The Young and the Westless

Book Excerpt from Westlessness: The Great Global Rebalancing
https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/08/25/brics-global-south-gaza-icj-multipolarity-westlessness/
"We are fast passing the peak era of global Western power and influence.
The “collapse of the West” is too sensationalist. But there is a
transition underway from an era of unbridled Western global influence to
one of contested Western influence.
This need not spell the West’s doom. Nevertheless, there will be
changes. Even the greatest skeptics of China’s continuing economic
ascent, or of Russia’s long-term prospects as an imperial state, or of
the viability of the BRICS+ project, have to concede one thing. For the
Western countries to perpetuate their global leadership roles in the
coming decades, they must adapt to changing realities. In demographics,
share of global wealth, cultural prestige, and other critically
important indicators of civilizational power, a grand transition is
underway. Although we cannot yet predict precisely where it is headed,
some observations are already becoming clearer.
The tactics that once worked for the Western countries in perpetuating
their influence, such as relying on the combined economic help of the
G-7 countries to decisively influence world affairs, or assuming that
the Western countries and their allies represent the peak of modernity
for others to aspire toward, are simply not going to suffice under
changed circumstances.
The world is facing real epochal change as more centers of meaningful
power and influence multiply outside of the West’s reach. This includes
rivals such as Russia and China, but also ostensible Western partners
like India, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, which cannot be assumed as
remaining in thrall to Western power. For the West, it will not be
enough merely to endure these changes; it needs to actively maneuver to
preserve its global influence.
..
More generally, several Western governments have endured global
criticism for supporting Israel during its war in Gaza, following the
Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas. This criticism sometimes used the language of
“resisting settler colonialism” to criticize Israel and those backing it
in the United States and other Western states.
Those wishing to silence such criticism should be warned. The diversity
of voices shaping world affairs is only going to heighten in the future.
When South Africa brought a case against Israel’s conduct of this war to
the International Court of Justice in the Hague, attracting support from
numerous other states, we were glimpsing into the future of world
affairs.
..
There are events, and then there are trends in world affairs. Too many
observers fixate on the former; taking time to appreciate the latter is
becoming increasingly vital."