By Fareed Zakaria,
The "rise of the rest"; the growth of countries like China, India, Brazil, Russia, and many others will reshape the world. The tallest buildings, largest-selling movies, and most advanced cell phones are all being built outside the United States. This economic growth is producing political confidence, national pride and changing the world order. How should the United States thrive in this rapidly changing international climate and most importantly in a world it no longer dominates? Zakaria tries to answer this question with his insight, and imagination.
Indeed he feels that this process of transition is already well under way but he admits that the rise of the rest is a slow and an ongoing process. America still has a prominent position in military and educational realms but there are a number of ways in which the rest have already risen.
Zakaria notes that China, India, Brazil, Turkey, and even Saudi Arabia are growing faster economically than the U.S. They are developing elites and big corporations. Their peoples are gaining access to quality education. In the coming years these countries will demand a greater say in how the world is run.
To thrive in the new global order, the U.S. will have to change its behavior, becoming more of a "responsible stake holder and a global broker" Zakaria explains, than a unipolar power that must be obeyed. "This new role...involves consultation, cooperation, and even compromise," he writes. "It is not a top-down hierarchy in which the U.S. makes its decisions and then informs a grateful (or silent) world."
A very important question is asked here “can the U.S. adjust?” Given that according to this book Americans are becoming suspicious of the very things they have long celebrated such as free markets, trade and immigration.
Zakaria believes that America remains a politico-military superpower, but in every other dimension industrial, financial, social and cultural the distribution of power is moving away from American dominance. With the rise of China, India and other emerging markets and the world becoming increasingly decentralized and interconnected, he affirms, “we are moving into a post-American world, one defined and directed from many places and by many people.”
For that matter, Zakaria argues that we are now in the midst of the third great tectonic power shift to occur over the last 500 years: the first was the rise of the West, the second was the rise of the United States in the 20th century; and the third is “the rise of the rest” with the increasing magnitude and role of China and India, Russia and Europe.
The irony of the “rise of the rest” Zakaria notes, is that it is largely a result of American ideas and actions: “For 60 years, American politicians and diplomats have travelled around the world pushing countries to open their markets, free up their politics, and embrace trade and technology. We have urged peoples in distant lands to take up the challenge of competing in the global economy, freeing up their currencies, and developing new industries. We counselled them to be unafraid of change and learn the secrets of our success. And it worked."
"The Rest" have different cultural backgrounds. They are adopting modernity in ways that fit them and are adding their contribution to the concept of "modern". They are increasingly interested in themselves, their own economic development being their main goal. They form alliances that fit them and pay less attention to the only super power in the world, the United States. The often-expressed hatred towards America is turning into indifference towards it. The world is no longer anti-America rather the world is increasingly non-American. The United States should focus more on “the rest” even if America is still the premier superpower.
The real problem, Zakaria argues, is the rise of China which he calls the challenger. He dedicates a whole chapter in the book describing the awakening of China and the challenges it implies.
On the other hand Zakaria, who was born in India and moved to the United States at the age of 18, depicts India as the ally. Again he devotes a chapter conveying the importance of the Indian-American relations and India's rise.
At the end Zakaria offers guidelines that would benefit the Americans in the need to identify with the new global rules and go back to the welcoming and inviting country he first came to know.
