A Front Row Seat at the End of History: The untimely essays of David Martin Jones and M.L.R. Smith, 1999-2024

For over 25 years the essays by David Martin Jones and M.L.R. Smith critiqued the ideology of the ’end of history’. This belief, popular after the Cold War, assumed the West had ’won’ and that the world would naturally converge towards liberal democracy. However, Jones and Smith, based initially on their experiences in Southeast Asia in the 1990s, challenged this idea, observing ethno-religious tensions, underlying economic instability, and clashing cultural values. They highlighted the fragility of the Asian economic boom, the rise of Islamist activism pre-9/11, and the dangers of Western military interventions. They argued that a secular progressive ideology was undermining Western culture and geopolitical awareness. Despite their gloomy diagnosis of the West’s trajectory, they still saw potential for the West to recover its purpose and confidence. However, world events have, tragically, evolved to validate much of Mike and David’s work. Their views, once marginalised, are now seen as prophetic. This volume reflects the best part of three decades’ worth of endeavour. Welcome to the uncompromising thought of scholars standing on the shoulders of giants.