International Political Economy

Political Science 10

July 20, 2011

“The shift of power West to East has become a common theme, especially since the onset of the 2008 financial crisis. We need some perspective.” For a thoughtful look at this topic, we listen to three experts on geopolitics; Joseph Nye, Dambia Moyo and Kishore Mahbubani. debated whether global power was shifting away from the United States, and indeed what defined power in the 21st century. Jean-Pierre Lehmann, professor of international political economy at IMD, a global business school in Switzerland, and founding director of The Evian Group, joins the debate.

The summary of the conversation is one of varying opinions of what some have coined an incontrovertible fact. It appears that parts of Asia have experienced growth and economic transformations, including poverty reduction, competitiveness, the rise of a middle class and massive urbanization. Here’s the incontrovertible fact that the West is in decline.

Robert Gates another actor in the debate says, “The differences between the United States and Europe, representing the west are great and growing. Think demographics: The United States has a young and vibrant population, while Europe’s is aging and declining.

The conversation is one that can shift from one perspective to another albeit draining it remains America’s global leadership position and especially its soft power while weaken, remain paramount. One cannot help but see the effect of globalization on the East. We acknowledge, in the global economy, America’s position as number one is increasingly challenged by China. We cannot deny how globalization has affected China and its enormous growth; it has overtaken the United States as the world’s biggest manufacturing and trading power.

Well, America having been the leader in globalization, it seems the biggest downfall for the U.S. and the rest of the world is whether or not the United States will lead the world in de-globalization. Asia is rising, Latin...