Wprowadzenie: Westlessness czyli zmierzch Zachodu 2.0?

Abstract

This article introduces the special section entitled Westlessness or the  Decline of the West 2.0? Whereas the concept of the West remains a moving target and requires the Other – the Rest to exist and thrive, it does organize both global power relations and the way we think about them. Thus the ‘decline of the West’ is not only about material realities, but also about de-legitimizing practices and discourses produced by strategically-acting actors both outside and within the West itself. Whereas Westlessness in the World refers to the weakening ability of shaping the Rest, Westlessness in the West denotes contestation and hollowing-out of the liberal rules of the game in the very centre of the West: the us and the European Union. The question remains as to whether COVID-19 pandemic brings “more of the same”, while amplifying existing trends, or whether it provides for a transformation impulse and possibly Western revival.