Aidan Ratchford

Second year PhD at University of Glasgow

United Kingdom

MA with Distinction in American Studies. Winner of 2019 Hispanic Studies Dissertation Prize, University of Kent.

Research interests:

Cuban economic history
Ernesto 'Che' Guevara's political thought
Underdevelopment, imperialism, and dependency

Send me an email: [email protected]

Portfolio
History Workshop
03/14/2023
Radical Objects: Che Guevara's Africa Notebook

In December 1964, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara embarked on a three-month 'Goodwill Tour' of Africa, meeting various heads of state, ministers, and leaders of liberation movements. On behalf of Cuba, he established diplomatic relations, committed support to various countries and movements, visited key industries, and assessed the revolutionary potential in the continent.

New Socialist
Che Guevara's Anti-Imperialist Theory of Class

With an upcoming edition Class, New Socialist will explore an often contested topic within socialist circles. Debates are regularly held on the nature of class, what it is to be working-class, whether the 'Marxist' conception of class as one's relation to production still applies, and how class can be understood in the 21st century, with a globalised economy and increasing automation.

New Socialist
Agroecology and the Survival of Cuban Socialism

As the Cuban revolution enters its 63rd year, the island encounters several important crossroads. The 2019 constitution restructured the political, economic, and environmental strategies of the country, while emphatically reaffirming the objective of progressing to a communist society.1 Environmental protection and a commitment to tackling climate change were added for the first time, and a decentralisation of government aims to enhance popular participation and efficiency.2 Meanwhile, with R...

New Socialist
The Nonsense of 'Nuance': On Recent Events in Cuba

On Sunday 11th July, just 18 days after the world once again called for the end of the illegal US blockade of Cuba, something apparently far more newsworthy occurred on the Caribbean island: between a few hundred and several thousand people took to the streets to voice their dissent at the government.

Marxandphilosophy
05/06/2021
'Washington Bullets: A History of the CIA, Coups, and Assassinations' by Vijay Prashad reviewed...

Washington Bullets offers a quasi-encyclopaedic account of United States (US) imperialism, referencing the countless occasions the class struggle has been fractured. It is a short guide to the long history of one country's quest for 'preponderant power' (25), from 19th century colonialism all the way up to the 2019 coup in Bolivia, and modern, more creative methods of subordination.

Monthly Review
05/07/2021
Monthly Review | "Washington Bullets" = Washington dollars (Marx and Philosophy Review of Books)

Washington Bullets: A History of the CIA, Coups, and Assassinations 162 pages, $17 pbk, ISBN 978-1-58367-906-7 By Vijay Prashad Reviewed by Aidan Ratchford for Marx and Philosophy Review of Books ".... Prashad's guidebook to US imperialism acts as a springboard for readers for their own journey in understanding imperialism and the role of the US in global politics.