PoliEdPod 11: American Imperialism & “Democracy Promotion” (w/ Ben Thomason)

Class Unity

In this episode, Jamal, Heph and Daniel speak to Ben Thomason, an expert on American culture and politics, on so-called “democracy promotion,” and the way in which the US uses media and civil society to manipulate other countries in furtherance of corporate interests.

Here is some of Thomason’s recent work:

• 2022 article, “Save the Children, Launch the Bombs: Propaganda Agents Behind The White Helmets (2016) Documentary and Media Imperialism in the Syrian Civil War” – https://www.theprojectorjournal.com/save-the-children
• 2022 blog post, “directing the moderat rebels: Syria as a Digital Age Crucible for Information and propaganda warfare” – https://www.hamptonthink.org/read/directing-the-moderate-rebels-syria-as-a-digital-age-crucible-for-information-and-propaganda-warfare
• 2024 article, “The moderate rebel industry: Spaces of Western public–private civil society and propaganda warfare in the Syrian civil war” – https://doi.org/10.1177/17506352241239142
• 2024 dissertation on democracy promotion, “Making Democracy Safe for Empire: A History and Political Economy of the National Endowment for Democracy, United States Agency for International Development, and Twenty-First Century Media Imperialism” – http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1711480290212777

References:

• Marcie Smith (2019), “Change Agent: Gene Sharp’s Neoliberal Nonviolence” https://nonsite.org/change-agent-gene-sharps-neoliberal-nonviolence-part-one/

Thomason can be followed on Twitter/X @BenThomason95.