Not with a whimper, but a bang

The West's anxiety at the waning of its dominion is the biggest threat to world peace

It is common knowledge that we have long been in a multipolar international system. However, the transition to a multipolar global geopolitical structure after the so-called Unipolar Moment, that is the short period in which the United States appeared to have dominance, is only the first stage in a much larger historical change.

In fact, it seems that we are living at the end of a broader historical period, which lasted about 500 years, in which international events were dominated by the Eurogenic West. By this term we refer to the European countries and the countries that have European origin and culture and are essentially an extension of Europe on other continents. Most important of these in the past century has been the US. This wider Eurogenic West can in turn be divided into two main components, the Euro-Atlantic West, namely the US and Western Europe alignment and Russia.

In recent years, however, the dominance of the Eurogenic West in international affairs has reached its historical limits. The center of gravity of the global system has moved to the East. It is the Asian countries, with China being the most important, that are primarily influencing international affairs.

As this transition from one historical period to another is taking place, the Eurogenic West is trying to resist it, instigating a new Cold War that is extremely dangerous for world peace.

This conflict is taking on very dangerous proportions for a number of reasons. Some of these reasons are the tendency of Western countries to perceive their conflicts in eschatological terms. Thus, the adversary is demonized and the confrontation tends to develop into an all-out conflict. Also, on the rest of the countries of the planet, which are not participating in the conflict, the Western countries are trying to impose an absolute choice: "With us or against us."

Besides, Western countries perceive history in terms of a linear reading of time. Thus, they lock themselves into a deterministic reading of the past and consider that the course of historical events was what it was and could not have been otherwise. Thus, they believe that the Cold War ended bloodlessly because this was inevitable to happen, thanks to the so-called balance of terror and they are ready to repeat the experience of the Cold War thinking that the result will be the same again.

This, of course, is a paranoid reading of reality. Western countries are being led into an uncontrolled escalation of conflict, which threatens the entire world, without even realizing it.

So we could say that the current global system is dominated by a very large geopolitical asymmetry. While, on the one hand, we are on the threshold of a new historical era, which will mark the end of the Western hegemony and the rise of Asian countries; and on the other hand, the West threatens to lock the world into its own intra-European conflict that threatens to become uncontrollable. At the same time, the Euro-Atlantic West is trying to drag the rest of the world's countries, especially the Asian countries, into an unconditional identification with it. That is, using the conflict with Russia as a vehicle, the countries of the Euro-Atlantic West are trying to impose on the Asian countries a policy of absolute and clear identification with them. Essentially, they are trying to achieve a re-dominance over the Asian states. So while the world is moving toward an Asia-centric international system, the West is acting like it is still in the 19th century.

Moreover, unlike some Western countries, who are locked into a reading of the world that is defined by absolute enmities and friendships and with a demonization of the adversary, which leads to conflict, some Asian countries perceive the world and relations between states as a mixture of antagonisms and synergies. There are no absolute adversaries, and the goal is not total victory over a demonized adversary, but the formation of a balanced system, where rivalries between actors have been tamed in favor of cooperative elements among them. The goal is balance, not victory. So at the threshold of the passage of human history into a new historical period, we have the clash of two intrinsically different philosophies and historical readings. On the one hand, we have the declining West; and on the other, the rising East. In one, conflict dominates; in the other, cooperation.

Consequently, it is critical for the entire planet that Asian countries assume a more dynamic role in international affairs. The outgoing West cannot continue to dominate international affairs, because its behavior is now dangerous and because it does not reflect historical reality. Asia should take up its responsibilities toward the rest of the planet. It should acquire an autonomous role and action. The Asian countries, in particular China, as one of the most important Asian powers, have an obligation to assume a more dynamic and leading role in international events. So perhaps it is time to start the discussion on how the process of normalizing the geopolitical map of the planet with historical time will proceed, namely, to begin to formalize the more proper role of the Asian countries in international affairs.

The author is a professor of geopolitics and the director of War Theory and Analysis Sector at the Hellenic Military Academy in Greece. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn