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ABOUT ARNOLD AUGUST

Arnold August, M.A. in Political Science from McGill University, where he also completed two years of Ph.D. studies in the same field, is a Montreal-based author and journalist specializing in geopolitics and international relations, Global South, multipolarity, Latin America, Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), Venezuela, BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

EDUCATION

McGill University, Montreal, Canada:

– B.A. (Political Science), 1965

– M.A. (Political Science), 1969

  • Concentration: Advanced Political Theory, Political Development in the New Nations (India and China),
    Recent Theory in International Relations – State Behaviour, Recent Theory in
    International Relations – International Systems
  • M.A. Comprehensive Examination (Pass with Distinction)
  • Master’s Thesis: “The Incremental-Pragmatic and the Revolutionary-Dialectic
    Approaches to Third World Change: The Case of India”

– Ph.D. studies (Political Science) (incomplete), 1968–1970

  • Concentration: South Asian Politics and Asian Political Philosophy (India and China)
  • Roles: Teaching assistant and Fellow at the Centre for Developing-Areas Studies

CAREER

– Political activist and researcher of the Ideological Studies Centre linked to the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist–Leninist) (1970–1976 and 1988–1995) (no political affiliation since 1995)

 

– Worker/union activist at Notre-Dame Hospital, Montreal (1976–1988), at the time the largest francophone hospital in the province of Quebec

  • Served as shop steward in the union section (Operating Room)
  • Edited a workers’ newsletter Non aux coupures (No to Cuts), opposing neoliberal cuts in the public sector

– Founding Chair of the Political Science Students’ Association (PSSA) at McGill University (1968), the first political science students’ association at a Canadian university

  • Played a key role, along with other Executive members of the PSSA, in the fall of 1968 during the occupation and strike at the Political Science Faculty of McGill University, which advocated for expanding the curriculum to incorporate new approaches that aimed to move beyond theories rooted in a U.S.-centric racist view that dominated political science, and for the University to play a critical role in society. (Watch the 1970 National Film Board documentary for an intimate, 24-hour, behind-the-scenes look at the tensions and conflicts between the students and the Faculty/Administration, including PSSA Executive members’ stirring statements challenging the Faculty, all of which remain relevant today [video].)

– Founder, Voyage Culture Cuba (1996–2005)

  • Established a Montreal-based licensed cultural travel agency
  • Organized accredited two-week university study tours (20 to 30 students per trip) in collaboration with the Facultad de Filosofía, Historia y Sociología de la Universidad de La Habana for the following institutions: Université de Montréal (4 trips), Queen’s University (4 trips), and the University of Saskatchewan (7 trips), among other university exchange programs from the U.S. and Canada

– Author and journalist (1998–Present)

HONORS

2013: Félix Elmusa Distinction, the highest award given at the proposal of the Presidency of the Union of Journalists of Cuba, to Cuban and foreign journalists
2017: Friendship Medal conferred by the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba (Consejo de Estado de la República de Cuba), awarded at the proposal of ICAP (article; video)

CURRENT MEMBERSHIP

JOURNALISM AND ORGANIZATIONS

– Journalism

  • Member of the Editorial Board of the International Manifesto Group/New Cold War: geopolitics, multipolarity, BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and Russia–Ukraine–NATO.
  • Articles and TV interviews with CGTN (China); teleSUR and teleSUR TV (Venezuela and Cuba); Press TV (Iran); Friends of Socialist China (USA and UK); several TV and radio platforms of Russia Today (RT) from Washington, D.C., and worldwide; Global Times (China)

– Organizations

  • Black Alliance for Peace Solidarity Network (USA)
  • Central South University Human Rights Center Changsha (China)
  • Secretariat of the Network in Defense of Humanity (Venezuela)
  • Secretariat of the Quebec Chapter of the Network in Defense of Humanity (Canada)

SELECTED INTERVIEWS WITH

SELECTED INTERVIEWS
WITH

ENGLISH, FRENCH, SPANISH

The following is a selection of interviews with Arnold from the hundreds he has participated in over the years, encompassing written interviews as well as radio and TV appearances.

