The West is not just
a term, but also a concept that acquires new meanings with time. To its
advocates, it can be analogous to civilization and benevolent power; to its
detractors, mostly in the global East and South, it is associated with
colonialism, unhinged violence, and underserved wealth.
اضافة اعلان
The current seismic shifts in world affairs,
however, namely, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the budding conflict in the Strait
of Taiwan, compels us to re-examine the West, not only as a historical concept,
but also as a current and future idea.
The ancient Greek historian and geographer Herodotus
is often credited with coining the term West in the 5th Century BC. The reason
might have been mostly geographic; in the 11th Century, the division between
West and East became decidedly geopolitical, when the center of power of the
Catholic Church began shifting eastward, from Rome to Byzantium. While the
Catholic Church represented the West, the Orthodox Church epitomized the East.
Of course, historical realities are never so simple,
as history and its interpretations are written by individuals, with their own
religious, nationalistic, and regional biases. Those who lived in the East
obviously had no choice over the matter, the same way as those living in
today’s Middle East, for example, who were hardly consulted before Western
colonial powers tailored the world’s geography to represent regions of
influence and the proximity of these regions to the centers of Western empires:
London, Paris, Madrid, and so on.
In the global South, the West is hardly geography,
but an idea and, quite often, a bad one. For the South, the West means economic
exploitation, political meddling and, at times, military interventions.
Southern intelligentsias are often divided between the need to Westernize and
justifiable fear of Westernization. In countries like Nigeria, the discussion
often takes violent turns. The name of the militant group
Boko Haram translates to something like Western
education is forbidden.
Of course, the West is far more encompassing than
geography. At times, the connotation seems purely political. Australia and New
Zealand, for example, are Western countries, even though they are located in
the geographical region of Oceania.
In the past, Washington even shifted the very meaning
of the West to accommodate its sheer military interests. In January 2003,
then-US secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld used the term Old Europe as
opposed to New Europe, with reference to newly incorporated NATO members of
Eastern Europe who conveniently supported his country’s invasion of Iraq and
Afghanistan.
At times, the US was willing to cancel the very idea
of the West and demarcate entirely new geopolitical lines. When, in 2009, US
President George W. Bush declared before the Congress, “either you are with us,
or you are with the terrorists”, he walked away, though temporarily, from the
West to whole new uncharted geopolitical territories.
That designation did not last for long, as the “war
on terror” took a back seat to supposedly more imminent threats: China’s
economic rise and Russia’s growing military might. For Washington, the West now
simply means NATO, and nothing else.
The cracks of disunity among European countries — both western and eastern — continue to make daily news headlines. And while US weapons manufacturers and energy exporters are making outrageous profits as a direct outcome of the war in Ukraine, other Western economies are suffering.
US President Joe Biden’s eagerness was palpable on
August 9 when he ratified the US government’s decision to approve the
applications of Finland and Sweden to join NATO.
“Our alliance is closer than ever. It is more united
than ever and ... we’ll be stronger than ever,” Biden declared.
Ironically, only four years ago, it was Washington
that seemed to be leading a political war on NATO, with then US president
Donald Trump warning US allies of “grave consequences” if they did not ramp up
their spending, and threatening that the US could “go our own way”.
Despite the over-emphasis on closeness, unity, and
strength by the US, not all Western NATO members are participating in the
American euphoria. The cracks of disunity among European countries — both
western and eastern — continue to make daily news headlines. And while US
weapons manufacturers and energy exporters are making outrageous profits as a
direct outcome of the war in Ukraine, other Western economies are suffering.
Germany, for example, is heading toward a recession
as its economy is forecast to shrink by about 1 percent in 2023. In Italy, the
energy crisis has worsened, with diesel and other fuel prices skyrocketing,
affecting important sectors of the Italian economy. Other countries, especially
in Eastern and Central Europe, for example Estonia and Lithuania, are to face a
worse fate than those of their Western and more affluent counterparts.
It is obvious that not all Western countries are
sharing the burden of the war or its astronomical profits, a reality that has
the potential to redefine the geopolitics of the West altogether.
Yet, regardless of where the West is heading, there
is no question that the East is finally rising, a momentous historical event
that could reinforce whole new political geography, and likely alliances as
well. This might also be the South’s opportunity to finally escape the West and
its unyielding hegemony.
Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is
the author of six books. His latest, co-edited with Ilan Pappé, is ‘Our Vision
for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak out’. His
other books include ‘My Father was a Freedom Fighter’ and ‘The Last Earth’.
Baroud is a non-resident senior research fellow at the Center for Islam and
Global Affairs (CIGA). His website is www.ramzybaroud.net
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