In this episode, I’m joined by Julian Go, professor of sociology at the University of Chicago and author of Policing Empires: Race, Militarization and the Imperial Boomerang in the US and Great Britain (Oxford University Press, 2023), to discuss the intertwined relationship between imperialist violence abroad and fascism and state repression here at home—a concept known as the “imperial boomerang.” We explore the concept's origins in anticolonial analyses of Nazism’s rise in 20th-century Europe, as well as the ways in which this important idea can help us understand the resurgence of fascism and neo-fascism in our current political moment.
Return to Bandung is hosted by Pranay Somayajula, an Indian-American writer, researcher, and organizer based in Washington, D.C. His work explores themes of diaspora, (inter)nationalism, anticolonial politics, and the many lives and afterlives of empire. You can learn more about Pranay and read his writing on his website, as well as on his Substack blog, culture shock.
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Sources and helpful links:
Julian Go — Policing Empires: Militarization, Race, and the Imperial Boomerang in Britain and the US (Oxford University Press, 2023)
Ammar Ali Jan — The US protests and the echoes of imperial violence (Al Jazeera, June 2020)
Aimé Césaire — Discourse on Colonialism (Monthly Review Press, 2000)
Seth Stoughton — Law Enforcement’s “Warrior” Problem (Harvard Law Review, 2015)
George Padmore — Fascism in the Colonies (Controversy, February 1938)
Jessica Katzenstein — The Wars Are Here: How the United States’ Post-9/11 Wars Helped Militarize U.S. Police (Brown University’s Costs of War project, September 2020)
Tynetta Hill-Muhammad — Chicago Nixed Its Racist Database of Gangs. Other Cities Should Follow. (Truthout, October 2023)
Nick Turse — U.S. Military Service Is the Strongest Predictor of Carrying Out Extremist Violence (The Intercept, January 2025)
Researching the American-Israeli Alliance and Jewish Voice for Peace — Deadly Exchange: The Dangerous Consequences of American Law Enforcement Trainings in Israel (September 2018)
Angela Davis — Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement (Haymarket Books, 2016)
Social links:
Return to Bandung:
Twitter: twitter.com/returntobandung
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returntobandung/
Pranay Somayajula:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/p_somayajula
Website: https://www.pranaysomayajula.com/
Substack: https://www.culture-shock.xyz/
Julian Go:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jgo34