Charles A Kupchan, No One’s World The West, The Rest, And The Coming Global Turn (Oxford University Press, 2012), 272 pp

Abstract

The book No One’s World The West, The Rest, And The Coming Global Turn written by Charles A. Kupchan can be considered a global guide in understanding the world politics of the 21st century. The author is a Professor of International Affairs at Georgetown University and Whitney Shepardson Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.  The goal of his book is both analytical as well as prescriptive. Kupchan has explained in detail the reasons for how the West had been dominating the world for centuries. He also explores the causes and consequences of the coming global turn due to the rise of the rest, that is the rise of countries like China, Russia, Gulf countries and India which prove to be alternatives to the western way of governing world affairs. The author tries to pinpoint the gaps and issues faced by the West  which in turn led to its decline and how the West should revive itself to survive the coming global turn. The global turn mentioned by the author is nothing but a world where there would be multiple power centres rather than a single hegemon. Kupchan boldly challenges that the globe is headed for political and ideological diversity where emerging powers will neither defer to the West’s lead nor converge towards a western way. Kupchan contends that the western order will not be displaced by a new grant power, but the 21st century will not belong to America, China or Asia or anyone else, it will be no one’s world.