The post-Western era, considered by some to overlap with the post-American era,[1][2][3] is a conjectured time period starting around the 21st century or afterward in which the West is no longer dominant, and other civilizations (particularly Asian ones)[4] gain power.[5][6] In the context of rising Asian powers (sometimes as part of a broader Global East)[7] or a rising Global South, the terms Easternization and Southernization respectively are sometimes applied (analogous to Westernization).[8][9][10][11][12]
Proponents often argue in favor of a post-Western era by pointing out Western abuses of power during the colonial and post-colonial eras,[13][14] while opponents argue that Western values and civilization are pivotal to human progress and an orderly world, and that a post-Western world might not honor them to the same extent as the West has.[15][16] However, in the Western World itself, there is an identity crisis as the result of perceived impacts of Woke culture and moral decline and the rising immigrant population in the Western World because of instability in their homelands and the impact of the War on terror and also be attracted with opportunity to earn high income when working in the Western Nations.[17][18][19][dubious – discuss]
Background
editEarly Western era
editHistory
editLate Western era
editWestern countries initially believed that a post-Western era could be averted or be achieved with most countries following Western values by creating global prosperity and cooperation through a common market system and economic globalization across the world, but later found that various non-Western nations did not want to fully Westernize or adopt Western values while benefitting from such systems.[20]
Early post-Western era
editThe Russo-Ukrainian War was noted to have demonstrated the emergence of some features of a post-Western world order during its major escalation in the 2020s, as the West was unable to rally Global South nations to support Ukraine despite Western solidarity, in what was seen as various countries prioritizing their own interests and a blow to the rules-based world order.[21][22][23][24] The COVID-19 pandemic and the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in the early 2020s have also been identified as possible starting points for a post-American era.[25] The Israel–Hamas war that started in 2023 created further doubts about the West maintaining leadership of the world order, as Southern countries alleged a double standard by the West resulting in the genocide of Gazans.[26][27][28]
Transition to the post-Western era
editThe West
editIn some sense, Europe itself has been argued to be increasingly post-Western, as it has successfully integrated a previously fractious and conflict-ridden group of countries into the European Union and into institutions that command respect for certain values such as democracy. With the acceptance in the rest of the world of Western systems, Europe has become increasingly open to mixing with and acknowledging its influences from other civilizations.[29][30][31][32]
The West has a significantly aging population, with the cost of care associated with the elderly along with decreasing standards of living for those on a median income and other negative economic factors creating the possibility of a decline in Western military and economic power.[33] Opposition by some in the West to various forms of globalization, which are perceived to have spurred on economic inequality and primarily be for the benefit of a global elite, has also created a decline in desire within the West to fully engage with the rules-based order.[34]
Some debate has emerged within the West around how it should manage its relations with other parts of the world to best transition into a post-Western era, with some calling for the West to maintain internal solidarity around its values,[35] while others call for the West to less stringently uphold its values in its foreign relations so as to better integrate with and potentially influence the increasingly influential non-Western nations.[36]
The non-West
editVarious factors are said to indicate the decline of Western power and potentially Western values around the world. Asia's youth population has grown significantly relative to the West, with countries such as China acquiring more technological capabilities that can influence the world and potentially be used to reduce individuals' abilities to express their individual rights and/or share power with other individuals in a democratic form of government (see Techno-nationalism).[39]
South–South cooperation has become more discussed, with the developing world trading more within itself than with OECD countries since 2013.[40] By 2050, one projection shows that the world's economic center of gravity may lie between India and China.[41]
Authoritarian non-Western nations have increasingly sought to reshape global institutions to reduce human rights enforcement upon themselves.[33]
India has come to exemplify a kind of neutral, self-interested model among non-Western countries during the Russo-Ukrainian War, demonstrating a desire to move towards a multipolar world where it can work with multiple partners. It has also shown a decreasing interest in full democracy and pluralism, as seen in the rise of Hindu nationalism and increasing attacks upon political opponents of the Indian government.[42]
Civilizational exceptionalism has increasingly been used as a rationale by non-Western countries to carve out space for themselves on the world stage and to justify domestic authoritarianism.[43]
Impact on global issues
editClimate change
editSome post-Western advocates believe that non-Western countries can do a better job than the West in terms of addressing climate change, referencing climate change's origins in various actions taken by the West.[44] Western voices have debated how to address climate change in an era where the West is less likely to lead or be able to create cooperation with non-Western countries.[45]
Christianity
editChristianity's decline in the West has been argued by some to be contributing to what they see as the West's declining ability to enforce its values both within itself and in the wider world.[46][47]
Christianity's strong historical identification with the West has also become increasingly relevant, as Christians seek to modify their promotion of the religion in a way which can better reach non-Western peoples, and as the religion increasingly grows in the Global South in a form that comes in some conflict with Western-style Christianity.[48][49][50] Over time, more Western Christians have come to the conclusion that the spread of Christianity need not be strongly paired with Western culture or values to be successful or beneficial.[51] There has also been some debate around how Western Christians should engage with or protect non-Western Christians, particularly in the context of religious repression of non-Western Christians.[52]
Migration
editPostcolonial migration to Western countries has been described as "super-diverse", raising questions around how the migrants can be assimilated and what it means for the world order.[53] Internal migration has also become a notable topic in countries such as China.[54]
Sport
editThough many modern sports came from the West and originally dispersed through the world via colonialism, there is now an increasing tendency of former colonies to dominate these sports' organizational apparatuses.[56] For example, India has been noted for becoming the dominant power in world cricket, a sport which it had been introduced to during British rule,[8] through its ability to use its large population and market to earn vast revenues through the Indian Premier League and the commercial appeal of the T20 format (see also: Cricket in South Asia).[57][58] It now generates over 80% of international revenue for the sport.[59]
See also
editReferences
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- ^ Brummer, Chris (2014-04-07). Minilateralism: How Trade Alliances, Soft Law and Financial Engineering are Redefining Economic Statecraft. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-05314-4.
