EP 1 Vijay Prashad - U.S. Neocolonialism in Africa | African News Review Special

Historian Vijay Prashad, Executive Director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and Chief Editor of LeftWord Books, joins African News Review for a special one-hour conversation tracing the arc from the Third World's founding "Quests" at Bandung to Washington's modern playbook of coups, sanctions, and lawfare.

We talk about Prashad's two landmark books, The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World and Washington Bullets: A History of the CIA, Coups, and Assassinations, with a sustained focus on Africa and Cuba's decades of resistance to US destabilisation.

Vijay Prashad discusses the mechanisms of regime change, imperialism, and the current geopolitical landscape, with insights into Africa, Cuba, and global resistance.

This episode offers a deep understanding of how imperial powers manipulate political and economic systems to maintain dominance.

 Takeaways

*The nine-step manual for regime change
*US military and economic strategies in Africa
*The role of Bretton Woods institutions in Africa's development
*The impact of colonialism and neocolonialism on African economies
*The geopolitical significance of Western Sahara and Morocco
*The resistance of Cuba against US sanctions
*The rise of BRICS and challenges to Western hegemony
*The importance of community, solidarity, and hope in resistance movements

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and guest overview
02:18 Vijay Prashad on why he writes and the importance of storytelling
04:27 Reflections on Burkina Faso and the absence of images of Ibrahim Taro
06:55 The steps of regime change and US strategies
08:44 US military bases and control of Africa's resources
12:21 Africa's internal rivalries and their impact on geopolitics
15:28 The role of Bretton Woods institutions and economic strangulation
21:02 Can Africans do economics? The need for indigenous economic models
22:29 The importance of reading Sankara and decolonising knowledge
26:43 Preparing the military for regime change and corruption tactics
28:57 Making the economy scream and US economic warfare
30:30 Mobilising unrest and public opinion for coups
32:42 Denying involvement and the manual of assassination
36:29 The challenge of global resistance and the decline of the West
39:52 The future of Cuba and US sanctions
44:33 Western Sahara, colonialism, and cultural narratives
49:01 The symbolism of monarchy and the fight for sovereignty
51:53 Hope, community, and solidarity in resistance movements
55:54 The importance of community and global solidarity
56:50 Conclusion and final thoughts from Vijay Prashad

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