The Geopolitics of Emotion

The first book to investigate the far-reaching emotional impact of globalization. Dominique Moïsi, an authority on international affairs, argues that our post-9/11 world has become divided by more than cultural fault lines. He chronicles how the geopolitics of today is characterized by a "clash of emotions," and how cultures of fear, humiliation, and hope are reshaping the world. Moïsi contends that the United States and Europe have been dominated by fears of the "other" and of their loss of a national identity and purpose. For Muslims, the combination of historical grievances, exclusion from the economic boon of globalization, and civil and religious conflicts have created a culture of humiliation that is quickly devolving into a culture of hatred. Meanwhile, Asia has been able to concentrate on building a better future and seizing the economic initiative from the American-dominated West, creating a new culture of hope. How will these varying emotions influence the political, social, and cultural conflicts that roil our world? And what will the effect of the world economic crisis be?--From publisher description.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction, Fiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.