‘Axis of evil or access to diesel?: spaces of new imperialism and the Iraq war’
The invasion of Iraq in 2003 was waged by the so-called ‘Coalition of the Willing’. This paper will examine how the war was a space in the ongoing geographical extension of global capitalism linked to U.S. foreign policy. Was it simply the decision by a unitary, hegemonic actor in the inter-state sy...
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| Format: | Article |
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Brill
2015
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35172/ |
| _version_ | 1848795020148080640 |
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| author | Bieler, Andreas Morton, Adam David |
| author_facet | Bieler, Andreas Morton, Adam David |
| author_sort | Bieler, Andreas |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The invasion of Iraq in 2003 was waged by the so-called ‘Coalition of the Willing’. This paper will examine how the war was a space in the ongoing geographical extension of global capitalism linked to U.S. foreign policy. Was it simply the decision by a unitary, hegemonic actor in the inter-state system overriding concerns by other states? Was it an imperialist move to secure the ‘global oil spigot’? Alternatively, did the use of military force reflect the interests and emergence of a transnational state apparatus? In this paper, we argue that the U.S. needs to be conceptualised as a specific form of state, within which and through which national and transnational capital operate to establish the interests of a national fraction of an Atlantic ruling class. It is these processes of class struggle and their relation to wider struggles over spaces of imperialism, which need to be at the centre of analysis. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:25:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-35172 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:25:26Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | Brill |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-351722020-05-04T17:10:20Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35172/ ‘Axis of evil or access to diesel?: spaces of new imperialism and the Iraq war’ Bieler, Andreas Morton, Adam David The invasion of Iraq in 2003 was waged by the so-called ‘Coalition of the Willing’. This paper will examine how the war was a space in the ongoing geographical extension of global capitalism linked to U.S. foreign policy. Was it simply the decision by a unitary, hegemonic actor in the inter-state system overriding concerns by other states? Was it an imperialist move to secure the ‘global oil spigot’? Alternatively, did the use of military force reflect the interests and emergence of a transnational state apparatus? In this paper, we argue that the U.S. needs to be conceptualised as a specific form of state, within which and through which national and transnational capital operate to establish the interests of a national fraction of an Atlantic ruling class. It is these processes of class struggle and their relation to wider struggles over spaces of imperialism, which need to be at the centre of analysis. Brill 2015-06-22 Article PeerReviewed Bieler, Andreas and Morton, Adam David (2015) ‘Axis of evil or access to diesel?: spaces of new imperialism and the Iraq war’. Historical Materialism, 23 (2). pp. 94-130. ISSN 1569-206X 2003 Iraq war class struggle geopolitics global capitalism historical materialism transnational state U.S. industrial-military-academic complex http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/1569206x-12341412 doi:10.1163/1569206X-12341412 doi:10.1163/1569206X-12341412 |
| spellingShingle | 2003 Iraq war class struggle geopolitics global capitalism historical materialism transnational state U.S. industrial-military-academic complex Bieler, Andreas Morton, Adam David ‘Axis of evil or access to diesel?: spaces of new imperialism and the Iraq war’ |
| title | ‘Axis of evil or access to diesel?: spaces of new imperialism and the Iraq war’ |
| title_full | ‘Axis of evil or access to diesel?: spaces of new imperialism and the Iraq war’ |
| title_fullStr | ‘Axis of evil or access to diesel?: spaces of new imperialism and the Iraq war’ |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘Axis of evil or access to diesel?: spaces of new imperialism and the Iraq war’ |
| title_short | ‘Axis of evil or access to diesel?: spaces of new imperialism and the Iraq war’ |
| title_sort | ‘axis of evil or access to diesel?: spaces of new imperialism and the iraq war’ |
| topic | 2003 Iraq war class struggle geopolitics global capitalism historical materialism transnational state U.S. industrial-military-academic complex |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35172/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35172/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35172/ |