The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria - Book Report/Review Example

?Introduction The Post-American World, written by Fareed Zakaria, was published in 2008 and argues that due to the support of US for liberal democracy, other countries of the world have been able to compete with US. He argues that though US may continue to dominate the political as well as military landscape of the world, other countries such as China and India are emerging as global players in the world. By presenting a historical outlook of how power centers have shifted during the past 500 years, he argued that initially it was the West which started to dominate, and in post-World War II scenario, US emerged as the dominating power in the world. Zakaria, however, also argues that other countries have now been able to emerge as alternative power centers due to the constant support and activities of US for implementing liberal democracy. What is called as the rise of the rest, Zakaria also argues about how the world will look like in the 21st century and how the overall power will shift in favor of other relatively soft power centers. He argues that in the post-American world, though US will continue to dominate the international political and military landscape, its relative power will continue to decline. The emergence of other powers due to certain other factors will play an important role in redefining the overall power structure in the post-American world. This paper will essentially discuss what Zakaria means by the rise of the rest and what the world will look in coming decades of the 21st century. Post-American World Post-American World is a book written in 2008 by Indian American on the rise of other powers in the world. This book primarily deals with how power has shifted from one power center to another over the period of time and how different actors during those eras emerged. This book is about the rise of the rest as the author puts in by arguing that after two power shifts in favor of the West and US, third power shift is taking place away from these centers as countries such as China and India are emerging on the world scene. In this book, besides providing history of the non-American world and how it has been able to seriously challenge the economic prosperity of America, Zakaria has further discussed issues such as modernization and the rise of nationalism. By citing over 500 years of non-Western history, Zakaria has been able to show how other countries have actually progressed during this period and its foundations and development differences between the West and the rest of the world. In this book, Zakaria has actually focused upon two countries, i.e. China and India, and presented their social, economic and political rise and how they can take advantage of their size and market strength to seriously challenge America in the 21st century. He argues that the largest challenge these countries can pose to US is economic and not the political one as may have been perceived during the recent past. By presenting statistics and other historical material, he argued that many countries are showing higher economic progress and are also witnessing reduction in poverty. He argues that the wealth accumulation and innovation are rapidly taking place, which are unexpected for US and can, therefore, create a shift in power away from US and in favor of other countries. In Chapter 1 of the book, he suggests that: “We are now living through the third great power shift of the modern era. It could be called “the rise of the rest”. Over the past few decades, countries all over the world have been experiencing rates of economic growth that were once unthinkable” (Zakaria 2). The above argument, therefore, indicates that the economic power of the rest of the world is on the rise as most countries have been showing economic growth rates of over 4% during the recent decades. Though he argues that Asia has been leading in economic progress, this economic growth is not confined to Asia as other countries are making progress too. He argues that the world’s largest factories, buildings and movie industry are outside US and the sheer size of the rest of the world can actually challenge economic power of US. He also argues about the rise of non-state actors as signfiiant economic power holders and suggests the mushrooming of such empowered groups. He suggests that the hierarchy, centeralization and controls have been decenterlized and now are in the hands of non-state actors. He also suggests about the movement of capital from one place to another in terms of finding optimal locations and in that process, they also seem to favor other governments while at the same time punishing others. Zakaria also suggests that though the world population living on 1$ per day is still large in countries such as China and India, this figure will drastically come down in the near future. He believes that the benefits of economic prosperity will spread to other social classes within these countries and as such, can create more prosperity for others. He seems to be suggesting that wealth distribution in these countries will eventually drive down the differences between the rich and poor in these countries. Though he seems to agree that America may continue to dominate through its military, its economic malaise can weaken this power and allow other countries to become more powerful and challenge at least the economic supremacy of America in the 21st century. What is also important to understand is that Zakaria has presented his arguments implying that modernization may not be necessary in order to achieve the same level of economic progress which has been witnessed by the West. The argument that the Western values, political system and market orientation needed for the West like progress may not be necessary. Underlying this argument, he states that the industrial revolution in the West was not technically delivered by democracy. Modernization in the West may not be particularly linked only with its cultural evolution but also to other factors. The term “modernization” does not necessarily mean the adaptation of the values and cultural norms which are more aligned with the West. It is critical to understand that modernization may not necessarily mean the adaptation of policies which explicitly favor other societies or take the influence of Western values and political structure. It is also not necessary that the ways and thinking of people living in non-Western countries necessarily change towards more Westernized thinking in order to become modern or achieve modernization. He, therefore, does not seem to subscribe to the ideas of modernization and indicates that “there was coercion behind the spread of Western ideas” (Zakaria 70). His arguments, therefore, tend to indicate that spread of Western values and Westernization was a forced process and does not necessarily align with the modernization. Zakaria’s arguments, thus, seem to clearly challenge this view that in order to achieve economic progress, it is necessary to actually adapt to the Western values. Other countries can become modern while retaining their own culture and social values besides becoming more modern in their own way. This argument seems to be implicit in this work as he seems to assume that the rise of the rest is not particularly dependent upon assuming Westernization. China and India – the Challenger and Ally According to Zakaria, rise of the rest will also be associated with the rise of the nationalism. The economic progress away from adapting to modern