Diana Johnstone

Diana Johnstone is a political writer, focusing primarily on European politics and Western foreign policy. She received a Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota and was active in the movement against the Vietnam War. Johnstone was European editor of the U.S. weekly In These Times from 1979 to 1990, and continues to be a correspondent for the publication. She was press officer of the Green group in the European Parliament from 1990 to 1996. Her books include Queen of Chaos: The Misadventures of Hillary Clinton, CounterPunch Books (2016) and Fools’ Crusade: Yugoslavia, NATO and Western Delusions, Pluto Press (2002).

Yellow Vests Rise Against Neo-Liberal ‘King’ Macron

For centuries, the “left” hoped popular movements would lead to changes for the better. Today, many leftists seem terrified of popular movements for change, convinced “populism” must lead to “fascism.” But it needn’t be so, says Diana Johnstone.

Diana Johnstone
By Diana Johnstone
yellow vests

Every automobile in France is supposed to be equipped with a yellow vest. This is so that in case of accident or breakdown on a highway, the driver can put it on to ensure visibility and avoid getting run over. So the idea of wearing your yellow vest to demonstrate against unpopular government measures caught on quickly. The costume was at hand

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The United States Is Okay With This Kind of Russian Interference

Russian interference in American politics is totally welcome so long as it helps turn public opinion against a “multipolar” Russia, glorifies American democracy, and serves U.S. interests.

Diana Johnstone
By Diana Johnstone
Russian opposition figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former owner of the Yukos Oil Company, poses for a photograph after being interviewed by The Associated Press in London, July 24, 2018. Matt Dunham | AP

The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union was ostensibly a conflict between two ideologies, two socio-economic systems. All that seems to be over. The day of a new socialism may dawn unexpectedly, but today capitalism rules the world. Now the United States and Russia are engaged in a no-holds-barred fight between capitalists.

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On the 50th Anniversary of May 1968: Memories of an Illusory Revolution in Paris

At the time it seemed that Paris had yet again become the center of a world revolution, but in time a quite different legacy has emerged.

Diana Johnstone
By Diana Johnstone
A young demonstrator holds a red flag and kisses his girlfriend on the barricade built across the street in the vicinity of the Gare de Lyon station during riots in Paris, France on May 23, 1968, as students clashed with police. AP Photo

Nineteen Sixty-Eight began with the Têt offensive, when the Vietnamese national liberation struggle suddenly showed its strength as a military force, though it was eventually beaten back into guerrilla warfare. The images of burning villages and burning children were seared into the consciousness of millions of people around the world. In the

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The Trouble with Trotskyists: Obsessed with Stalin, They See Betrayed Revolutions Everywhere

The trouble with some Trotskyists is they’re always “supporting” other peoples’ revolutions, says Diana Johnstone. Their obsession with permanent revolution in the end provides an alibi for permanent war.

Diana Johnstone
By Diana Johnstone
Photo, porcelain plates bearing portraits of Syrian President Bashar Assad and his father late Syrian President Hafez Assad are displayed in a souvenirs shop outside the historic 7th century Umayyad Mosque, in Damascus, Syria, April 17, 2016. (AP/Hassan Ammar)

I first encountered Trotskyists in Minnesota half a century ago during the movement against the Vietnam War. I appreciated their skill in organizing anti-war demonstrations and their courage in daring to call themselves “communists” in the United States of America – a profession of faith that did not groom them for the successful careers enjoyed by

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