- 23 Apr 2025
[Book Talk] Westlessness – The Great Global Rebalancing
The term Westlessness, coined at the Munich Security Conference in 2020, captured a stark reality: The once-dominant US-led order no longer commands unquestioned global leadership. Dr Samir Puri’s book of the same name explores this shift, and probes issues such as whether Donald Trump’s America First policies will accelerate the West’s decline.
Dr Puri contends that within the West itself, competing visions emerge: The US projects self-confidence, but more than ever, Western powers are embracing an à la carte approach — engaging selectively in global affairs and forming flexible, interest-driven partnerships with non-Western actors, rather than adhering to a rigid trans-Atlantic strategy. Can such a fragmented Western order sustain influence, and more importantly, will non-Western partners buy into it?
Nowhere is this shift more pronounced than in the Middle East. Rather than aligning strictly with Washington or Beijing, regional powers are adopting a mix-and-match strategy, balancing between Western and non-Western blocs. As Dr Puri argues, BRICS+ and other non-Western groupings are not just alternatives, but enduring fixtures of the global order.
To explore this and other themes, including the region’s shifting dynamics, the Middle East Institute will host a discussion with Dr Puri between 3.00 pm and 4.30 pm (SGT) on Wednesday, 23 April 2025. The event will be conducted both in-person and online via Zoom. Attendance is free. However, registration is compulsory.
Picture source: US President Donald Trump meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 13, 2025. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)
About the Speakers
Director
Centre for Global Governance and Security, Chatham House
Dr Puri is a writer, academic and former UK civil servant. He previously worked for the Foreign Office (2009-15) including a year-long secondment to a ceasefire monitoring mission in Ukraine.
He was subsequently a lecturer in War Studies at King’s College London (2015-18), during which time he also served as an adviser to the Commonwealth Secretariat and to the Ministry of Defence’s think-tank, DCDC. Following this, he was a Senior Fellow at IISS-Asia, based in Singapore.
He has authored five books covering different facets of history, geopolitics and international security. They include The Great Imperial Hangover: How Empires Have Shaped the World (Atlantic Books, Paperback 2021); Russia’s Road to War With Ukraine (Biteback, 2022); and Westlessness: The Great Global Rebalancing (Hodder & Stoughton, 2024).
Research Associate
Middle East Institute, NUS
[Moderator] Evangeline Cheng is a research associate at Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore. Prior to her current role, she spent a large part of her career in learning and development, focusing on workplace learning and action research projects. She is particularly interested in the traditional and emerging dynamics within the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East, especially in relation to Jordan and Egypt. Evangeline holds a bachelor’s degree in communication studies and a master’s degree in Asian studies from Nanyang Technological University.
Event Details
29 Heng Mui Keng Terrace Blk B
Level 6 Conference Room
Singapore 119620
2. via zoom
