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Ajouter un commentaireWith a preface by Mario Monti, this book is a must-read for experts but also for international relations enthusiasts. It can be devoured like a novel, yet it is unconventional for a scientific text, and is thus worthy of exploration.
Who does the retired Singaporean diplomat, currently Dean at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of the National University of Singapore, intend his book to address ? As far as we are concerned, he is addressing the West, inviting it to balance and reconcile reason with passion. Mahbubani describes to us “the others” as we should view them (and how up to now we have not viewed them), in the light of the experience that these « others » have had of us. The author talks of China and India, but also of Bangladesh, of the Asian tigers and Iran, and all the countries belonging to that region that have emerged and are emerging.
The author strongly maintains that the fate of global balance is in the hands, or rather in the readjustment, of the West in relation to the “other” (an Asian other in this case). The “other” must be accepted and valued by us, but first of all acknowledged. An inability to acknowledge it, to recognise its legitimate claims and its obvious successes risks being perceived as a latent threat (even if it is not) so that at a certain point that different other might tire of waiting and choose another path, without compromises. The book is an authentic invitation to reevaluate the East, but above all to reevaluate ourselves as the West, with our mistakes and international super egos.
He proposes examples that, while questionable, cannot leave us indifferent : why does the West reject the principles of the free market as it pleases ? For what reason does it delay in renegotiating the voting system in the main international economic assemblies ? And why does it not dare to take a step back and open the doors to the intelligence of the great oriental economies instead of electing an American as head of the World Bank and a European as head of the IMF, as usual ? How, then, should the double standards used in imposing economic sanctions be interpreted ?
Despite his emphasis of striking contradictions and his pragmatic approach, Mahbubani looks to the future with optimism, believing in a possible fusion that will establish a shared paradigm with, he admits, many western characteristics : one that embraces the principles of the rule of law, free market, education (he lists seven in total, the so-called “pillars of western wisdom”) that we have jealously guarded and the benefits of which we hoped to keep for ourselves.
Mahbubani thus invites us to make an effort, to try to change perspective for a second and to explore the ambitions, aspirations, hopes and dreams of our almost 4 million Asian neighbours. After a period of lethargy and after having overcome some internal obstacles that have impeded their growth (amongst others the old Chinese market system and the Indian caste system) they have since thrived and started playing on equal terms. The text is full of anecdotes, data, charts and predictions that all focus on one truth : Asia has become self-aware. But what about us ? Have we become aware of its “irresistible rise” ?
The book has strong psychological traits and adopts a specific technique : to shock the Western reader in order to urge him to consider without delay his cognitive vices, his irrationalities, and most particularly his mistakes in dealing with the international community, which, as the author reminds us, is not a synonym for the West.
To sum up, Kishore Mahbubani suggests that to share the weight of running the global political system and its public policies with the Asian continent would not only be convenient for the West, but as of today, also fair and necessary.
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L’Europa ai tempi del boom asiatico
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