TRAVEL

VENEZUELA

– 2013–2024: Five trips, including as an International Observer for the July 28, 2024, presidential election

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
2016: One-month familiarization trip
2023: Two-week trip to Tibet (Xizang) and Qinghai
CUBA
Summer of 1997: Following a study trip organized by Université de Montréal in collaboration with the University of Havana and Cuban university experts on Cuban democracy and elections, undertook a detailed study of Cuba’s political and electoral system
Ongoing (1991–Present): Dozens of trips to Cuba, with frequent stays of several months, including one period between 1997 and 1998 in Cuba researching his first book
OTHER GLOBAL SOUTH REGIONS AND EUROPE
Fall 1965–Summer 1967: Travelled and worked abroad in South Asia (mainly India), Europe, North Africa and the Middle East in search for alternative ideas and values as opposed to the status quo in Canada, while preparing for the M.A. program in Political Science and thesis on India at McGill, reading extensively on China, India and international relations.

BOOK TOURS

1999–2016: Democracy in Cuba and the 1997–98 Elections

This is the only book authored by a non-Cuban that thoroughly explores Cuba’s electoral process. Based on the author’s 18-month stay on the island, it provides a comprehensive account of the entire process, enriched with dozens of his original photos, making you feel as if you were there!

1999 New York, USA

Brecht Forum, Brooklyn

2000–2005 CANADA

Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver

2008 California, USA

San Francisco State University; the University of California, Santa Barbara; Los Angeles High School, San Pedro; California State University, Los Angeles; the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center, Palo Alto; Interfaith Working Group on the Americas, San Rafael

2016 Troy, New York, USA

James Connolly Forum, Albany (video presentation)

2013–2016: Cuba and Its Neighbours: Democracy in Motion

In examining Cuba’s neighbours, the focus is on Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador. The book provides insightful background on the development of democracy and elections in these countries. For Cuba, the author expands on his groundbreaking 1999 book, offering for the first time in English a critical look at the political system through the eyes of his fellow Cuban revolutionaries. The author delves into Cuban voting trends where no one else dares, revealing statistics from 2013 that predicted the major problems currently facing the political system. This analysis of the Cuban, Venezuelan, Bolivian and Ecuadorian experiences (the latter under Correa) contrasts sharply with that of the U.S. Chapter 2, “Democracy in the U.S.,” is the author’s highlight, as he explores how the core of the U.S. system is sustained by cooptation and racial dynamics. This chapter is also essential for understanding the 2024 U.S. election.

2013 CANADA

Université Laval, Québec City; Círculo Cervantes-Camoens, Québec City; Concordia University, Montreal

2013 East Coast, USA

Lehman College, Bronx, NY; City University of New York, NY; Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY; Eastern Connecticut State University, CT; New Haven Free Public Library, CT; Central Connecticut State University, CT; Consulate General of Venezuela, New York, NY; Left Forum, New York, NY

2013 CUBA

University of Havana in collaboration with the Center for Global Justice (USA) 

2013–2016 UNITED KINGDOM

University of Cambridge, University of Nottingham, University of Sheffield 

2014 Mid-West, USA

Loyola University, Chicago, IL; Purdue University, Westville, IN; Consulate General of Venezuela, Chicago, IL; Purdue University, Calumet, IN; DePaul University, Chicago, IL; University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI; Saint John’s University, Collegeville, MN; University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, MN; Macalester College, St. Paul, MN

2014 PUERTO RICO

Universidad Recinto de Río Piedras, San Juan

2016 New York, USA

Latin American Studies Association (LASA) 

20172018: Cuba–U.S. Relations: Obama and Beyond (conferences also included the theme of growing multipolarity)

To understand the U.S. policy of undermining Cuba through cultural wars, this book is essential. It is the only one in English dedicated to this aspect and accurately predicted the outcome. And the results are far from pretty.

2017 CUBA

English-language bookstore Cuba Libro, Havana 

2017–2018 New York, USA

Alfred University, Alfred; Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs; University at Albany, Albany; The Book House, Albany

2017–2018 CANADA

Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver High School Che Conference, Vancouver Bookstore, University of New Brunswick, Mount Allison University (Sackville, NB), Winnipeg. Watch Arnold deal with multipolarity back in 2018! (video by Paul S. Graham)

2018 UNITED KINGDOM: ENGLAND, SCOTLAND AND WALES

London, Norwich, Brighton, Northampton, Canterbury, Leicester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Manchester, Oxford, Bristol; Edinburgh (Scottish Parliament) and Glasgow in Scotland; Cardiff in Wales

2017–2019: Relaciones Cuba-Estados Unidos: ¿Que Ha Cambiado?

This Spanish-language book is an updated and improved version of the original English-language edition Cuba–U.S. Relations: Obama and Beyond.

2017–2019 CUBA

Talks on relations with the United States and Marxism-Leninism by two Cuba Ministry of Higher Education (MES) universities and the rectors of these two universities, one at the University of Informatics Sciences and three at the Higher School of the Nico López Party

2018 CUBA

In collaboration with the MES and the Cuban Book Institute: Book Saturday, University of Havana (Faculty of Communication), Museum of the Denunciation, Headquarters of the Ministry of Higher Education, Higher School of the Nico López Party, University of Matanzas Camilo Cienfuegos, Higher Institute of International Relations “Raúl Roa,” University of Informatics Sciences

2021–2022: Cuba–U.S. Relations: Obama and Beyond (Farsi Edition)

Farsi translation of Cuba–U.S. Relations: Obama and Beyond, published by Masmoon Books, Tehran, Iran, 2021

2021: Book launch written presentation to “His Excellency Alexis Bandrich Vega, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to the Islamic Republic of Iran,” when it was launched in Tehran

July 26, 2021: Webinars on Cuba “July 11,” International Manifesto Group – Contribution to the organization and panelist on “What’s Happening in Cuba?” 

August 29, 2021: Webinars on Cuba “July 11,” International Manifesto Group – Contribution to the organization and panellist on “Ending U.S. aggression against Cuba is the key to world peace”

February 12, 2022: International Manifesto Group webinar on Cuba-Iran – Contribution to the organization and panellist at the event celebrating the 43rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution with the presentation of the Iranian Farsi edition of the book Cuba–U.S. Relations: Obama and Beyond. Also dealt with multipolarity.

2024: Fidel Castro: La visión de un canadiense

The untold story of Fidel, the man behind the myth, featuring impactful, never-before-published original photos. Includes insights on Pierre Trudeau and China. Forthcoming in English as Fidel Castro and Pierre Trudeau: Lessons Learned from Cuba, Canada and China (working title), Iskra Books, 2025.

2024 CANADA

Montreal

SOME OF ARNOLD’S ACTIVITIES ON VENEZUELA

IN CANADA

2013: School of Political Studies, University of Ottawa; Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Canada, “The Legacy of Hugo Chávez,” Ottawa

2015: Canadian Association for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CALACS), “The Alba Alternative,” Ottawa

2018: Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), “Les politiques de Washington envers Cuba et le Venezuela : une démarche qui chercherait à diviser” [“Washington’s policy toward Cuba and Venezuela: A divisive approach”], Montreal

2019: York University, “The Cuban Revolution at 60 and CALACS at 50: Some Highlights as published in CJLACS since 1976,” Toronto

IN VENEZUELA

June 18, 2021: Virtual – International Forum CARABOBO XXI CENTURY: Challenges of Independence “Supreme Commander Hugo Chávez: ‘Venezuela is the epicenter in the world of the revolutionary and socialist struggle,’” Caracas

June 19, 2021: Virtual – Caracas 2021 International Forum CARABOBO SIGLO XXIB, “Exchange with Maduro: US and Canada hybrid war against Venezuela”

2013, 2014, 2017, 2019, 2024: On-site visits in Caracas

SOME OF ARNOLD’S ACTIVITIES ON THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

– 2016: One-month familiarization trip

– February 27, 2022: Virtual conference on Human Rights Today: Universal and Global? organized by Central South University, Changsha. Title: “Revolutionary democracy in China and Cuba has led to enormous advances in human rights,” published by Friends of Socialist China

– May 2022: “BRICS expansion in the context of increasing multipolarity,” Press TV interview published by Friends of Socialist China

– July 2, 2022: “Press TV’s record countering disinformation against China,” Press TV interview published by Friends of Socialist China

– September 2023: Two-week trip to Tibet (Xizang) and Qinghai

– September 29, 2024: Speaker at all-day assembly “China at 75: Changes Unseen in a Century,” Friends of Socialist China, New York City; Arnold’s presentation on Xizang (Tibet) and the heavily Tibetan-populated Qinghai Province, along with others, will be posted soon.

© 1999-2024 Arnold August. All rights reserved. www.arnoldaugust.com.

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