The Great Convergence (Intl PB Ed): Asia, the West, and the Logic of One World

by Mahbubani; Kishore

About the Book: The Great Convergence Mahbubani shows that in global institution after global institution power is skewed in favor of the West, and argues that it is no longer just or sustainable. Moreover, he sees the main risks to the globe in the twenty-first century in the unresolved contradictions between the need for a one-world view and the ever more local, and locally shrill politics of national self-interest. There are the grounds for disunity, incomprehension and even disaster About the Author: Kishor Mahbubani Kishore Mahbubani is dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. With the Singapore Foreign Service from 1971 to 2004, he had postings in Cambodia (where he served during the war in 1973-74), Malaysia, Washington DC and New York, where he served two stints as Singapore's Ambassador to the UN and as President of the UN Security Council in January 2001 and May 2002. He serves on Boards and Councils of several institutions in Singapore, Europe and North America, including the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Council, the Asia Society's International Council, the Yale President's Council on International Activities (PCIA), and the Singapore-China Foundation - Scholarship Committee.articles have appeared in a wide range of journals and newspapers, including Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Washington Quarterly, Survival, American Interest, the National Interest, Time, Newsweek and New York Times. He has also been profiled in the Economist and in Time Magazine. Prof Mahbubani was also listed as one of the top 100 public intellectuals in the world by Foreign Policy in November 2011. Reviews: "Kishore Mahbubani has done it again. He has written a book that is provocative, engaging, and always intelligent. He brings a crucial perspective to bear on global affairs, rooted in the rise of Asia but with an understanding of Europe and America as well. Rudyard Kipling said, 'East is East and We

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Economics, China, History, Asia, International Relations

328 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Rex · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you enjoy reading 250 pages of rants against the West, this is the book for you. The first 1/3 of the book starts of OK, with a slightly unstructured explanation of convergence and the benefits of that. If convergence is a new concept to you, then this is an OK introduction, but there is nothing new here. Mr Mahbubani then explains that with a converging world, or a "global village", there is a strong need for global institutions to manage this global community. That seems interesting, I now assume Mr Mahbubani has some suggestions.

Instead, for the rest of the book, he goes on a tirade against the West. Anything that has gone wrong in recent time is because of the West. He mostly uses his own personal opinions or things he believes holds true. Very little factual evidence is presented.

The book cover states that "By prescribing brilliant and pragmatic solutions for improving our global order - including a 7-7-7 formula that can finally break the logjam in the UN Security Council - Mahbubani maps a road away from the geopolitical contours of the nineteenth century that have shackled us, and identifies the defining condition of our era: the great convergence". He does no such thing at all. There are no solutions or suggestions to be found, other than the West just needs to change their attitude or increase budgets for WHO or the UN. Oh, the much touted 7-7-7 formula: This is basically the only concrete suggestion he comes with in the book and it is only mentioned in a total of 7 pages. 7 permanent, 7 semi-permanent and 7 non-permanent seats for the UNSC, that will solve all the problems.

I wouldn't waste my time on this book and cannot recommend it.

[Tyler · Rating 1 out of 5]

I quit reading this book because I didn't like it.

Two things I did not care for:

Number One: The author had a penchant for bragging (e.g. "My daughters got into Yale" and "I met so and so at the World Economic Forum in Davos").

Number Two: There was very little research presented and this author quoted too extensively from magazines and politicians.

[Jeffrey Cavanaugh · Rating 2 out of 5]

An overly chatty, rather banal tome that argues that the forces of globalization are creating an increased demand for stronger multilateral institutions. The argument is an old one that is readily familiar to any student of international politics.

[Leonidas · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this philosophical and sociological follow-up to 'The New Asian Hemisphere', Kishore re-iterates several major geo-political issues from the previous book, and this time provides some theoretical and practical solutions.

The issues are still the same. The 'western' nations which comprise 12% of the worlds population, are trying to control 80% of the world.

China and India are huge rising powers, collectively holding 2/7th's of the world population. Their rapid modernization in all aspects of society is absolutely revolutionary.

More 'foreign' students are graduating in American universities, than Americans themselves. There are more engineers in China than anywhere else in the world, and India and China will both create more patents and scientific articles moving forward into the future.

Furthermore, Kishore once again goes on a tirade of how the UN, IMF, and world Bank are generally just puppets of western vested interests. Whether it is through aid to poor nations, which ends up in western coffers, or subsidizing their own national products to compete against cheaper international products. And of course, he covers in depth some extreme cases of corruption.

