Adrian Leftwich Memorial Lecture
Event details
Since the dawn of the twenty-first century, the West has been in crisis. Social unrest, political polarization, and the rise of other great powers threaten to unravel Western-led world order. Within the West, the rise of populism, nationalism and transactionalism are subverting the Liberal International Order. Many fear this will lead to global chaos as the West retreats from its commitments to multilateral aid and bilateral assistance. What are the prospects for and possibilities of global development in these circumstances? This year's Adrian Leftwich Memorial Lecture addresses this urgent question.
Drawing on the epic story of the past, present and future of world order, Amitav Acharya argues that the decline of the west may be a good thing for the world as "the Rest" finds more voice, power, and prosperity.
Surveying five thousand years of global history in his magnificent new book Once and future world order , Acharya reveals that world order—the political architecture enabling cooperation and peace among nations—existed long before the rise of the West. Moving from ancient Sumer, India, Greece, and Mesoamerica, through medieval caliphates and Eurasian empires into the present, he shows that progressive values, economic interdependence, and rules of international conduct emerged across the globe over millennia. Instead of fearing the future, the West should learn from history and cooperate with the Rest to forge a more equitable order.
The future world order, Acharya concludes, will not be shaped by one, two or a handful of great powers, but by a “global multiplex,” with many consequential state and non-state actors and in which diversity and interconnectedness will co-exist. The decline of the West calls for cautious optimism about the future prospects for global development.
This is an annual lecture in memory of Professor Adrian Leftwich, who taught for decades at York and contributed to developing our understanding of how states, politics and development were entwined. The 2025 event will be the fourth lecture of the series at York. The inaugural lecture was delivered in 2021 by Professor Prerna Singh, followed by the second lecture delivered by Professor Naomi Hossain in 2022. The third lecture was delivered in person by Dr. Christine Cheng in 2023.
The University of York took over the Lecture Series from GDI Manchester in 2020. In that sense, the 2025 lecture, while it will be the third lecture at York, will continue the lecturer series and honour Adrian's legacy. Previous speakers at Manchester have included Professors Catherine Boone, Yuen Yuen Ang, Thomas Carothers and Nich van de Walle.
The talk will be followed by a drinks reception.