The West
The History of an Idea
Published on 8. July 2025
Book
Hardback
512 pages
978-0-691-17718-2 (ISBN)
Description
A comprehensive intellectual history of the idea of the West
How did "the West" come to be used as a collective self-designation signaling political and cultural commonality? When did "Westerners" begin to refer to themselves in this way? Was the idea handed down from the ancient Greeks, or coined by nineteenth-century imperialists? Neither, writes Georgios Varouxakis in The West, his ambitious and fascinating genealogy of the idea. "The West" was not used by Plato, Cicero, Locke, Mill, or other canonized figures of what we today call the Western tradition. It was not first wielded by empire-builders. It gradually emerged as of the 1820s and was then, Varouxakis shows, decisively promoted in the 1840s by the French philosopher Auguste Comte (whose political project, incidentally, was passionately anti-imperialist). The need for the use of the term "the West" emerged to avoid the confusing or unwanted consequences of the use of "Europe." The two overlapped, but were not identical, with the West used to differentiate from certain "others" within Europe as well as to include the Americas.
After examining the origins, Varouxakis traces the many and often astonishingly surprising changes in the ways in which the West has been understood, and the different intentions and consequences related to a series of these contested definitions. While other theories of the West consider only particular aspects of the concept and its history (if only in order to take aim at its reputation), Varouxakis's analysis offers a comprehensive account that reaches to the present day, exploring the multiplicity of current, and not least, prospective future meanings. He concludes with an examination of how, since 2022, definitions and membership of the West have been reworked to consider Ukraine, as the evolution and redefinitions continue.
How did "the West" come to be used as a collective self-designation signaling political and cultural commonality? When did "Westerners" begin to refer to themselves in this way? Was the idea handed down from the ancient Greeks, or coined by nineteenth-century imperialists? Neither, writes Georgios Varouxakis in The West, his ambitious and fascinating genealogy of the idea. "The West" was not used by Plato, Cicero, Locke, Mill, or other canonized figures of what we today call the Western tradition. It was not first wielded by empire-builders. It gradually emerged as of the 1820s and was then, Varouxakis shows, decisively promoted in the 1840s by the French philosopher Auguste Comte (whose political project, incidentally, was passionately anti-imperialist). The need for the use of the term "the West" emerged to avoid the confusing or unwanted consequences of the use of "Europe." The two overlapped, but were not identical, with the West used to differentiate from certain "others" within Europe as well as to include the Americas.
After examining the origins, Varouxakis traces the many and often astonishingly surprising changes in the ways in which the West has been understood, and the different intentions and consequences related to a series of these contested definitions. While other theories of the West consider only particular aspects of the concept and its history (if only in order to take aim at its reputation), Varouxakis's analysis offers a comprehensive account that reaches to the present day, exploring the multiplicity of current, and not least, prospective future meanings. He concludes with an examination of how, since 2022, definitions and membership of the West have been reworked to consider Ukraine, as the evolution and redefinitions continue.
Reviews / Votes
"A Financial Times Best Book of the Year" "A Spectator Book of the Year" "A Foreign Affairs Best Book of the Year" "A Tablet Book of the Year" "In The West: The History of an Idea, Georgios Varouxakis tells this story with wit, insight, and erudition. It is our great fortune that the first comprehensive history of the idea of the West is also, for the foreseeable future, the best. Anyone with ideas on the subject will be well advised to read it closely and keep it within reach."---Yuri Slezkine, New York Review of Books "Illuminating. . . . As talk of the West is once again resurgent, Varouxakis's book offers the best guide to understanding the meaning of this deeply elusive idea." * Jacobin * "The West is a monumental achievement of scholarship. Its chief contribution is its decentering of imperial and racial paradigms, which have become politicized and turned into stale orthodoxies that have led to distortions in historical understanding."---Max Skjoensberg, Law & Liberty "A seriously impressive piece of intellectual history."---Nick Spencer, The Spectator "This book will serve as a salutary reminder of how recent our ideas about the ancient past can really be and how deceptively complex are the ties that bind us with it."---Mark Mazower, Financial Times "[A] masterful study."---G. John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs "Much of the story Varouxakis tells will be new, even to other historians. His book .... is not only deeply researched and clearly written, but also highly original. [A] deeply erudite yet highly readable work that lays many myths to rest. . . .Varouxakis may have written the most original history book of the year"---Daniel Johnson, The Critic "A monumental endeavour that sets an incredible example for what rigorous scholarship can still manage to achieve."