We cover how the vested interests of the United States generally guide what the rest of the 'west' does.

Despite these hurdles, the world has evolved in a very positive direction. Less people die from international wars, and most issues are resolved politically through many meetings. ASEAN, the Asian equivalent of the European union/UN, has basically nullified all major conflicts through continued meetings, and co-operating.

Basically, business, economic, and modernizing factors transcend primal territorial, cultural, and low-level consciousness issues. Thus, the world is becoming a more stable place to grow in all directions.

Once again though, Kishore goes into a news article-like approach near the end, detailing the impacts of relatively current decisions. But this book is definitely more 'big-picture', within that regard.

I recommend reading this if you want to understand how the world will evolve geo-politically. Also, this is a complementary follow-up to 'the new asian hemisphere'.

5/5

[dead letter office · Rating 3 out of 5]

This starts off kind of boring while he lures his readers into a false sense of security. It heats up and gets worthwhile after about 100 pages, when it becomes a bit of an anti-American screed. He'd object to this characterization, I'm sure, but then he objects to a lot of things. Definitely worth reading for an Asian perspective on America's ride into the sunset.

[Ian Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brilliant analysis of the current world order, and the challenges ahead as the balance of economic power shifts eastwards, and a more enlightened perspective on the value of the multilateral system with the ascendancy of the BRICS and other middle income countries. Dense with facts, erudite in analysis and pretty with prose, it makes compelling reading (if somewhat indigestible at times!).

A major thread running through this book is the value of pragmatic diplomacy - perhaps not too surprising in view of his personal ambassadorial experience, which he illustrates with the recent example of Myanmar.

"That is why the West should seriously reconsider it's policy of trying to change recalcitrant countries by isolating them"

"The 'drip, drip, drip' of sustained engagement and outreach will more effectively transform Iran, than the 'drop, drop, drop' of bombs that the West has utilized with great abandon in the Islamic world."

But will such an approach work as effectively for countries with such as profound ideological differences as Israel and Iran? And does pragmatic diplomacy work best when it combines carrots and sticks; to what extent did the success of ASEAN in bringing Myanmar back into the international fold depend on the ongoing pressure from Western powers?

But his main message is a call for a renewed and robust multilateralism; a multilateralism that is less dependent on the whims of the West. So not unexpectedly, his sympathies lie with the 'one-country, one-vote' agencies of the UN, rather than the western dominated Bretton Woods institutions and the OECD, for which he has particularly harsh words:

"The simple and hard truth is that the OECD has has become a narrow and self-serving club that has lost it's mission and purpose and serves neither the interests of its own societies nor those it sates it intends to benefit."

His defence of the more democratic agencies is insightful - but largely dependent on the work of others - notably Kelley Lee for the analysis of WHO. Which inevitably means that certain errors are repeated - for example the assertion that Mahler was opposed for re-election by the USA (he didn't stand for a fourth term in office). He also repeats the misconception that WHO is a funding agency. It never has been, and it probably never should. The huge increases in international development assistance for health in the last decade could never have been absorbed and utilised by WHO - they demanded new mechanism, and for all their weaknesses, the new financing instruments of the Global Fund and GAVI have contributed enormously to progress in health outcomes in recent years.

If his analyses are sharp and insightful, his solutions are less groundbreaking. In fact, it seems that the main purpose of this book is to provide a vehicle for his proposals for reform of the Security Council. While recognising that the UN Security Council plays a crucial role in international affairs, it is hard to imagine that the global challenges that lie ahead will be accomplished by simply adding six countries and introducing greater democracy into the workings of the Council.

A further negative is the plague of repetitiveness that pervades this book - on three separate occasions he describes the role the April 2009 G20 Summit played in rescuing the global economy. Twice he informs us that the iPad2 has as much computing power as the Cray 2 supercomputer of 1985. So read the book slowly over time, absorb and reflect on the ideas and wisdom, and the repetition won't grate as much!

[Haw Kuang Oh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read "Has China Won" by Mahbubani previously and was impressed by it. But recently I saw a YouTube video of him promoting "The Great Convergence" at Harvard and was just as impressed of how his "predictions" from 8 years ago have rung true today and how US has turned inwards and became defensive when its #1 position is challenged.

Some may not appreciate Mahbubani's brutal honesty and may regard him to be western bashing but I believe there are substance in his presentation, especially on the overhaul of the structure and membership in United Nations. It's time for the western countries to take a hard look and embrace the convergence of the world, instead of applying us vs. them mentality in economy, technology and other races. Humankind should all work together for a better world tomorrow.

