International Viewpoint - online socialist magazine

Iran's shockwave in Asia

Pierre Rousset — 2026-05-27T06:24:27Z

By dint of dragging on, the United States' war against Iran seems to be becoming a real international tipping point whose scope varies according to the region. Its consequences are expected to be major in Asia. On the geopolitical terrain, of course, as illustrated by the Xi-Trump summit in Beijing on 14-15 May. But it will also aggravate the social crisis in many countries as well as boosting the global climate and ecological crisis. It is the beginning of multiple upheavals that will only be fully measured with hindsight.

- IVP616 - May 2026 / United States (USA), China, Iran, Taiwan

Leftist studies in China and the United States

Paul Le Blanc, Shi Yongqin — 2026-05-20T07:12:40Z

“Shi's experiences reflect the latent dissatisfaction of Chinese intellectuals with mainstream ideology.”

- Features / United States (USA), China, Trotsky

BRICS media are not an alternative for anti-imperial resistance

Farooq Sulehria — 2026-05-17T13:31:37Z

Farooq Sulehria is a member of CADTM-Pakistan. He was in Brazil to attend the First Anti-Fascist Conference in Porto Alegre (March 26-29, 2026). He is the author of the recently published Media Subimperialisms and the Rise of the Global South (Palgrave Macmillan).

- IVP616 - May 2026 / Brazil, South Korea, China, India

Iran Between the Russian and Chinese Models

Gilbert Achcar — 2026-05-04T09:32:37Z

Donald Trump claimed to pursue “regime change” in Iran, but in a manner distinct from the George W. Bush administration's use of the term to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which was framed as bringing democracy after Saddam Hussein's overthrow. As we have repeatedly argued in these pages, even before the joint U.S.-Israeli aggression against Iran (see, for example, “Washington Will Not Bring Democracy to Iran” [Arabic], 10 February 2026), Trump's objective was – and remains – to replicate his Venezuelan strategy: abducting the president to pave the way for a successor willing to cooperate with Washington and its oil interests. In other words, his aim was to “change the regime's behaviour”, not to change the regime itself.

- IVP616 - May 2026 / Russia, China, Iran

Purges and Regime Crisis in China

Pierre Rousset — 2026-02-09T21:15:33Z

The dismissal of General Zhang Youxia was officially announced on January 24. This is another step in the purges that have been taking place within the Chinese army's general staff. Zhang was considered “untouchable” given his supposed closeness to Xi Jinping. As for the Central Military Commission (CMC), it is now a hollow shell, having lost five of its seven members. Xi continues to clear the field around him, contrary to any form of collegiality.

- IVP613 - February 2026 / China

What is left of the Chinese Left?

Au Loong-Yu — 2025-12-26T10:48:24Z

With Trump in power, many parts of the world are swinging to the far right. This is the most pressing challenge we currently face. But what is the situation of the Left in China? And where is the Chinese far right?

- IVP611 - December 2025 / China, Far Right

The Crisis of Social Reproduction, Women's Agency, and Feminism in China

Ralf Ruckus, Yige Dong — 2025-11-30T11:44:06Z

Dramatically falling birthrates and a skyrocketing number of divorces as the number of marriages collapsing increases all point toward the erosion of the capitalist family unit in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Such trends, furthermore, represent an existential crisis for the nation, as the deepening crisis of social reproduction in the post-socialist country also threatens the reproduction of its necessary supply of labor power. But what exactly is this crisis of social reproduction, and what, if anything, is specific about the situation in the PRC? What role does the feminist movement in the PRC play in all of this?

- Feminism / Women, China

Trump's strategy to reassert U.S. dominance

Ashley Smith — 2025-11-30T11:27:27Z

Despite all the chaos, confusion, and faction fights, the Trump administration is united behind one project—escalating Washington's imperial rivalry with China.

- China November 2025 / United States (USA), China

China's labour movement under fire

Manfred Elfstrom — 2025-11-30T10:51:17Z

China's labour movement is of strategic importance for the global working class. Yet little data is available about its struggles due to government restrictions on the media and labour-focused organisations.

- China November 2025 / China, Trade unions/workplace organizing

The Four Critical Junctures of Taiwan DPP's Transformation from Democratic Reformers to US Client

Fang — 2025-11-29T15:49:07Z

Taiwan's social and political structure are facing greater division and confrontation as the US-China conflict intensifies. During the course of this confrontation, the successive administrations of Tsai Ing-wen and Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), along with various groupings in its camp, have increasingly bent to the US anti-China strategy, and are calling for “defending democracy” against the looming threat from China. As part of this, the DPP regime has made several moves to tighten control on the society, like the Anti-Infiltration Act, the proposed Digital Media Services Act, and the All-out Defense Mobilization Readiness Act.

- China November 2025 / China, Taiwan