Category Archives: labour

Ports, ships and the human economy of global sea trade: an interview with Laleh Khalili

Posted on 30 June 2020 by Laleh Khalili

Little has been written about the sea trade in the Gulf. Laleh Khalili’s latest book explores the complex realities that drive this massive economy.Tugrul Mende30 June 2020 During the COVID-19 pandemic many workers in ports and on ships have either … Continue reading →

Posted in capital accumulation, empire, empire, imperialism & colonialism, free ports/zones, imperialism & colonialism, infrastructure, labour, logistics, media, Middle East, political economy, ports, seafaring, shipping conditions, transport | Leave a comment

SSRC: A Time Capsule for Future Social Researchers

Posted on 4 June 2020 by Laleh Khalili

On 15 May 2020 I had a really great conversation with Indian Ocean historian Dr Saarah Jappie about a visual artefact that should be included in an SSRC time capsule on COVID-19. Here is the result of the conversation: Inspired … Continue reading →

Posted in labour, logistics, media, shipping conditions, ships, the sea, transport | Leave a comment

Why shipping is central to the very fabric of global capitalism

Posted on 3 June 2020 by Laleh Khalili

Some of the images in this Verso video may be familiar from my previous posts about my containership trips. Here is choose 5 photographs and talk about them: The photos are the following (not in the order below):

Posted in capital accumulation, labour, logistics, Middle East, transport, Travels | Leave a comment

Interview with Diepgang magazine

Posted on 26 May 2020 by Laleh Khalili

In January I gave a talk at the Erasmus university in Rotterdam. I was incredibly pleased that a lot of seafarers and people working with seafarers came to see it (and some were also critical of the talk – they … Continue reading →

Posted in labour, media, ports, seafaring, shipping conditions, ships, transport | Leave a comment

Interstitial Podcast

Posted on 13 May 2020 by Laleh Khalili

I spoke with the brilliant David Huber of the Interstitial podcast, which you can listen to here: https://thinkbelt.org/shows/interstitial/sinews-of-war-and-trade-laleh-khalili He asked me to suggest 4 books and I had to think on my feet, so of course I suggested the following: … Continue reading →

Posted in capital accumulation, empire, imperialism & colonialism, labour, literature, Middle East, political economy, ports, seafaring, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Abandoned Seafarers

Posted on 1 May 2020 by Laleh Khalili

Abandoned at Sea: Sailors and COVID-19   The stranded Indian crew members on board MSC Grandiosa, docked in Italy at present (Al Jazeera) On the list of COVID-19 afflicted countries tallied by the Johns Hopkins University Corona Resource Centre there … Continue reading →

Posted in labour, logistics, political economy, ports, seafaring, shipping conditions | 1 Comment

Interview with Philip Wohlstetter

Posted on 27 April 2020 by Laleh Khalili

For a couple of years now I have really wanted to attend the Red May socialist festival in Seattle, but sadly the timing (and the physical distance) have gotten in the way. This year, because of COVID-19, I ended up … Continue reading →

Posted in capital accumulation, empire, finance and insurance, infrastructure, labour, logistics, Melville, Middle East, militaries, oil, political economy, ports, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

BBC 3 Free Thinking interview with Matthew Sweet

Posted on 15 April 2020 by Laleh Khalili

Matthew Sweet of BBC Free Thinking was a brilliant reader of the book, having read closely and with an eye for fetching detail. We talked for about half an hour, and the interview can be heard here (my part of … Continue reading →

Posted in capital accumulation, empire, imperialism & colonialism, environment, free ports/zones, infrastructure, labour, Middle East, political economy, ports, shipping conditions, transport, Travels, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Recent lecture: Tankers and Tycoons

Posted on 15 April 2020 by Laleh Khalili

Here is a link to a talk I have given a few times, most recently at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. It is a talk I am hoping to turn into an article, but which requires a bit more … Continue reading →

Posted in imperialism & colonialism, labour, logistics, Middle East, oil, political economy, shipping conditions, ships, transport, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Publication: The infrastructural power of the military

Posted on 15 April 2020 by Laleh Khalili

Drawing on extensive research in the archives of the US Army Corps of Engineers, this article again draws on my concomitant interest in militaries and infrastructure. “The infrastructural power of the military: The geoeconomic role of the US Army Corps … Continue reading →

Posted in capital accumulation, construction, empire, empire, imperialism & colonialism, infrastructure, labour, logistics, Middle East, militaries, political economy, transport, Uncategorized | Leave a comment