"Although China is still a somewhat politically closed society, it is a closed society with an open mind. America may be an open society, but it is an open society with a closed mind."

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kishore brings it again!

[Ian McHugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me think. I liked thinking about the things that this book made me think about...

Mahbubani is a passionate advocate for the United Nations (having served as Singaporean Ambassador) and multilateralism. His book outlines how the global governance systems we currently use are flawed and how reform is necessary. The arguments used to outline the lack of success of the OECD, IMF, World Bank, and United Nations (although specifically the UN Security Council is identified as the root of all of the UN's ills) are coherent and supported by good referencing.

The view put forward (and the reason I think I enjoyed the challenge of reading) is very much "an Asian voice". The provocation and challenge to the West inherent in the text is clear and the disenfranchisement and blatant unfairness of the global (supposed) multilateral structures are examined through this lens.

I think Muhbubani over states his case with regard the success of ASEAN organisations and he tends to hide the idea that non-Western nations are equally as self-serving in their international aims - whatever reforms would be proposed. His demonisation of the West as the sole source of problem throughout, with little heed paid to 'non-Western' failure and internal structural folly of the UN, lessens his argument but nonetheless important questions are raised. The sidelining of some crucial arguments on human rights and Chinese (and, indeed, Singaporean) methods of government was an omission here as was a consideration of the relative stability of the West - although in light of 'Brexit' and the election of President Trump this seems less plausible to maintain!

To conclude, I thought the outline argument convincing and I share with the author the (perhaps utopian) idea that global governance and structures can be improved and reformed as we move from towards convergence and the creation of a 'global village'. I would like to read more of Muhbubani's work as it challenges me to counter the arguments he presents and work towards a solution I can provide through my work - surely, a crucial aim in any converging world.

[Joshua Loong · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got roped in to reading this based on Mahbubani’s appearances at different talks/debates I’ve watched on Youtube. Being a former diplomat for the UN from Singapore, he provides a really interesting outside geopolitical perspective from one that you will hear primarily in the West.

The general idea being that the rest of the world is rapidly catching up to the West in terms of living standards, while at the same time the West is becoming a smaller and smaller piece of global population and economy. As the world power landscape changes, the West is ignoring investment into international institutions to their peril.

The book itself is okay. There’s a lot of name dropping and quoting that feels overly like Mahbubani included because he was friends with them. I’d also say that the book is light on recommendations other than the procedural/structural changes to the UN he proposed at the end (which I think are good). The core of the book is interesting and he provides real insight into the core workings (and failures) of global institutions, but not engaging enough to make this a must read piece on globalization.

Though I have to say, being published in 2013, there’s a lot takes and predictions that are fun to read in light of past 10-15 years of geopolitical development. Some that aged like milk (”No armies of tanks are poised to invade any Western country.” or “Indeed, despite the massive economic crisis in both Europe and America, there has been little real backsliding towards protectionism.”), and some like fine wine (”…a major crisis point will emerge in the America-China relationship. It will happen sometime in the decade after 2016.” or “Many Americans are oblivious to the structural failures within their system of governance…, their social contract…, and their response to globalization. Deep structural reform is necessary in America to avert an otherwise inevitable failure.”). Highlighted lots of sections like this that were fun to read and think about post-hoc.

[Jerod Ferry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The argument of this book is that world is clearly converging and that the world needs better global institutions that represent all people and not disproportionately Western interests. The author provides many example of the world converging and how the West has set up global bodies in their interest. He uses his experience as Ambassador to the UN to make his arguments.


I will recongnize that I have different world views than Mr. Mahubani. I did gain insight from his views and recognize that my views are skewed or bias. I feel I did get a better understanding for the argument of greater global governance. But something seemed lacking to me in this book. I felt it was overloaded with his personal opinion and his digreement with Western views and not enough research and alterative approaches. It seemed like his argument was that if the West thought more like him the World would be a much better place. Anyone can make same argument. There is no doubt that the world is converging and converging at an accelerated pace. I was hoping for a more balanced view in this book. Since this book was written was have had Brexit and other movements towards more isolationism. We need to address those points of view and concerns head on. I don't think this book wiill age well as it is too skewed to a single opinion.

[Harry P · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know how relevant this book is post Trump 1.0 and during Trump 2.0, and neither do I think does it present an overly optimistic liberal institutionalist perspective (albeit there is a certain slant in that direction, as opposed to being realist).

