Global failure? The West between arrogance and self-hatred
About the book
Rarely has the West seemed as united as at the beginning of the war in Ukraine. The values of freedom and democracy had to be defended against an autocratic system. But behind the supposed unity, the first cracks quickly became apparent. How can economic constraints be reconciled with political goals? How much are the West’s own ideals worth? In her new book, ethnologist and Islam expert Susanne Schröter shows that this conceals a profound structural problem in the West. In view of the recent conflicts in Ukraine, Afghanistan and Mali as well as the lack of planning on the part of Western governments in dealing with migration movements, Islamism and cancel culture, she diagnoses a West caught between hubris and self-hatred, which constantly invokes the values of democracy, but at the same time betrays them whenever it matters. Is the West well on the way to gambling away its own domestic and foreign policy credibility? Susanne Schröter provides the answer in her analytically astute and strong book.
