Amitav Acharya - The Once and Future World Order: Why Global Civilization Will Survive the Decline of the West

A Book with Legs

Smead Capital Management

Investing, Business, Management

4.2 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 6 October 2025

⏱️ 93 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, professor and author Amitav Acharya joins Cole Smead to discuss his book “The Once and Future World Order: Why Global Civilization Will Survive the Decline of the West.” The two discuss the history of world order, including its origins in Mesopotamia. Cole and Amitav also examine what historical insights reveal about the future of nations like the U.S. and China, as well as the world order in relation to the decline of the West.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to A Book with Legs, a podcast presented by Smead Capital Management.
0:07.9	At Smead Capital Management, we advise investors who play the long game.
0:12.3	You can learn more at Smeadcap.com or by calling your financial advisor.
0:23.2	Welcome to a book with Legs podcast.
0:27.4	I'm Cole Smead, CEO and portfolio manager here at Smead Capital Management.
0:32.8	At our firm, we are readers, and we believe in the power of books to help shape informed investors.
0:36.1	In this podcast, we speak to great authors about their writings.
0:40.9	The late great Charlie Munger prescribed using multiple mental models and analysis.
0:45.6	We analyze their work through the lens of business, markets, and people.
0:51.0	In this episode, we are going to look at an alternative history, which we haven't done often, but I think is very valuable to understand what may come in the future.
0:55.0	Joining us on this podcast episode is Amatov Acharya to discuss his book, The Once and Future World Order.
1:03.0	Since Amitav is probably new to our audience, I want to give a little background on him.
1:07.0	He is the UNESCO chair in transitional challenges and governance and distinguished
1:12.5	professor at the School of International Service at American University in Washington, D.C. He has also
1:18.5	taught at York University and the University of Bristol. He has written other titles that include
1:23.3	his more recent ones like the making of global international relations, constructing global
1:29.1	order, and the end of the American world order.
1:32.6	He has written op-eds for the New York Times, Financial Times, Washington Post, and other
1:38.5	publications.
1:40.1	Amitaph, thank you for joining me today.
1:42.0	Thank you, Mr. Smith.
1:43.2	I must say that it's a real pleasure, and I'm very keen to appear before what to me would be a rather novel audience, because I'm an academic and I've appeared and given hundreds and hundreds of talks to.
	...

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