The Fate of the West: The Battle to Save the World’s Most Successful Political Idea

by Bill Emmott

Yes, the barbarians are at the West’s gates. Certainly, China’s pressure to dominate its neighbourhood and be treated as an equal partner to the US is hard to deal with. By any stretch of the imagination, President Putin is an enormous thorn in Western sides. Iran, though not currently a direct opponent of the West, retains always the potential in both its power and its interests to become one. North Korea can always be relied upon to rock boats. Yet while the tactics of dealing with these challenges will always remain imperfect, awkward and hazardous, the strategy to deal with them is clear. It begins with allies, friendships and legitimacy: building them, nurturing them, not letting them disappear in a divisive morass, for they are the greatest assets the West has. Such assets are aided by hard military power but also depend crucially on the defence of clear principles and international institutions: the rules, laws, norms and bodies at whose creation Dean Acheson was present, and which matter so much to the many weaker countries in the world that are keen on Western leadership.