Divergent Worlds - What Ancient Mediterranean Indian Ocean Can Tell Us About Future of

A study of why the ancient Mediterranean and Indian Ocean took different paths to peace and stability and its lessons for international order today
 
In this book Amitav Acharya and Manjeet S. Pardesi compare the interplay of power and ideas in the ancient Mediterranean and Indian Ocean to explain why the two regions took divergent paths to peace and stability. While the ancient Mediterranean order was shaped by the hegemony of Rome, the Indian Ocean developed an open and inclusive international order without the dominance of any single power. Moreover, the Indian Ocean provides a more robust example of the peaceful spread of ideas and culture in contrast to the ancient Mediterranean, where Hellenization, or the spread of Greek ideas, was often accompanied by violence and imperialism.
 
Applying the divergent experiences of the two regions, the authors argue that the history of the Indian Ocean before European colonization offers a more useful framework for reshaping world order as the U.S.- and Western-dominated Liberal International Order comes to an end. The Indian Ocean framework points to an alternative model of order building—a multiplex rather than a multipolar approach—that could sustain efforts to build peace and stability in the emerging Indo-Pacific region.

About the author

Amitav Acharya and Manjeet S. Pardesi

Product details

• Authors: Amitav Acharya, Amitav Pardesi Acharya, Acharya Amitav, Manjeet S. Pardesi
• Publisher: Yale University Press Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 04.03.2025
• EAN: 9780300214987
• ISBN: 978-0-300-21498-7
• No. of pages: 248
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Antiquity; History, HISTORY / Ancient / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / General, HISTORY / World, Ancient History, General and world history, Mediterranean countries / Mediterranean basin