Power Shift - The Decline of the West and The Crisis of the Liberal International Order London School of Economics and Political Science

Overview

Key facts

But 9/11 and the financial crisis of 2008 followed, leaving the United States in decline, Europe in tatters, and the balance of power rapidly shifting eastwards towards Asia and China and southwards towards the ‘Global South’. Pundits even began to talk of a new world disorder in the making.

Certainly, with the challenges posed by the rise of populism in the West, a more assertive China and Russia led by Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin respectively, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East, and the impact of COVID-19 and climate change, it does appear as if the international system has become a much less peaceful and stable place. Some even wonder whether the Liberal international order itself is now under threat.But how have all these major changes come about? What has been their impact on international affairs? Is the West in decline and are we heading toward a new world order? These are at least three of the big questions we will be seeking to answer in London School of Economics and Political Science's Power Shift - The Decline of the West and The Crisis of the Liberal International Order course.