M. Reza Behnam CounterPunch
As a citizen and scholar, whose research, advocacy and moral framework have been dedicated to seeking justice and peace for the people of Palestine, Iran, Yemen and across West Asia, I find little cause for celebration in the recent Democratic Party midterm victories.
Political reveling makes sense if you trust the winning party offers a significant departure from the horrors of the status quo.
Applauding the Democratic Party means ignoring the ashes of Gaza, the massacre at Minab in southern Iran, and the violent legacy of 80 years of bipartisan U.S. foreign policy in the region.
When analyzing the unified bipartisan consensus that has governed U.S. policy in West Asia for decades, the apparent divide is exposed as mere illusion. For those committed to international law, human rights and decolonization, a Democratic victory does not guarantee political reformation. It is more likely to represent adaptation—a cosmetic shift in the stewardship of American empire.
Historical evidence demands a rejection of the conventional false binary political narrative that has framed U.S. elections: the dichotomy between a unilateralist, militaristic Republican Party in opposition to a diplomacy oriented, human rights focused Democratic Party. With regard to West Asia, both parties operate within a doctrine of institutional hegemony, military interventionism and colonial dominance.
While Republicans pursue aggression through overt unilateralism and unfiltered bellicose rhetoric, Democrats have executed similar policies behind a veneer of rules-based internationalism and institutional diplomacy. The end result remains the same for the people in Gaza, Tehran, Beirut or San’a— structural violence, economic strangulation and military destruction.
The catastrophic legacy overshadowing Democratic leadership, past and present, makes it difficult for me to foresee, in the party’s electoral success, any departure from a foreign policy dictated by entrenched institutional systems.
The Biden-Harris administration did not simply miscalculate diplomacy; it actively embraced and underwrote what international legal bodies, human rights organizations and scholars worldwide have characterized as genocide in Gaza.
Most Democrats in Congress fast-tracked the shipment of munitions to Israel to carry out its devastating war on Gaza, rather than opposing it.
It is important to remember that it was Democratic leaders and representatives who stayed silent when:
+ President Joe Biden signed off on billions of dollars in unconditional military aid, transferring heavy weapons, artillery shells and precision-guided bombs to the Israeli regime that killed countless Palestinians and decimated civilian infrastructure across the Gaza Strip.
+ Democratic leaders repeatedly deployed the veto at the UN Security Council, neutralizing international legal mechanisms designed to enforce ceasefires and hold war criminals accountable.
+ The administration and party establishment sought to vilify and suppress student activists, scholars and dissenting citizens who demanded an end to American complicity in the destruction of Palestinian life.
A party that has, without conditions, armed, funded and morally shielded and enabled conduct that violates the baseline of human dignity cannot legitimately claim the mantle of progressivism, peace and democracy.
This critique is not limited to Palestine; it encompasses the wider region, particularly concerning U.S. policy toward Iran. The conventional narrative that the Democrats represent a reasoned diplomatic alternative to Republican hawkish saber-rattling is contradicted by historical record:
+ Sanctions as collective punishment: Democratic administrations have consistently maintained and expanded comprehensive economic sanction regimes against Iran. These policies have devastated the Iranian middle class, restricted access to life-saving medicines and crippled civic infrastructure.
+ Entrenched militarism: Rather than dismantling the structure of confrontation, Democratic leadership has fortified heavily armed military bases surrounding Iran, reinforcing a regional security framework that has prioritized the sale of weapons over real security cooperation.
+ Complicity in regional escalation: The Democrats’ policy of granting unchecked latitude to Israel and its regional Arab allies, ultimately laid the groundwork for Tel Aviv’s unprovoked war on Iran and escalating instability throughout the area.
The civic obligation of scholarship, rooted in peace and justice, is to accurately identify oppressive systems and structures, independent of the ruling political party.
True political renewal cannot be found in an election that merely offers a reshuffling of the empire’s stewards. Simply changing the political party in power is meaningless without confronting and dismantling the systemic framework and forces behind U.S. foreign policy, which directly exacerbate domestic inequality. Justice cannot be built on electoral wins that leave the destructive apparatus of the military-industrial-security framework undisturbed.
Blue Wave victors campaigned on a promise to break from the past; to fashion a bold new era of accountability, structural reform and progressive ideals. Yet, beyond the speeches and good intentions, they must contend with an embedded military, security and economic establishment built specifically to resist change, neutralize political challenges and assimilate reformists into its power structure.
The new “wave” of Democrats have received a mandate from the voters to drown out the party’s old guard managers of empire and to move away from its traditional foreign policy of global hegemony, endless wars and support for dictatorial regimes. The electorate has instead authorized them to honor international laws and treaties, while developing a new diplomatic path in West Asia.
When the Democratic Party ends its complicity with Israel in the brutal colonization and subjugation of Palestinians, terminates its 48-year aggressive stance toward Iran and adopts a policy that respects the sovereignty and humanity of all people across West Asia, I will rejoice. Until then, I continue to worry that the “blue wave” will simply fade into the hidebound bloody “red” one.
As the euphoric dust settles over the midterms, a central question remains. Are we witnessing a true victory for democratic renewal or simply the seamless rebranding of an empire under new management? Time will tell.
Dr. M. Reza Behnam is a political scientist who specializes in comparative politics with a focus on West Asia.