Is the West Ready for an Asian Century?

Podcast Deep Dish on Global Affairs Podcast
Has President Trump’s second term accelerated the shift toward an Asian-led world order? Experts Kishore Mahbubani and Avinash Paliwali weigh in.
ASEAN Play Podcast
Jacqueline Hernandez / Pool via AP
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About the Episode

As China and India rise, power in the Indo-Pacific is shifting fast, and the world is feeling it. Former Singaporean diplomat Kishore Mahbubani puts it bluntly: “the era of Western domination of world history is over.” Along with Avinash Paliwal of SOAS, they unpack how the region views this shift, whether President Trump’s second term has sped it up, and what it means for America’s place in the world. 

About the Experts
Avinash Paliwal
Reader, International Relations, SOAS University of London
Avinash Paliwal Headshot
Avinash Paliwal is Reader in International Relations at SOAS University of London. Previous to this he was the deputy director of the SOAS South Asia Institute, taught Defence Studies at King’s College London, and was the Defence Academy Postdoctoral Fellow, also at King’s. His most recent book, India’s Near East – A New History unpacks India’s faltering attempts to exert control over its eastern hinterland.
Avinash Paliwal Headshot
Kishore Mahbubani
Distinguished Fellow, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore
Kishore Mahbubani Headshot
Kishore Mahbubani is currently a distinguished fellow at the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore. Before embarking on a career in academia, he was with the Singapore Foreign Service for 33 years. With postings in Cambodia, Malaysia, Washington, DC, and New York, he also served as Singapore’s Ambassador to the United Nations and as President of the UN Security Council.
Kishore Mahbubani Headshot
Leslie Vinjamuri
President & Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Leslie Vinjamuri headshot
Dr. Leslie Vinjamuri joined the Council in 2025 as the president and chief executive officer, after previously serving as director of the US and the Americas program at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, known as Chatham House, in London. She brings nearly 30 years of experience working at the intersection of international affairs, research, policy, and public engagement.
Leslie Vinjamuri headshot
Issues Global Politics
Regions East Asia Southeast Asia
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