So where is the money going? Primarily, the money goes to covering my general living expenses so that my time can be dedicated to the Book Project, but there are also specific costs associated with monthly subscriptions to news services (such as the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Times) which, unfortunately, are necessary to provide the resources for research. Online news sites typically have a maximum amount of articles which can be read for free on their sites (usually around 5-8 per month), and thus, without these subscriptions, research can be heavily curtailed, as they are valuable resources, specifically depending upon the subject matter of focus.
And on that note, what subjects will the current donations be going towards doing research on, as well as writing chapters from? Currently, the focus is on finishing the chapters introducing the subject and mechanisms of imperialism in the modern world, specifically that of the United States: the main planning bodies of empire within government (Pentagon, CIA, National Security Council, State Department), as well as outside, at think tanks and foundations (Council on Foreign Relations, Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment, Center for Strategic and International Studies), and the main players in the American Empire over the past 60 years (Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Brent Scowcroft, Madeleine Albright, etc.). I will be examining the specific imperial strategies, in their own words, and briefly look at some of their plans in action.
In the chapter on Empire in the Age of Obama, I will be examining the transition from the “War on Terror” to the Obama’s administration’s “overseas contingency operations” (as it was renamed), and the specific strategies, plans, and actions of empire under the current President: drone wars, destabilization campaigns, counter-insurgency in Afghanistan, maintenance of vassal states, support for dictators and human rights abuses, arms trade, more recent wars in Yemen, Libya, Mali, and elsewhere, coups (such as that in Honduras), military bases and expansion, AFRICOM and the militarization of foreign policy in Africa, the relationship between natural resources and imperial policy, and looking at the human costs of empire around the world.
I have also started the chapter on the Arab Spring, focusing thus far on Tunisia, but which will include Egypt and Bahrain, as well as the lesser-known protests and reactions in Algeria, Morocco, and Jordan, among others.
On top of this new research and writing, I will be aiming to complete past chapters already begun, on issues of the food crisis, global land grabs, environmental devastation, and indigenous resistance. I am also hoping to begin editing previously written chapters to start putting together the first draft of the first volume of The People’s Book Project, so that the editing process can proceed in line with the research and writing itself.
These are some hefty goals for the next two months, but if I have the funds, I can dedicate the time and energy to the work. My ultimate goal is to have the first draft completed by the Summer, at which point I will begin the process of final edits and publishing.
So, please consider donating to the People’s Book Project to help this objective be realized. Thank you to all who have contributed, past and presently, and to those who will do so in the future.
Sincerely,
Andrew Gavin Marshall
