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NATO Pt. 2: The Long War on the Third World w/ Pawel Wargan

Upstream

Release Date: 07/15/2025

NATO Pt. 2: The Long War on the Third World w/ Pawel Wargan show art NATO Pt. 2: The Long War on the Third World w/ Pawel Wargan

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It’s not hyperbole to suggest that the imperialist wars waged upon the Global South by the United States and the imperialist bloc that it leads are akin to a protracted genocide. The sheer amount of death, carnage, destruction, immiseration, crushed dreams, is almost unfathomable. But it’s real. And it’s the status quo for what we love to refer fondly to as "Western Civilization." And there’s no other force more responsible for implementing this protracted genocide on the Third World than NATO. And in today’s conversation—Part 2 of our ongoing series on NATO—we’re going to...

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It’s not hyperbole to suggest that the imperialist wars waged upon the Global South by the United States and the imperialist bloc that it leads are akin to a protracted genocide. The sheer amount of death, carnage, destruction, immiseration, crushed dreams, is almost unfathomable. But it’s real. And it’s the status quo for what we love to refer fondly to as "Western Civilization." And there’s no other force more responsible for implementing this protracted genocide on the Third World than NATO. And in today’s conversation—Part 2 of our ongoing series on NATO—we’re going to explore the role that this military alliance has played in the long war on the Third World. 

Pawel Wargan is an organizer and researcher based in Berlin and the coordinator of the secretariat of the Progressive International. He’s the author of the Monthly Review piece “NATO and the Long War on the Third World” which we’ll be focusing our conversation around today. 

In this episode, Pawel tells us about the fascist roots of NATO, its “dark mandate” which ushered in an era of terror against the populations of the Global South leading to a protracted genocide that has left tens of millions dead and even more immiserated. We talk about the way that NATO operates in Africa, Poland, and how NATO has served as a leading opposition to liberation struggles in the Third World and across the globe. 

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Intermission music: "Black Serpent" by Noroth

Covert art: Soviet anti-NATO propaganda poster

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