IN SESSION #13: Empire's problem with sovereignty with Helyeh Doutaghi, Bikrum Gill & Alex Aviña

Between the so-called Middle-East and Latin America, oh my, we had a lot to talk about how this empire implodes, psychically and otherwise, in the face of sovereign nations refusing to bend to its violence. Who better to help us unpack this than three of the most fierce anti-imperialist comrades I know--all of whom have a lot to say about sovereignty, empire, and, importantly, resistance. Helyeh Doutaghi is scholar of international law and geopolitical economy. Her research explores the intersections of the Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL), encompassing postcolonial critiques of law, sanctions, and international political economy. Dr. Doutaghi's research draws on the mechanisms, harms, and beneficiaries of the sanctions regime imposed on Iran, centering questions of value transfer and wealth drain. Additionally, she is interested in International Humanitarian Law (IHL), having written about its history, practice, and the production of knowledge (and ignorance), particularly in the context of the US military. She was expelled from Yale Law School and the LPE project for speaking up for Palestinian liberation last year. She is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Tehran, where she will focus on completing her manuscript on the Iranian sanctions regime and neoliberalism. Bikrum Gill is a scholar of international political economy, and author of "The Political Ecology of Colonial Capitalism: Race, Nature, and Accumulation", published by Manchester University Press. Alex Aviña is an Associate Professor of History at Arizona State University. He is a historian of Mexico and Latin America.