World
Dawn of the Electric World Order
Global shockwaves from the war on Iran
Global shockwaves from the war on Iran are accelerating the energy transition
Longform
May 15, 2026
AnalysisAfter Brent
Europe’s largest declining hydrocarbon basin
The UK’s North Sea is one of the most mature and explored hydrocarbon basins on earth. Production peaked around the turn of the new millennium at 4.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, falling to around 1.4 million barrels…
No private company is logistically capable of delivering the mail. So what does privatization of the US Postal Service mean?
April 9, 2026
InterviewsThe Bolivarian Hypothesis
An interview with Roy Daza
Venezuela’s ruling party is seeking to implement its “Seven Transformations” program amid intense pressure from the United States and an unfavorable regional balance of power.
March 26, 2026
InterviewsSuperdependence
On the Canadian auto industry
The Canadian auto industry is in a state of existential crisis, facing new US tariffs and pressures. What does this mean for organized labor?
March 19, 2026
AnalysisFiscal Democracy
How Lula combined social spending, tax reforms, and fiscal balance to build popular sovereignty
Lula’s overhaul of the tax system represents a challenge to the Brazilian oligarchy which goes beyond the distributive policies of previous PT governments.
Pinto’s Lesson
Styles of development in Latin America
Reconciling cepalino and dependency theory, Aníbal Pinto developed a powerful framework for understanding the internal fractures in the working class.
March 18, 2026
AnalysisWar and Succession
The Islamic Republic’s new Supreme Leader
The appointment of Sayyid Mojtaba Khamenei reflects the shifting balance of power in wartime Iran.
March 12, 2026
AnalysisThe Venezuela Illusion
The limits of “regime management” in Iran
Iran’s security structure ensures that the US will struggle to contain the dynamic of military escalation or determine its political outcomes.
March 11, 2026
AnalysisCrisis of Plausibility
On Chile’s new President, José Antonio Kast, and the left’s decline
Chile has not experienced a sudden mass conversion to the right. Rather, the country’s existing economic model, founded in the wake of the dictatorship, has been beset by what might be termed a “crisis of plausibility.”
March 5, 2026
InterviewsA World Without Illusions
An interview with Celso Amorim
Lula’s Chief Advisor discusses the assault on Iran, the concept of multipolarity, and how Brazil can defend its sovereignty in an age of imperial conflict.
Shortform
The Hormuz shock is again raising the specter of inflation. What will central banks’ response bring for the economies of Latin America?
May 3, 2026
AnalysisAgainst Carbon Shock Therapy
Building a toolkit for decarbonized sovereignty
At the end of April in Santa Marta, Colombia, two months into the US-Israeli war on Iran, fifty-nine countries attended the first high-level conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels. The attendees agreed that decarbonization was more than energy sovereignty.…
Soy Republics
Corporate concentration and the far right in South America
The region’s role as a key soy exporter has empowered reactionary politics and fuelled ecological resistance, in the biome and beyond.
April 3, 2026
AnalysisProducing Scarcity
Sanctions on the Venezuelan central bank
The US siege of Venezuela has crippled the country’s financial system. What are the preconditions for its recovery?
Home Depot has been on a building and acquisitions spree, rapidly taking over a half-dozen logistics companies. Is it also creating an opportunity for organized labor?
War on Iran
Will the US’s latest military adventure deal a blow to its fossil-fuel hegemony?
The illegal war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran has triggered the mother of all commodity-supply shocks. In response to the unprovoked onslaught, Iran has all but closed the Strait of Hormuz, bringing to a standstill the delivery of…
March 24, 2026
AnalysisRupture, What Rupture?
The dynamics of hegemonic destruction
Mark Carney’s speech at Davos has got the international community talking about rupture; but his value-based realism is a thinly veiled attempt to salvage a neoliberal international order with Canadian characteristics.
March 12, 2026
AnalysisHezbollah’s Gamble
The war on Iran spreads to Lebanon.
The party’s decision to reengage the Israeli army is a strategic reorientation after the bruising defeat of 2024.
March 11, 2026
AnalysisDrones Like Bicycles
The cost of a Shahed-136 kamikaze drone
An Iranian-made Shahed-136 drone is a simple weapon. The delta wings, which span 2.5 meters, are made of fiberglass and end in two fixed vertical stabilizers.
Conscious Uncoupling
Can America’s allies bypass the hegemon?
Can America’s allies bypass the hegemon?
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The US abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who is now imprisoned in federal jail in New York City, has drawn the world’s attention onto the heavily sanctioned country and ignited debates over the meaning of this imperial overreach. Three pieces from the archive explore the history of Venezuela’s oil firm PDVSA, the latest transformations of the OPEC cartel, and the oil majors’ recent designs on Guyanese deposits—which, until Trump’s escalation, had been the latest source of resource conflict in the region.
Transformations in Petróleos de Venezuela and geopolitical realignments
Editor’s Note: Written before Trump assumed office for his second term, Víctor Mijares introduces the history of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and its central role in Venezuelan development. From the oil boom of 1922, to nationalization, to Chavismo, Western sanctions, and Maduro’s strategy for geopolitical realignment.
Economics and politics in an expanding exporters organization
Editor’s Note: Historian of the 1973 oil crisis Giuliano Garavini and former Venezuelan Minister of Oil Rafael Ramirez examine the shifting political tides within the expanding Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
ExxonMobil, Venezuela, and the battle for Guyana’s oil
Editor’s Note: A territorial dispute between Venezuela and Guyana begun in the late nineteenth century escalated towards the end of 2023. Within the conflict lay vast oil reserves, uncovered in the mid 2010s and largely licensed to ExxonMobil, which have turned the Caribbean nation into “a battleground for geopolitical ambitions.”
Series
Series are collections of works published by Phenomenal World on a single subject or area of research. Series are commissioned to analyze particular issues or historical moments, and are either ongoing projects or collected as one-time volumes.
The Polycrisis is a monthly newsletter on geopolitics and climate, by Tim Sahay and Kate Mackenzie. Follow us on Bluesky, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
Dawn of the Electric World Order
Global shockwaves from the war on Iran
Global shockwaves from the war on Iran are accelerating the energy transition
War on Iran
Will the US’s latest military adventure deal a blow to its fossil-fuel hegemony?
The illegal war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran has triggered the mother of all commodity-supply shocks. In response to the unprovoked onslaught, Iran has all but closed the Strait of Hormuz, bringing to a standstill the delivery of…