Western values has actually made nations such as China be more proud of their national heritage and take more pride in achieving economic progress on their own. What is critical to note is that these nations are doing it on their own and with their own pride, determination and will to shape their own future without any external or US influence. China has specifically been depicted as a challenger to American dominance on the world scene as Zakaria suggests that China can be a serious challenger to US due to different factors. He argues that China is the largest country in the world and is also the fastest growing country. With the sheer market size and growing economy, China, coupled with its unique cultural and nationalistic heritage, can become an alternative to the American economic domination. He is particularly of the view that China, through its sheer economic power and progress it has achieved in the recent past, can challenge America. He specifically asserts that the use of economic power in place of empire, and the use of soft power and diplomacy by China can increase and maintain its dominance. As such, China seems to use different methods to become one of the economic powers and rather than using coercion and force, China seems to adapt a path which was neither taken by the West nor by US itself. Zakaria views India as a secular country with a conducive political environment and vibrant economy. With more billionaires than in any other nation in Asia, India with keen knowledge of the East and the West and with increasing liking for US can be an ally for US. Based upon its higher consumption rates and the genuine private sector, India is on the rise too, according to him. Causes of the Rise One of the key reasons for the rise of the rest, according to Zakaria, is the global calmness around the world. Though the communication technologies have allowed effective and rapid communication, despite such widespread use of technology, the world has experienced relative calm in terms of global conflicts and war. Since World War II, there have been no major wars taking place except the Cold War between Russia and US. Lack of any armed conflict between the major economic powers since World War II has allowed countries such as China to use soft power and democracy to make its ground as the leading economic powers in the world. Except facing Islamic threat, US and other countries have not been in any serious armed conflict with one another and the most wars in the period discussed have been between US and the Muslim world; otherwise, other major economic powers have remained at peace with each other. This calmness, however, has actually allowed other nations to focus inwards and achieve economic progress. No war between major economic powers has allowed other countries to concentrate on their economic development and hence, achieve genuine economic progress duly supported by the local economies. Rise of capitalism has also been one of the reasons behind the rise of the rest as it has been argued that increase in demand, lower prices and low interest rates have contributed to this rise. With free movement of capital coupled with favorable economic climate, nations such as China have been able to attract foreign capital. Consistent and sustained inflow of capital has actually resulted in better and improved economic performance and hence, the economic rise of other nations. He also seems to argue that the culture and modern politics in other countries have been dominated by the economics. Though most of the countries have retained their own unique culture, most of them have also attempted to view the modern Western values with their own cultural lenses. Rising nations have not fully westernized but seem to have been influenced by the Western values and systems. Another important and key reason behind the rise of the rest is also the ability of these nations to actually retain their most educated and skilled workforce. Increasingly, better education standards have allowed these nations to retain their most talented individuals to become more beneficial for their economy. Technology has also flattened the difference between the developed and other countries. The spread of communication technology has actually facilitated the growth of economy. Communication technology has made it possible for rising nations to the tap into the new market dynamics and has made it possible for countries such as China and India to become dominating force in the global economy. How Will the World Look Like? The post-American world will be a world which will be free from American influence, and nations will pursue their own agendas. The world in the 21st century will look more like a world with many powers but one superpower. The world will be having uni-multipolarity or, as China suggests, the world will be having many powers but one superpower. This world will be a world where smaller and major powers will pursue their own agendas and policies while, at the same time, remaining indifferent to the American unilateral decisions. The world will be witnessing a diffusion of power and the world is actually transitioning towards the uni-multipolarity world. The rise of the rest will also increase the national concept and the nationalism with individual nations focusing on their own agendas. The rise of the nationalism would make America focus more on its own nation rather than on dictating the policy for other nations. The world will also witness a global pool of value and accelerated growth of the large developing countries. More and more developing countries will be achieving economic growth which will be unprecedented that it will shift the share of global value proposition. Options Available to US Zakaria proposes six important principles for US to focus more on the issues in order to make it more potent in the future economic scenario: 1. US must chose and set its priorities because it cannot engage itself into everything. 2. It must focus on building broader rules rather than developing narrow interests for it. 3. US must be a stabilizing influence and must have deeper relationships with major players. 4. Multiple organizations and institutions may be required to manage the world rather than using few institutions. 5. US must not focus upon unilateral actions either; rather, it should look for cooperative alternatives. 6. US must also use legitimacy as power by setting up agendas and mustering up support for managing the crisis. Conclusion The Post-American World is a book written by Fareed Zakaria in 2008, in which he discusses the rise of other nations in place of US. By providing a historical outlook of how power has shifted during the last 500 years, he discussed the rise of the West and US and now the rest of the world. He argues that during recent decades, other countries such as China and India have become dominating economic forces. He states that though US will continue to dominate with the military power, it may not be able to dominate through its economic power. Rapid economic growth and no war between major nations have actually allowed other nations to rise and successfully challenge US dominance. He claims that the improvements in the communication technology have made it possible for emerging countries to tap into larger economic potential at the global level. He provided six different options to US to consider if it wants to actually make difference in the post-American world. Works Cited Zakaria, Fareed. The Post American World. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008. Print. Read More