We Are Not the Whole World. New Publication on a Changed World Order.

Hamburg, 22 September 2023 – None of the pressing global challenges of the day can be solved by the West alone anymore. Today, the countries of the Global South are emerging with a new self-confidence. What are their interests, motives, and perspectives? Why do they often not share the West’s outlook, for example towards Russia? In their recently published book We Are Not The Whole World: The Global South and the Ignorance of the West, Johannes Plagemann and Henrik Maihack make clear the differences in perception regarding international politics in the West and in the Global South respectively.

According to the authors, a better understanding of these differences is becoming increasingly urgent as the United States and Europe lose more and more of their former dominance. The Global South has long taken on a new strategic importance. Anyone seeking its support must understand its motives. It is becoming clear that Europe’s fundamental interests in economics, politics, and ecology overlap with those of many states in the Global South. Plagemann and Maihack explain why the countries of the Global South act the way they do, why their scepticism towards the West runs so deep, and why diversity also offers key opportunities.