- ^ Stuenkel, Oliver. "The Post-Western World and the Rise of a Parallel Order". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
- ^ Serfaty, Simon (2012). A World Recast: An American Moment in a Post-Western Order. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4422-1589-4.[page needed]
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- ^ Tian, Qingyan (2022), Dhiman, Satinder; Marques, Joan; Schmieder-Ramirez, June; Malakyan, Petros G. (eds.), "Strengthening Global Leadership Studies", Handbook of Global Leadership and Followership: Integrating the Best Leadership Theory and Practice, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 1–25, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-75831-8_56-1, ISBN 978-3-030-75831-8, retrieved 2024-01-06
- ^ a b Ritzer, George (2010). Globalization: A Basic Text. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-4051-3271-8.
- ^ Campbell, Kurt (2016-08-12). "'Easternisation: War and Peace in the Asian Century', by Gideon Rachman". Financial Times. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
- ^ Mahler, Anne Garland. ""Global South." Oxford Bibliographies in Literary and Critical Theory, ed Eugene O'Brien. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017".
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- ^ Phillips, Andrew; Sharman, J. C. (2015-04-23). International Order in Diversity: War, Trade and Rule in the Indian Ocean. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-316-29997-5.
- ^ "The Emerging World Order is Post-Western and Pre-Plural". Institut Montaigne. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
- ^ Marshall, Yannick Giovanni. "The future is post-Western". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
- ^ Aybet, Gülnur (2017-04-29). "Making the most of a post-Western world". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
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- ^ Steven Tucker (18 July 2024). "A conspiracy of kindness? How woke won over the Western world – largely by accident". MercatorNet. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
- ^ Susan Neiman (27 June 2023). "The Fatal Tension at the Heart of Wokeism". Time. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
- ^ Tom Switzer (30 December 2023). "Instead of facing up to moral decline, the West is lowering its standards". The Centre for Independent Studies. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
- ^ "With the end of four centuries of Western dominance, what will the world order be in the 21st century?". Brookings. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
- ^ Henley, Jon; correspondent, Jon Henley Europe (2023-02-22). "War in Ukraine defining new world order, says thinktank". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
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- ^ Leonard, Timothy Garton Ash, Ivan Krastev, Mark (2023-02-22). "United West, divided from the rest: Global public opinion one year into Russia's war on Ukraine". ECFR. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Bradley, Sorcha; published, The Week UK (2023-02-22). "Ukraine and a post-Western world: are we entering a new era in global politics?". theweek. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ Le Monde (23 August 2021). "The Taliban's Return to Power Is a Scathing Illustration of the Post-American World that Is Taking Shape". German Marshall Fund of the United States. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ "The West Never Had a Chance at Winning Over the World". Bloomberg.com. 2023-11-16. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
- ^ "Opinion: Gaza and 'the graveyard for children': the moral decline of Western politics". South China Morning Post. 2023-11-10. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
- ^ Shapiro, Julien Barnes-Dacey, Jeremy (2023-11-27). "The West Should Give Up the Battle of Narratives". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Therborn, Göran (2006), "Post-Western Europe and the plural Asias", Europe and Asia beyond East and West, Routledge, doi:10.4324/9780203963104-4/post-western-europe-plural-asias-göran-therborn (inactive 1 November 2024), ISBN 978-0-203-96310-4, retrieved 2023-11-24
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- ^ Delanty, Gerard (2006), "Introduction: The idea of a post-Western Europe", Europe and Asia beyond East and West, Routledge, doi:10.4324/9780203963104-1/introduction-gerard-delanty (inactive 1 November 2024), ISBN 978-0-203-96310-4, retrieved 2023-11-24
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- ^ a b Burrows, Mathew (2016). "The Difficult Transition to a Post-Western Order". Global Risks 2035: The Search for a New Normal. Atlantic Council. pp. 55–66. ISBN 978-1-61977-466-7. JSTOR resrep03678.13.
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Further reading
edit- The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria