The West and the Rest

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The West and the Rest

Samir Puri on the rebalancing of global power

Aaron H. Ellis

Feb 18, 2025

Transcript

The world is moving away from the West – demographically, economically, culturally.

In his new book Westlessness,

Samir Puri

looks at the implications. Whereas many in Europe and America worry about this trend, Puri believes that there are opportunities.

On the show today, he and Aaron discuss:

The weakening nostalgia for an American-led, Western-centric order
Why the world is more insulated from Trump’s second term than his first
How his transactional foreign policy is more “honest” for the United States than Joe Biden’s

They also touch on Samir’s career as a diplomat, the differences between theories about foreign policy and its practice, and how

David Lammy

and the Labour government are navigating this increasingly “Westless” world.

If you would like to buy Westlessness AND support independent stores in the UK, check out the strategyaaron Bookshop page: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/strategyaaron

Other links:

Samir’s Substack | Bluesky | site

Aaron’s Instagram | Bluesky | site

The recommended read this week is

Lawrence Freedman

on Vladimir Putin’s weak spots in any negotiation over Ukraine.

Comment is Freed

Putin's weak spot?

Following a call this week between Presidents Trump and Putin negotiations on ending the Russo-Ukraine war are set to begin. Trump’s olive branch to Putin has been greeted with dismay by Ukraine’s supporters. Russia is no longer being treated as a pariah but as a potential partner for peace despite having engaged in cruel aggression. Ukraine’s future is being treated as matter for Moscow and Washington, and it has already been told that it cannot expect to regain all lost territory, and that the US does not expect to be part of any eventual security guarantees to deter Russia returning for more…

9 days ago · 46 likes · 6 comments · Lawrence Freedman

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strategyaaron

Strategy is achieving your ambitions as "stuff" tries to stop you. Aaron Ellis explores the stuff shaping people's environments and how they try to master it – whether in politics, world affairs, business, or pop culture.

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