Easternization: Asia’s Rise and America’s Decline from Obama to Trump and Beyond

Now in an updated paperback edition, a provocative analysis--from an Orwell Prize-winning journalist--of how a new era of global instability has begun, as the flow of wealth and power moves from West to East.

Easternization is the defining trend of our age--the growing wealth of Asian nations is transforming the international balance of power. This shift to the East is shaping the lives of people all over the world, the fate of nations, and the great questions of war and peace.

A troubled but rising China is now challenging American supremacy; the ambitions of Japan, North Korea, India, and Pakistan have the potential to shake the whole world. Meanwhile the West is struggling with economic malaise and political populism, the Arab world is in turmoil, and Russia longs to reclaim its status as a great power. Donald Trump’s accession to the presidency has significantly increased the likelihood of conflict between the United States and China, with confrontation looming over trade, Taiwan, and the South China Sea. The long-feared prospect of a war between China and America has become a real possibility.

As the West’s historic power and dominance recede, Gideon Rachman offers a road map to the turbulent process that will define the international politics of the twenty-first century.