Though I do think what merit it does provide, lies in its astute analysis of a global convergence emergent in late 20th century early 21st century thinking. It also forces you to ponder on the sharp contrast the current climate of increasing isolation and polarity. And while the last few chapters proposed 7-7-7 UNSC reform (now highly unlikely), there is a lot of value in thinking about how might this increasingly antagonistic global order may come to deal with global issues of immense import (mentioned as problems that the global village must tackle—climate change chiefly among them).

Time for some more deep thinking.

[' Syamil]

The nation-state was invented in 1648 with the Treaty of Westphalia. And it has served humanity reasonably well as an organizing concept, overcoming the old divisions of tribes and sects, clans and classes.


separate countries, humankind was like a flotilla of more than one hundred separate boats. What the world then needed was a set of rules designed to ensure that these many boats did not collide and to facilitate their cooperation on the high seas if they chose to do so.

This is what the 1945 rules-based order strived to do, and despite some obvious failures, it succeeded in producing a relatively stable global order for more than fifty years.

[Lorrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Amazing book. Scary stuff going on. Tons of corruption. Makes me really, really dislike the USA politics. The book does offer good solutions to problems it outlines, however, due to the corruption, greed for power and systemic issues, I highly doubt any of those solutions will be instituted. Shame, as it could lead to peace. It would take a really courageous, forward and global thinker to get it all going and convince everyone else that it's in everyone's benefit to do so. Highly recommend.

[Terry Quirke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Primer on issues facing the global community going into the 21st century, mainly viewed from an asian perspective with the emphasis on how we manage the change from a world dominated by western perspectives to one including rest of the world - as the living, educational and financial capabilities of the rest rises to match or exceed the west's there will either be a managed convergence of goals or disruptive chaos.

[Caleb Bornman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A relatively easy read pointing out how some of the current global trends are making our world smaller and more interconnected. Pretty much the author says that we need real, authentic multilateralism and that the West needs to humbly recognize that the world is changing. The author admires many western values but wants them to be put in practice and fairly distributed in international arenas.

[Mary Benes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting perspective; I feel like most economic literature I've read so far has been very pro-USA, and this book gives a very rounded, unbiased perspective on the world economy as a whole. My only complaint is that is was written in 2013, and there doesn't seem to be an updated version. But that's not a make or break for me.

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Important issues that many USA Americans don't know much about at all. Takes western powers to task but I don't think that the bit of finger wagging is out of portion. I do think the author is a bit overly optimist about improving the world.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative. Different look at globalization.

[Stanley Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eye opener on Asian elite's view of the world.

[Patrick F · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book's parts are greater than the sum. It reads extremely optimistic compared to what has unfolded since this book was published.

[Simon Ma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn’t finish it because the writing is so dry.

[Iván · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extraordinarias miradas sobre Asia, Occidente, la globalización y el mundo que viene.

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sins include: Extensive quotes from Wikipedia and popular magazine articles, naïve application of others' statistical analyses, and global argument via anecdote. Ridiculous projections abound, including the assertion that policymakers will not revert to protectionism, and every other global trend observed in the early 2010s will continue indefinitely. Don't waste your time.

[Jim Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The Great Convergence, Kishore Mahbubani explores the ways that our world has become increasingly interconnected and the need for increasing global governance, and multilateral organizations. Economic issues (such as the 2008 financial crisis) have developed more and more into global, not national problems; as have issues of climate change, cyber security, global health, foreign aid, and nuclear proliferation; and these global problems require global solutions. "The great convergence that our world is experiencing is now irreversible. Too many forces have been unleashed to shrink the world. They will only gain momentum in the coming decades. And if we look at our lives carefully, no matter where we live, we can clearly begin to see that our lives are being affected daily by events or decisions made all across the planet. The great minds of our planet will therefore have no choice but to focus on how we manage the small, dense, and deeply interconnected global village we have created. The traditional units of old global social and political order, including the veritable nation-state, are proving to be less and less useful in managing these great changes. We have to keep searching for new approaches and new solutions." Mahbubani suggests that we need to strengthen and reform multinational organizations such as the UN in order to better deal with global problems. We cannot reasonably expect any nation-state to act in any interest other than their own self interest, this is true on every political level from municipal, to state, to federal good governance is required, so too should we seek stronger global governance to help address the issues of an increasingly interconnected world.This book also makes the case for some specific reforms to the UN, especially the UN Security Council, and also increased funding for the UN. One example that Mahbubani brings up is in the decline of wars and combat deaths, "The number of people killed in battle--calculated per 100,000 population--has dropped by 1,000-fold over the centuries as civilizations evolved. Before there were organized countries, battles killed on average more than 500 out of every 100,000 people. In 19th century France, it was 70. In the 20th century with two world wars and a few genocides, it was 60. Now battlefield deaths are down to three-tenths of a person per 100,000." It is this observation of declining wars that leads Mahbubani to make the case for greater funding for the institutions of peaceful global governance. "In 2010, global GDP stood at $63 trillion. Global defense spending amounted to $1.63 trillion in 2010. The UN regular budget stood at $2.58 billion per year for the year 2010-2011, or 0.16 percent of global defense spending. If humanity as a whole cannot find the wisdom to transfer 0.16 percent from increasingly unnecessary global defense expenditures to increasingly necessary multilateral expenditures, then it has stepped off the escalator of reason. This is not inconceivable: humanity is capable of enormous stupidity. Humanity is also capable of changing course if it can be persuaded of the wisdom of such a move. Now that it is clear that stronger multilateral processes and institutions would serve long-term Western interests and also be very cheap, we should embrace them."

