I have just read the book ‘Global gescheitert?’ [Failed globally?] by Susanne Schröter. The translation of the subtitle is ‘The West between presumption and self-hate’ and this announces the main themes of the book. The part of the world which may be called the West is in decline (my statement, not that of the author). This is related to two major problems which almost seem to contradict each other. On the one hand the West is under the illusion that it can control what is happening in other parts of the world, overestimating its own powers. At the same time it is constantly criticising its own culture and considering itself as the main cause of all the problems of the world. My interest in these themes and a certain prior positive opinion of the author were reasons for buying this book. There was also another extrinsic reason. This is an incident which took place in Frankfurt on 28th April 2023 and which led to extensive media coverage and public discussion in Germany. It was connected to a conference on immigration which Susanne Schröter organized. That conference was accompanied by protests from left-wing groups. I do not believe that these were justified and the reasons I believe that are connected with the book I am writing about here. One of the people invited to talk at the conference was the mayor of Tübingen, Boris Palmer. He got involved in a conflict with the protesters outside the building and expressed himself in a provocative and unacceptable way. The organisers of the conference attempted to get the protagonists in this conflict to talk to each other so as to mitigate it but this was not very successful. Susanne Schröter later said that she very much regretted having invited Palmer to the event. After this incident she was attacked aggressively by many people and it was even suggested that the University of Frankfurt should cancel her research project. Fortunately they did not do so but my feeling is that the university was not as supportive of her cause as it should have been. In this context I see buying this book (and advertising its qualities) as a small gesture of solidarity towards the author. She is close to the usual retiring age and I was pleased to hear that she has now been given a research professorship at the University of Frankfurt to allow her to continue her work beyond that time.
The book contains a lot of information about different political themes and the connections between them. It made me realize how much I did not know in this area. I just tend to react to individual political events when I come into contact with them through the media or personal experience. I lack the background needed to see many connections. I feel that reading the book has improved my status. The first three topics discussed in the book are the political situation in three countries: Ukraine, Afghanistan and Mali. When something happens in a distant country which from the point of view of the West is very bad (e.g. the oppression of women in Afghanistan) then the West feels the obligation to do something against it. The question is whether they have the ability to do so. A typical procedure is the following. The first step is often a military intervention. The next is helping the locals to solve some of their pressing problems while giving them some access to some of the positive things available in the West. These offers are much appreciated by a certain (usually small) part of the population, usually those with a better education. Unfortunately it can happen that the majority sees the actions of the representatives of the West as interference rather than as help. Well-meaning actions of the West can lead to many inhabitants of the countries concerned having a negative opinion of the West. This can synergize with the West’s expressing negative opinions of itself. A belief in being able to solve the political problems of other countries with very different cultures is only one of the related problems of the West. Another is the belief in being able to solve the problems of climate change alone while others show little sign of being prepared to cooperate.
Now let me turn to the topic of self-hate. In the world there are many problems and the West has the tendency to see itself as the sole cause of all these problems. At the same time the rest of the world, everything which is not the West, is often idealized by the West and seen in the role of a victim. It is then not surprising that some of the people who do not belong to the West take up these ideas and present the West as the root of all evil. (Some of the most prominent of them do so from well-endowed chairs at elite universities in the US.) It is also the case that those from outside the West who try to cooperate with the West are presented by their own people and by the extreme left in the West as traitors. The book discusses the case of Léopold Sédar Senghor, the first president of Senegal. When he was presented with the peace prize of the German publishing industry in Frankfurt in 1968 there were student protests attempting to prevent the ceremony. An example closer to home is that of Ahmad Mansour. He grew up in a Muslim family in Israel and has made his home in Germany. He is seen quite often on German TV as a commentator on themes related to immigration and Islam. I always found his presentations convincing. His reward for his commitment to working for the things he believes in is that he has to live under police protection. He was one of the speakers at the conference organized by Susanne Schröter mentioned above and was one of the targets of the associated protests. It is a taboo today in the West to criticize what is outside the West, the people or the culture, no matter how justified criticism may be in a specific case. A related phenomenon is that of renaming things (streets, universities etc.) because the people they are named after did not always behave according to modern ideas of political correctness. Many of theses people achieved things for which they deserve to be honoured and they behaved according to the conventions of their time. In my opinion it is usually not right (there may be exceptions) to strike off their names or topple their statues.
The book I am discussing here exhibits problems and could be criticized for the fact that it does not do much to suggest solutions to those problems, except to recommend avoiding certain mistakes which were made in the past. However the author never claimed that the book would provide solutions. There is an interesting video where the author replies to questions about the book in an interview with the journalist Jan Fleischhauer. One good point he makes is that it is encouraging that the title of the book contains a question mark.
Hydrobates 