Two years since the White House changed hands, how has the American empire altered? Very little, argues Tariq Ali, apart from the mood music. Ali will be at the Frontline Club in conversation with Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, Marwan Bishara, to discuss his new book The Obama Syndrome: Surrender at Home, War Abroad in which he slices through Obama-mania, demystifying the narrative arc of redemption.

Contrary to what the world hoped Obama symbolised; redemption of a racist history, the overcoming of adversity, and the hope of a better, fairer future. Ali argues the wind that drove Obama into the White House was really the immaculate symbiosis of big money and big politics.

In this dissection of Obama’s overseas escalation and domestic retreat, renowned author, filmmaker and international commentator Tariq Ali asks how the American empire has changed since Obama took control, with military activity in the Middle East more prevalent than during the Bush Era. The hopes aroused during Obama’s election campaign have rapidly receded: Obama’s failures are paving the way for a Republican surge, while his own supporters become increasingly despondent.

Tariq Ali, the writer, filmmaker and political activist, will be in conversation with journalist Charles Glass at the Frontline Club in London tonight. Ali’s latest book, The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power, weighs the prospects of those contending for power in the aftermath of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, and demonstrates Pakistan’s unique influence on the emergence of a secure world or global conflagration. As usual we will be broadcasting the discussion on the Frontline Club Live Channel. We begin at 7pm GMT / 11am PST Tues 13 January. Hope you can make it online, if you can’t make it to the club in person.