“Malwitzki has successfully portrayed the narrative of the West’s decline as a story of collapse. Free from empty rhetoric and fantasy, this book offers not only rich insights but also inspires courage.” — Per Leo, German historian and author, research fellow at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, and PhD in Modern and Contemporary History from Humboldt University of Berlin

“A book about a global turning point.” — Jörg S. Carl, Hersfelder Zeitung

“The author explores in this accessible book… how political and economic power is currently being redistributed across the globe.” — Alexander Armbruster, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung

“Anyone who reads this book will gain valuable insights… It is an awakening, thought-provoking, and even hopeful work.” — Gustav Seibt, Süddeutsche Zeitung

“This expert, who teaches at the University of Hong Kong, expresses many views… that remain largely unknown in our political discourse.” — Helmut L. Müller, Parlamentsreport

“The author skillfully dispels the fog of hypocrisy, double standards, power, and morality.” — Tanjev Schultz, Süddeutsche Zeitung

“This book is one of the most thought-provoking I’ve read this year.” — Christopher Braux, podcast “Natural Excuse”

“Daniel Malwitzki takes a necessary step back to examine Western nations in his book.” — Katrin Stoffsander, Deutschlandfunk Kultur

“Finally, there is a German political scientist who can view Germany—and indeed the entire West—from an external perspective.” — Tobias Haberkorn, editor of Berliner Literaturkritik

“The West will no longer dominate the world. Political scientist Daniel Malwitzki analyzes the gravity of the situation and Donald Trump’s role within it.” — Marc von Lüpke, t-online

“Dr. Daniel Malwitzki, Lecturer in Politics and Public Administration at the University of Hong Kong and Deputy Director of the Master of International and Public Affairs (MIPA) program, recently published a work in his native German on the changing global order. The book argues that although we are moving toward a post-Western order, this new order still bears the imprint of its origins—the violent 19th-century expansion of the West across the globe.
In this comprehensive work, Dr. Malwitzki examines the emergence and challenges facing the liberal international order, which now appears to be fading. He elucidates Asia’s resurgence and considers the potential role Europe might play as it seems adrift in a post-unipolar world. Malwitzki contends that the best way to understand Donald Trump is as a ‘manager of the West’s decline.’
The book has enjoyed strong sales and has received exceptionally positive reviews in Germany.
Dr. Malwitzki has been interviewed by leading newspapers and weeklies such as Der Spiegel, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and Die Zeit. He has shared his expertise through numerous sold-out lectures and appeared on German television. His work was named to a top-ten list of nonfiction books selected by a jury of journalists and scientists. Highly acclaimed, it has even attracted readers among former German chancellors.
We are particularly pleased to note that the book draws heavily on Dr. Malwitzki’s teaching experience at the University of Hong Kong over the past few years, for which he was awarded the Social Sciences Teaching Excellence Award. It truly reflects the fruits of his dual life between Hong Kong and Germany.
We congratulate Dr. Malwitzki on his success and look forward to seeing a translation soon!”
— Recommendation from the University of Hong Kong’s official website page

★ Highly recommended by leading authoritative media outlets such as Die Zeit, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Spiegel Online, and Süddeutsche Zeitung; Germany’s former chancellor is also among its readers!
★ The book has been shortlisted for the prestigious Science Book of the Year award, attesting to both academic acclaim and commercial success.
★ The West’s centuries-long global dominance has come to an end, and the contours of a new “Asian Century” order—multipolar, pluralistic, and multilateral—are rapidly emerging. Daniel Maliniak, a professor at the University of Hong Kong and a PhD from SOAS, University of London, describes the transformations unfolding before our eyes, elucidating the historical context of this turbulent world and their geopolitical implications.
★ This groundbreaking work transcends alarmism and pessimism, offering a fresh perspective on the 21st-century global order. Unlike the traditional Western order, the 21st century’s global architecture will be fundamentally different. It represents a significant voice from a younger generation of social scientists, raising crucial questions and conducting insightful analyses of contemporary structural dynamics.
★ As a professor of international relations at the University of Hong Kong, the author is a political scientist who can examine the West from an external vantage point—particularly through Eastern experience and perspectives. By moving beyond “Western-centric” narratives and the confines of “internal Western reflection,” he anchors his analysis in the empirical realities of the Global South and Asia’s rise, thereby redefining the logic underlying the 21st century’s realignment of power. This external lens not only clarifies the dilemmas of Western hegemony but also provides a robust theoretical foundation for the potential of an Asian Century.
★ The English-language rights have already been sold. To better align with current contexts and meet the needs of a broader international audience, the German publisher of the original edition will collaborate closely with the author to adapt the content for greater accessibility to non-German-speaking readers. At the same time, the author is open to licensing translation rights for Asian languages and making regional adaptations to ensure effective localization and dissemination of the work in those markets.
★ A partial English translation is available for reference.

What will happen after 300 years of Western dominance?
The world that Europe created in the 19th century is no longer one dominated solely by the West. The decline of the West has coincided with the rise of nations that were once oppressed by European powers. Countries such as India, South Africa, Brazil, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia can no longer be marginalized; they have found a robust economic alternative in China. The United States has long been uneasy about China’s ascent, and talk of a new Cold War has grown increasingly loud. Both the U.S. and Russia are seeking to rally Europe to their sides—yet ultimately, Europe must learn to act independently.
In this context, Donald Trump serves as a kind of “downsizing manager” for the West, reconfiguring the United States from an empire back into a nation-state. This development frustrates a melancholy Europe, which is stumbling unwittingly toward a new multipolar, pluralistic, and multilateral world order. Underneath it all, decolonization is finally—albeit belatedly—taking effect.
The old world order is disintegrating, but what will the new one look like? We are witnessing a transition into an Asian century.

Daniel Malvecki
Born in Bremen in 1987, Daniel Malvecki is a highly regarded international relations scholar who currently teaches international relations at the University of Hong Kong. He holds the position of Honorary Lecturer in the Department of Politics and Public Administration and serves as Deputy Director of the Master of International and Public Affairs (MIPA) program.
Dr. Malvecki earned his PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London in 2018. Following this, he first worked as a visiting lecturer at the University of Leipzig in Germany, before teaching at the University of Leeds and SOAS during the 2019/20 academic year. While on the faculty, Dr. Malvecki published his doctoral dissertation on German–Israeli relations as a widely discussed book titled “Pardon? Israel and German State Reason,” which was released in German in 2024. In 2020, he joined the University of Hong Kong, where he was awarded the university’s 2025 Outstanding Teaching Award in Social Sciences.
Dr. Malvecki has received several prestigious German research grants in recognition of his scholarly work. He is also a frequently sought-after expert on international politics, contributing to publications such as Le Monde Diplomatique, taz, Unherd, Jacobin, and Berliner Literaturkritik, among others.
Most recently, the author was honored with one of Die Zeit’s highest distinctions: he was among 35 “leading contemporary intellectuals” invited to write commentaries for a major special issue exploring the current state of relations between the West and the United States. His essay appears alongside contributions from figures like Silja Graupe-Horstmeier, Eva Illouz, Yascha Mounk, Corine Pelluchin, and Donatella Di Cesare.