Could world order survive the decline of the West? Acharya says yes, arguing that the contemporary world order is not the monopoly of any civilization or nation, but a shared creation. The foundations of this order — including diplomacy, peace treaties, rules-based inter-state cooperation, freedom of the seas, open trading systems, and humanitarian values — originated in multiple locations around the world. These foundations have been obscured by centuries of Western dominance, but now that the dominant position of the West is under challenge, they help inform the debate about what will come next. The lecture centers on Acharya’s research into the long history of world ordering. He also reflects on how recent developments, especially the second Trump presidency, resonate with his claims and provide insights into order in a “world-minus-the one” (the US).

Agenda
Book sales and reception from 5 to 5.30pm
Lecture from 5.30 to 7pm

Speaker
Amitav Acharya is the UNESCO Chair in Transnational Challenges and Governance and Distinguished Professor at the School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC. Previously he was a Professor at York University, Toronto and the University of Bristol, U.K. He is currently Honorary Professor, Rhodes University and Professor Extraordinarius, University of Pretoria (both in South Africa), and Guest Professor, Nankai University, China. He was the inaugural Boeing Company Chair in International Relations at the Schwarzman Scholars Program at Tsinghua University, Fellow of Harvard’s Asia Center and John F. Kennedy School of Government, and Christensen Fellow at Oxford. His books include The Once and Future World Order: Why Global Civilization Will Survive the Decline of the West (Basic Books 2025); The Making of Global International Relations (Cambridge 2019: with Barry Buzan); Constructing Global Order (Cambridge 2018); The End of American World Order (Polity 2014, 2018); The Making of Southeast Asia (Cornell 2013); and Whose Ideas Matter (Cornell 2009). His essays have appeared in International Organization, International Security, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Asian Studies, Foreign Affairs, Journal of Peace Research, International Affairs, Perspectives on Politics, and World Politics. He has written op-eds for New York Times, Financial Times, Washington Post, Times of India, and other newspapers around the world, and appeared on news media such as CNN International, BBC TV and BBC World Service Radio. He is the first non-Western scholar to be elected (for 2014-15) the President of the International Studies Association (ISA), the largest and most influential global network in international studies. He has received three ISA Distinguished Scholar Awards. In 2020, he received American University’s highest honor: Scholar-Teacher of the Year Award.

About Professor Desmond Ball AO
In over 40 years’ service at ANU, Professor Des Ball made a remarkable contribution to the university as a scholar, teacher, academic leader, and mentor. He was the leading figure in Strategic Studies in Australia of his generation and made a major contribution to global scholarship in a field of vital importance.

During the Cold War, Professor Ball advised US President Jimmy Carter against nuclear strikes against Soviet targets. At the time, President Carter wrote that "Desmond Ball's counsel and cautionary advice, based on deep research, made a great difference to our collective goal of avoiding nuclear war". His achievements were recognised in 2013 with the Peter Baume Award, and in 2014 when he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).

This Public Lecture is hosted by the Coral Bell School's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre through the support of the Des Ball Strategic Endowment. The Lecture is part of a series of events in 2026 celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre (1966-2026).

Additional information:
Registration is required for this event. If you require accessibility accommodations or a visitor Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan please email bell.marketing@anu.edu.au. Accessible parking spaces are available around campus should you require them.

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