Easternisation: War and Peace in the Asian Century

by Gideon Rachman

Their decisions reflected global economic, political and ideological trends. The fact that the West no longer dominates the world economy in the way that it did, even in 1990, has opened up new strategic choices for many countries. Turkish companies, for example, have prospered by expanding rapidly in Russia, the Gulf States and Central Asia. The West is no longer the only option. The same is true in the realm of ideas. The rise of Asia, the geopolitical boldness of Vladimir Putin and the economic troubles of the US and Europe have all made it easier for political leaders with authoritarian tendencies – such as Orban and Erdogan – to look for new ideological models, outside the West.