[Malik Siraj Akbar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kishore Mahbubani has served as a senior diplomat and a public policy scholar. His recommendations about reforming the United Nations and promoting multilateralism while dealing with critical global issues are worthwhile. He rightly points out that the inhabitants of this planet have nowhere to go but to live here which is why we all have to work collectively for making it a more prosperous and stable place. He provides several policy recommendations. The chapter about international aid is fascinating and revealing. It highlights the shortcomings in the current model of distribution of foreign aid in the developing world and how it is used to influence national policies inside the UN.
Mr. Mahbubani, however, sounds biased by putting all the blame for the global disorder on the United States without mentioning the failures of developing countries to improve governance; end corruption and improve the state of human rights within their boundaries.
It's a great book for people who are interested in the changing global political and economic landscape and wondering how our world will look like in the next few years in the age of pressing global challenges such as poverty, terrorism and rise of new global powers such China, India and Brazi

[Michael Foley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mahbubani has created a brilliant work that acts both as a warning and a meditation. For generations, the United States has acted in various ways, both unilaterally and multilaterally (when it served it's own ends). In recent times, the West and East have been slowly coming together causing growing pains. In the relatively near future (2016 by some estimates), China is poised to overcome the United States as the leading world power. As a result, the US needs to look at itself and determine how it shall proceed in the future. Mahbubani believes that America and Europe need to cede power and create new outlets of communication and influence through the UN. Although, he does not believe that the world can easily slip into a Utopian society, he does call for nations to look past the present and plan for a global future. This will require diligent leadership and an overhaul of existing global entities (IMF, WTO, etc).

[Abdulmalik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for showing the forces of convergence and the logic of one world. I think Asians, and particularly my region's people, the Middle Easterners, which their region is currently in full revolt or some restive places are about to revolt, to gain our independence from the developed World unfair domination we need to read more books like this readable book by Mahbubani. This is to show us how well we are capable, as equal humans, of having great countries that not only want to become economically and politically independent from living under from the West-often-supported fake democracies or autocracy with religious flavour, but equally value the rules-based cooperation with the rest of the world based on respect and mutual-understanding not deceit or neglect. Mahbubani eloquently showed us the way forward and the West policy-makers and some academics should read this book with open-mind and humbleness...

[Selina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this! Though many might think Mahbubani is overly optimistic in his appraisal of China (especially so, in view of China's rocky year in terms of stock markets and her slowing economy), I greatly appreciate the new perspective he provides in the canon dominated by Western thinkers. It's always interesting seeing how an Asian thinker assesses the rise of his own region - perhaps, more biased; but nonetheless, more authentic.

This was one of my very first picks in my foray into foreign policy/international affairs reading a few years ago - truly eye-opening in Mahbubani's analysis on the confluence of Eastern and Western aspirations, his rapier wit and the ingenious ideas he has to revitalise institutions of global governance and human enterprise.

And yippee, I ambushed the author after a forum and got my copy autographed!

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

A clear progressive message conveying how we must all bow to their reason and take up the mantra of collectivism, naming it convergence. There are some interesting nuggets throughout and the author does seem to level charges pretty much in all directions. Both Rs and Ds should be able to find parts they like and parts they hate.

The chapter that covers the impacts of aid was very interesting and fits with a number of things I've read previously on the deleterious effects, often, to the targets of generosity. In this case his focus is on how, in so many cases, the real beneficiaries of programs are those involved on the benefactors' side with contracting, logistics, etc. Far too often, the 'cuts' taken at various levels result in very little making it through to the ultimate beneficiary.