forget the emperor having no clothes. There is no empire to turn to!

No empire goes down quietly so the times ahead are perilous for most of us and the planet. But these are also extraordinary and yes, unprecedented times. And it’s a stage of decolonisation I never imagined could/would happen in my lifetime

End 🧵