The Once and Future World Order

A powerful reminder that not all world orders in history have been Western. This timely book argues that a dominant West is not a necessary condition for a rules-based international framework – Odd Arne Westad, coauthor of THE GREAT TRANSFORMATION This book should serve as a model for many other academic disciplines that were founded on similarly colonialist assumptions – Amitav Ghosh, author of SMOKE AND ASHES A refreshingly original take on a potential post-West world order – Shashi Tharoor, author of INGLORIOUS EMPIRE To get a glimpse of the real future that humanity is heading towards, read this book carefully. It will dazzle and excite you and give you great hope for the future – Kishore Mahbubani, author of LIVING THE ASIAN CENTURY A rich tapestry of a book bridging ancient civilizations and modern debates. An essential guide to the post-Western world. – Parag Khanna, author of CONNECTOGRAPHY A deeply informed vision of how nations will draw on their pasts to relate to one another in the future – Rana Mitter, author of FORGOTTEN ALLY This is the book everyone must read not only to make sense of our past but also the twenty-first century – Ayşe Zarakol, author of BEFORE THE WEST A timely corrective to the blinkered arrogance about the role of the Rest which continues to infect so much Western policy analysis and history-writing. A compelling read – Gareth Evans, former Australian foreign minister and president of the International Crisis Group

Amitava Acharya is an award-winning author and distinguished professor of international affairs at American University. He has written for the Washington Post, Financial Times, and Foreign Affairs, among many other media outlets, and he has appeared on CNN, NPR, the BBC, and Al Jazeera. He was born in India and has lived and worked in Singapore, Canada, UK, China and the United States.