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He also quotes issues such as the West's continued control of the UN Security Council, the IMF and several other International organisations despite the fact that Western governments no longer are the most important contributors to them or represent as much proportional economic power Internationally as they did fifty years ago. His message is that the influence and power of the West is in an irreversible decline due to its own failure to adhere to basic concepts of Western civilisation, in particular the concepts of fairness and even-handedness and the importance of law and order. Thought provoking in a way that reminds you of Arnold Toynbee's "The World and The West", Mahbubani's book considers numerous 20th century and recent geo-political and Internatioanal political events and issues from a non-Western perspective. But the value of his message is weakened by his almost palpable and intense dislike of modern American politics and recent government administrations, particularly post President Clinton (the book was written before President Obama came to power) and, to a lesser extent, of modern European politics. For instance he mentions examples of how the West preaches non-violence, the importance of the freedom of the individual, and respect for law and order, and Internationally, respect for the United Nations' forum for solving International problems. He rightly compares that with government sanctioned torture of prisoners by the West, how the US has tended to ignore and has even scorned the United Nations when they were unable to persuade the majority of members to act in accordance with their wishes (the war on Iraq is an obvious example), and it's continued one-eyed support for Israel in the Middle East. To support his views, his quotations and discussion of policy issues tend at times to be quite obviously one-sidedly anti-Western, and his views of the politics of India, and particularly of China, appear almost naive at times. His book is nevertheless well worth reading because his views undoubtedly reflect the views of most non-Western governments.
Mahububani substains that the global process don't depend only by American policy. This process is more complex because it is determined also by China and India.Islamic world don't be homogeneous. Pakistan is a traditional State, Singapore has a modern economy, India has many chances in the future.Those countries must learn the West traditions, but also the West must understand the islamic activity when they are democratic.Muhabubani explcates thousand particulars to increase our attention for those phenomena.Will be a great power first China or India. This fact don't be so interesting as to understanding the cultural differences between these countries.
Mahbubani posits that Western countries attempt to export democracy through a system of international institutions that allow the Western minority to dominate the global majority. A professor of public policy at the National University of Singapore, Mahbubani is one of Asia's most prominent intellectuals. Kishore Mahbubani's examination of the rise of Asia and its implications for the world is most notable precisely because it is an Asian examination. For Westerners, such viewpoints may be acutely uncomfortable, but understanding them is indispensable for those who wish to make sense of the emerging world order. His debunking of ideas that he diagnoses as Western myths and assumptions is trenchant and thought provoking. The book is at times controversial, circular and often repetitive, but always interesting. This book offers a pertinent, important perspective on changing geopolitics. getAbstract recommends it to anyone seeking an insider's informed analysis of Asia's global role.
Hypocracy dominates here. Although some parts of the book is not comfortable with me, this book is generally insightul and fun to read. It is no longer new that China and India has been rising regardless of the US and EU's economic conditions as evidenced by their steady growth during global financial crisis. Moreover, I agree with the author's view of western incomepentence in managing international order, specifically on foreign aid. I expect that once the new voice comes in the governance of the int'l organizations, the thinking and behaviour inside those organizations will start to change: from rhetoric to results. According to IMF's World Economic Outlook in April 2009, China and India would grow by 6.5% and 4.5%, respectively in 2009 when the US and the Euro Area suffers from the negative growth.
Why. I gave four star because there are some lacking in details for many European & Asian countries, hard evidence, sometimes biaded Singaporean view and only focusing on American readers. They announced many committments on global issues, which have not fulfilled and even the multilateral institutions like World Bank did not look really caring about the poor. It is remarkable since it proved its strength against so-called coupling view of their dependence on the US and Western Europe. Considering their proportion of 16.2% in 2008 over World economy, which is larger than combined portion of four Euro area countries (Germany, France, Italy, Spain), I think it is obvious that they should have more voice in international organizations like UNSC, IMF & IBRD, etc while shrinking Europe in terms of economic size should recede as recent G20 summit suggested. The governance matters.
I find this somewhat surprising for such an author and such a book. In the second half of the book, there are a few instances where it seems that the author falls in the same trap of stereotyping, he criticises the "West" for.
I found this analysis most impressive; a true eye-opener. The book starts with a detailed analysis of the (possible) courses of action for the "West" in its future relations with Asia.
Based on the fact that the book is mainly intended for a "Western" audience, the author could have spent more attention on some of the criticism that can be heard in the "West" against China. The author does an excellent job in explaining the background to the often opposite views of the "West" and Asia on the international level, highlighting the often too important role of short-term political opportunism in "Western" decision-making.
The author is a strong supporter of China. One example: an unfortunate diplomatic incident is used to support the conclusion that "all Europeans view Asian culture with disdain.".
Still, I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in "globalisation" and wants to go beyond Thomas Friedman.
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