A New World Order: The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the Decline of US Hegemony

It’s hard to criticize any state these days when they ALL have skeletons in their closets.

Sean’s Monologue: The US-China Relationship

Today Sean is joined by Coup Save America’s good friend Toufic Sarieddine, a PhD graduate from Nagoya University whose research focuses on the hegemonic impact of China’s Belt and Road Initiative on US hegemony around the developing world. Toufic is the author of the book A Tale of Rice and Copper: A World-Systems Analysis of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

The episode begins with an unexpected topic – the Lebanese political party Hezbollah and their exploding pagers – an event that occurred only hours before our weekly broadcast went live. This attack hits close to home for Lebanese national Toufic – VERY close to home, as he is visiting family in Beirut as he joins us on the show.

What does this attack mean for Lebanon’s relationship with Israel? What prevents US politicians from taking an anti-Israel stance? Toufic tells us that Arabs like himself are not taught or trained to be anti-Jew, and they realize that most of the animosity between their nations comes from government actions and not the beliefs of the actual people going about their lives in the Middle East. But he does see hypocrisy in what some nationals are allowed to say about their fellow humans, while other nationals are not granted the same leniency. Did you know that it’s illegal in Israel to test your DNA for ethnicity?

Toufic explains how the US prevents Middle Eastern countries from being truly democratic, and he talks about the extent of Israel’s control over the Gaza Strip and its inhabitants – even banning pasta from the region for a long period of time. Why does the United States fund both Israel and Lebanon? Toufic feels that if Israel was not written a blank check to do whatever they wish, the leaders would cultivate better relations with their neighbors…”Because If you have endless resources, you’re going to have endless ambition.”

As the conversation continues, we learn some interesting facts about religions in the country of Lebanon, and why the militant movement Hezbollah has gained popularity amongst the people since October 7th, 2023. Toufic speculates on what action Hezbollah might take in response to the pager attack.

We move on to discuss the Pakistani-Chinese relationship as Sean asks to hear the inspiration behind Toufic’s new book. Why is China now so interested in Pakistan, and what is the benefit to cost ratio of this alliance? Toufic explains the difference between humanitarian aid and developmental aid.

Returning to hostilities in the Middle East, Toufic calls out celebrities who stay silent rather than using their platforms to draw attention to the genocide in Palestine. He gives shout outs to Macklemore, The Weeknd, and Shea Couleé for their bravery.

Sean asks Toufic who will be better for the Middle East, Trump or Harris? Then they talk about the possibility that we are currently engaged in a very subtle WW III. But overall, Toufic tells us that despite the intense seriousness of our political situations, sometimes you must laugh at things – like blown up pagers - just to get through them. “You have to laugh about this because, you know, there’s no more tears to shed. And if you laugh at something, you conquer it.”

You can find info on Toufic Sarieddine’s book, read his articles, and learn more about World Systems Analysis framework by visiting his social media sites:

Book: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-97-3508-2

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Geopolitics-with-Toufic/61565186018387/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/profile/in/toufic-sarieddine-42067b6b?originalSubdomain=jp

Academia.org: https://nagoya-u.academia.edu/TouficSarieddine 

Coup Save America is a weekly talk show hosted by Sean St. Heart that plants the mental seeds of social change by inciting a politically progressive (peaceful) coup of knowledgeable citizens to challenge the status quo. Each episode focuses on a specific issue, featuring expert guests and interviews with the people who are most affected by the problems in our country. The show uses a sociological approach to raise awareness, ponder solutions, and consider the various perspectives. Coup Save America hopes to create an avenue for our nation to reach its potential for greatness! 

Coup Save America is a radically left-wing expose on America that uses facts, humor, and intellectual wit to expose the myths surrounding the great western democracy that exists only in the heavily propagandized lore of American history-i-fiction. Each show features in-depth analysis of America’s anti-democratic domestic and foreign policies, a breakdown of the week's news and events that are either ignored or misrepresented by western media, information on the latest crimes emerging from the district of corruption, coverage of the wars and global conflicts being waged unbeknownst to the America people, and a depressingly comedic rundown of the political insanity emanating from both the left and right-wing spectrum.