#rp26 speaker Daniel Marwecki: Is this the end of the West?

The West is afraid of its decline — and rightly so. The world that Europe created in the 19th century has become a world  over which the West will no longer rule alone. How does one actually decline with dignity? What role do Germany and Europe play in this? And why is Donald Trump, of all people, involved in shaping the decline of Western supremacy? At re:publica Berlin, Daniel Marwecki addresses these questions.

In 2025, the author and lecturer summarized his thoughts on the decline of the West in his book “Die Welt nach dem Westen” (The World After the West). In it, he describes how those who live in countries that were formerly considered part of the so-called “Third World” and are now referred to as the “Global South” will benefit the most. However, one term is as generalizing as the other. Both forget that the non-West was never the minority. The terms attempt to create an entity of something that actually has nothing in common except for having been dominated by Europe at a certain point in its history.

In his book, he discusses many examples, among them also China. As the second superpower behind the US, the country no longer allows anyone to dictate its politics. However, the new self-confidence of the Global South is not limited to China. India, South Africa, Brazil, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries are no longer willing to take a back seat in a world order created by others. All of this leaves us with the question: What will the future of a “multipolar” world look like?

Daniel Marwecki is an author and lecturer in international relations at the University of Hong Kong. He previously completed his doctorate at the SOAS University of London. His first book, “Germany and Israel: Whitewashing and Statebuilding” (Deutschland und Israel: Rehabilitation und Staatsaufbau), was published in 2020 and republished in 2025. In 2024, he also published the much-discussed “Absolution? Israel und die Deutsche Staatsräson” (Absolution? Israel and the German reason of state).