The New Asian Hemisphere: The Irresistible Shift of Global Power to the East

383 Pages·2008·1.76 MB·English

by  Kishore Mahbubani

Table of Contents

Praise
Title Page
Dedication
Acknowledgements
PREFACE TO THE PAPERBACK EDITION
Introduction

Chapter 1 - THE THREE SCENARIOS
THE MARCH TO MODERNITY
THE RETREAT INTO FORTRESSES
THE TRIUMPH OF THE WEST

Chapter 2 - WHY ASIA IS RISING NOW
FREE-MARKET ECONOMICS
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
MERITOCRACY
PRAGMATISM
CULTURE OF PEACE
RULE OF LAW
EDUCATION

Chapter 3 - WHY IS THE WEST NOT CELEBRATING?
WHAT IS “THE WEST”?
THE POST-1945 WORLD ORDER
WESTERN DOMINANCE OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
WESTERN DOMINANCE OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
THE ROLE OF WESTERN UNIVERSITIES
WESTERN LEGITIMACY AND THE G - 7

Chapter 4 - DE-WESTERNIZATION: THE RETURN OF HISTORY
CHINA
THE ISLAMIC WORLD
INDIA

Chapter 5 - WESTERN INCOMPETENCE, ASIAN COMPETENCE?
THE WEST AND THE MIDDLE EAST
THE WEST ON FREE TRADE AND GLOBAL WARMING
THE WEST AND THE NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY
THE WEST AND IRAN
LEARNING FROM ASIAN COMPETENCE

Chapter 6 - PREREQUISITES FOR GLOBAL LEADERSHIP: PRINCIPLES,
PARTNERSHIPS, AND PRAGMATISM
NEW PRINCIPLES OF THE GLOBAL ORDER
RULE OF LAW
SOCIAL JUSTICE
PARTNERSHIPS AND PRAGMATISM
PRAGMATISM

NOTES
INDEX
Copyright Page
PRAISE FOR THE NEW ASIAN HEMISPHERE

“Mahbubani provides a compelling case for a Western strategy of power sharing
with Asia.”

—Foreign Affairs

“There are lessons to be learned from The New Asian Hemisphere. . . . Aspiring
presidential nominees and congressmen should take note.”

—Wall Street Journal

“Kishore Mahbubani is a historian of ideas whose starting point is the present
and whose horizon is a visible, startling future. This remarkable book is a fact-
based projection of Asia’s rising trajectory. The West has been synonymous with
modernity for perhaps the last three centuries. Asia is the New Modern. Vision
and clarity make this book a sparkling history of the Age of Asia.”

—M. J. AKBAR, editor-in-chief, Asian Age, and author of The Shade of Swords

“The Western, particularly the American, response to the rise of Asia has been
petulant, degenerating into protectionism and panic. Japan-bashing of the 1980s
was succeeded by India-bashing over outsourcing in the 1990s and now we have
China-bashing in the 2000s. Mahbubani, one of the most perceptive and
influential Asian intellectuals today, shows the folly of these reactions and the
wisdom of applauding and working with the reality of Asia’s remarkable
success. His splendid book must be read by every Western policymaker; it is a
tour de force.”

—JAGDISH BHAGWATI, University Professor, Economics and Law, Columbia
University and author of In Defense of Globalization (Oxford)

“Kishore Mahbubani understands better than most that the relationship between
East and West, established after 1945, is no longer sustainable. This book
cogently and even thrillingly explains why global power politics is at a crucial
moment of change, where the East and most especially the West must decide if
power can be shared more equally or will be disputed more destructively.”

—SHEKHAR KAPUR, director of the Academy Award-winning film Elizabeth

“Once again, Kishore Mahbubani proves himself a global thought-leader. In The
New Asian Hemisphere, he combines a prodigious knowledge of history, a flair
for lucid, often witty analysis and advocacy, and the pragmatism of an
experienced diplomat. The result is a set of prescriptions that leaders and citizens
of the world in both hemispheres would do well to heed.”

—STROBE TALBOTT, president of the Brookings Institution and author of The
Great Experiment

“Kishore Mahbubani, experienced diplomat, deeply immersed in the West and in
Asia, is arguably the most articulate Asian voice bluntly telling the West how
informed Asians see it. The tide is shifting and while Mahbubani’s message will
not be easy to take, Western leaders will ignore it at their peril.”

—EZRA F. VOGEL, research professor, Harvard University
“Kishore Mahbubani has a global mind with a unique Singapore perspective and
this comes out clearly in this forcefully argued book. He grew up in a Hindu
family, among Muslim and Chinese friends and was shaped by British colonial
education, the key ingredients of a proto-Singaporean. By studying Western
philosophy and through working as a diplomat for a pragmatic city-state that has
survived both hot and cold wars, he also caught the one-world spirit identified
with the United Nations ideal. Thus has emerged the worldly Singaporean
determined to dissect how a resurgent China, India and Islam might force the old
West to change. He also challenges a new Asia to respond if and when this
change in the West happens.”

—WANG GUNGWU, chairman, East Asian Institute

“His view is that he, and Asia, sees the world differently than the U.S. does. In
many respects he is right.”

—JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ, Nobel Laureate and author of Globalization and its
Discontents

TO KISHORE, SHELAGH, AND JHAMAT
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It was an act of sheer folly to agree to write a book while trying at the same time
to build a new school of public policy. The only way to get it done was to burn
months of weekends with writing. My family paid the price. This is one reason
why I am dedicating this book to my three children.

But there is another, more important reason. I believe that they can live in a
better world than my generation (which has had a good run for six decades).
This will only happen if we take advantage of the remarkably plastic moment in
world history we are experiencing now. If the right decisions are made today, my
children’s generation will be better off. The purpose of this book is to influence
such decisions.

Since I have to work full-time, I relied on research assistants. One in
particular, Kaajal Wallia, helped a great deal. Each Monday morning I would
return to the office with a handwritten monograph. She would decipher the
notes, fill in the blanks, and, quite remarkably, find the right statistics and
anecdotes to bolster many of the points I made. She did brilliant work. This book
owes a lot to her.

Kaajal left before the book was completed. To get the book to the finishing
line, I obtained the help of Asya Anderson, Vrutika Mody, Denni Jayme, and
Gillian Goh. Denni, Gillian, and my colleague, T. S. Gopi Rethinaraj, also
helped a great deal with the substantive research. Carol Chan and Wong Wee
Cheng helped a great deal with the production work. An enormous amount of
work goes into producing a credible manuscript. It would have been impossible
without their help. I want to thank my editor, Clive Priddle, for once again
shaping the manuscript so beautifully. This book has benefited from his touch. In
addition, my thanks go to Annie Lenth and Beth Wright for editing this book so
well.