Divergent Worlds: What the Ancient Mediterranean and Indian Ocean Can Tell Us About the Future of International Order
Jan 2025 · Yale University Press
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A study of why the ancient Mediterranean and Indian Ocean took different paths to peace and stability and its lessons for international order today
In this book Amitav Acharya and Manjeet S. Pardesi compare the interplay of power and ideas in the ancient Mediterranean and Indian Ocean to explain why the two regions took divergent paths to peace and stability. While the ancient Mediterranean order was shaped by the hegemony of Rome, the Indian Ocean developed an open and inclusive international order without the dominance of any single power. Moreover, the Indian Ocean provides a more robust example of the peaceful spread of ideas and culture in contrast to the ancient Mediterranean, where Hellenization, or the spread of Greek ideas, was often accompanied by violence and imperialism.
Applying the divergent experiences of the two regions, the authors argue that the history of the Indian Ocean before European colonization offers a more useful framework for reshaping world order as the U.S.- and Western-dominated Liberal International Order comes to an end. The Indian Ocean framework points to an alternative model of order building—a multiplex rather than a multipolar approach—that could sustain efforts to build peace and stability in the emerging Indo-Pacific region.
In this book Amitav Acharya and Manjeet S. Pardesi compare the interplay of power and ideas in the ancient Mediterranean and Indian Ocean to explain why the two regions took divergent paths to peace and stability. While the ancient Mediterranean order was shaped by the hegemony of Rome, the Indian Ocean developed an open and inclusive international order without the dominance of any single power. Moreover, the Indian Ocean provides a more robust example of the peaceful spread of ideas and culture in contrast to the ancient Mediterranean, where Hellenization, or the spread of Greek ideas, was often accompanied by violence and imperialism.
Applying the divergent experiences of the two regions, the authors argue that the history of the Indian Ocean before European colonization offers a more useful framework for reshaping world order as the U.S.- and Western-dominated Liberal International Order comes to an end. The Indian Ocean framework points to an alternative model of order building—a multiplex rather than a multipolar approach—that could sustain efforts to build peace and stability in the emerging Indo-Pacific region.
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About the author
Amitav Acharya is the UNESCO Chair in Transnational Challenges and Governance and Distinguished Professor at the School of International Service, American University. Manjeet S. Pardesi is associate professor of international relations in the Political Science and International Relations Programme, and Asia research fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies at Victoria University of Wellington.
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