Why Trump’s Return May Not Change Much for the Middle East

I want a Marxist lens to intervene today: The exploitation and destruction of Palestine and the Middle East by past and present imperial powers remains largely unaffected by who holds the Oval Office.

A piece from Palestinian artist Hazem Harb’s Borders Are Only in Our Minds series. Src: Tabari Art Space.

I know some of us are in shock. Trump is back, and yes, it will be bad—for Europe, for China, for global trade, for NATO—and most certainly for the Middle East. But for those entrenched in the region, perhaps little will truly shift. For Palestinians, Lebanese, Iraqis —and even, to an extent, Israelis and Iranians—things may not become drastically better or worse. Why? Because the exploitation and interference by past and present imperial powers in the Middle East is deeply systemic, operating independently of whoever sits in the Oval Office.

Now, I don’t like to lean too heavily on Marxist frameworks. They often miss the agency of both leaders and social movements and can obscure the unique cultural, historical, and political contexts in play. And yes, they carry a certain determinism, which, if I’m honest, can feel like a weight—a kind of fatalism that dampens activism rather than…