The False Lure of National Sovereignty and the Mirage of Liberation w/ Nandita Sharma

Dilemma Podcast

In this conversation with sociologist Nandita Sharma, we dig into the deep contradictions of nationalism, sovereignty, and the postcolonial state. Sharma argues that the nation is not a pathway to liberation but a mechanism of ruling that reproduces inequality, exclusion, and capitalist domination. We explore her personal story of migration, the legacy of anti-colonial struggles, Palestine and Hawaii today, the meaning of indigeneity, and her call for a planetary commons beyond rulers, borders, and citizenship. This is a provocative, challenging, and visionary dialogue about what true freedom might mean in our time and what the counterfeit version of it might be.BECOME A MEMBER - MONTHLY MEMBERS ONLY LIVESTREAM https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5NIku35U9thGG9WBJjE0sw/join00:00 Coming Up…01:13 Become a Member02:30 Nandita Sharma - Before Thoughts07:46 The Elephant in the Room: Nationalism and a Personal Story12:23 Core Thesis of Home Rule16:17 Colonialism vs. National Sovereignty22:55 Nationalism Defined30:50 Are you Erasing Indigenousness?40:45 Palestine and the Trap of Nationhood52:12 History Didn’t Have to Be This Way58:14 The Vision of a Planetary Commons01:06:35 The Gen Z Protests and What Can We Do Now?01:15:03 No Borders and Migrant Struggles01:18:26 Palestinians Deserve Better Than a Nation State01:20:49 After Thought on “Decolonizing Our Conceptions of Freedom”01:23:56 Members Get the Spillover01:24:25 Next Guest PrepFor more from Jay visit whatjaythinks.com