---Huzaifa Omair Siddiqi, The Wire India "Georgios Varouxakis's history of the idea of the West. . . is enormously illuminating."---Hans Kundnani, Times Literary Supplement "[A] massive scholarly accomplishment."---Ferenc Laczo, Modern Intellectual History "Georgios Varouxakis's The West: The History of an Idea is a genealogy of this elusive concept. . . . What makes Varouxakis's study so timely is that he carries this story forward to the present. . . . By situating 'the West' as a historical invention rather than a civilizational given, Varouxakis's book provides both a corrective and a warning."---Etan Nechin, Haaretz "Meticulously researched, engaging, and sometimes bewildering."---Andrew Kaufmann, Mere Orthodoxy "Georgios Varouxakis has written a much-needed book: The West: The History of an Idea. . . . The kaleidoscope of quotations in his book testifies to a Herculean scholarly effort."---Jaroslaw Kuisz, Foreign Policy "Georgios Varouxakis' The West is a model of intellectual history, tracing the idea of the West from its surprising origins, through two centuries of shifting sands, to the current (but hardly unique) crisis, without ever unduly praising or burying the phenomenon. A cool intellectual breeze for an overheated debate."---Nick Spencer, The Tablet "Reader[s] will be fascinated by [Varouxakis'] account of how the definition and membership of the "West" has changed over time."---Matthew Partridge, Money Week "Georgios Varouxakis's rigorously analytical The West. . . offers an antidote to unnuanced, polarised geopolitical thinking."---Lucasta Miller, The Spectator "The West: The History of an Idea brilliantly sums up the twists and turns of how Europe has defined itself and others over two thousand years. ... this very erudite book ... this brilliant book ... should be compulsory reading for Arab bankers and diplomats. ... written in very elegant and clear English."---Francis Ghiles, The Arab Weekly "A Brilliant, Illuminating Discussion on the Concept of 'the West. ...an impressive work.... It's a timely work about the future of a most important heritage."---Dustin Bass, The Epoch Times "'I feel you!' was my first thought on reading of Varouxakis' uncertainties about his own borderline East-West identity. ... Varouxakis's survey is born of an urge to escape geographical determinism, and to instill, accordingly, a suspicion of terms (not only 'the West', but also the 'Global South') that might imply such determinism. ... Though he is implicitly in favor of what he describes as 'so-called "Western values"'...he argues against such values 'being in any way owned by "Western" peoples.'... One can only agree."---Oksana Forostyna, European Review of Books "In contrast to the often classic-heavy literature in the field of 'history of international thought', Georgios Varouxakis shows a knowledgeable affection for second-tier authors. ...who would have thought of impressive intellectuals such as the Greek philosopher of history Markos Renieris, the founding father of US political science Francis (Franz) Lieber and the African-American philosopher Alain LeRoy Locke, or the convert to Islam Rene Guenon, who was equally appreciated by Steve Bannon and Aleksandr Dugin? ... the book deserves broad attention."---Juergen Osterhammel, Sehepunkte: Rezensionsjournal fuer die Geschichtswissenschaften "It is ... valuable that Varouxakis shows that the concept of 'West' in modern times did not grow out of colonial or imperialist notions, but exactly the opposite.... It is not only interesting as a historical curiosity but as a potential compass for a future understanding of the concept. ...Varouxakis nuances the concept by skilfully mixing impressions and ideas about the West from non-Western thinkers."---Martin Gelin, Dagens Nyheter "No review. . .of The West: The History of an Idea can do justice to the intellectual breadth and depth of this book. Anyone who wants to engage with the history of European ideas must read this book."---Chritoph Nick, Literatur Review "Immensely erudite."---Jeremy Jennings, Engelsberg Ideas "Highly recommended." * Choice Reviews * "What does 'the West' name? What, if anything, are Western values? . . . . Georgios Varouxakis. . . avoids the shouting and answers in an original and rewarding way."---Edmund Fawcett, The Political Quarterly "[An] important book. . . . The book's principal achievement lies not so much in uncovering the ambiguities and contradictions of the idea of the West-although it does this as well-as in drawing attention to a foundation that perhaps makes the idea unique."---Efraim Podoksik, European Legacy "Engaging and very detailed. . . . An important book."---Anthony Pagden, Literary Review "Varouxakis's book is an indispensable compendium for the history of the West as a concept, the meanings it has acquired since the nineteenth century, and the authors who elaborated them."---Antonis Liakos, Journal of Modern Greek StudiesMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
35 b/w illus. 4 maps.
Dimensions
Height: 239 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 39 mm
Weight
878 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-17718-2 (9780691177182)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
05/2025
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
€38.99
Available for download
Person
Georgios Varouxakis is professor of the history of political thought in the School of History at Queen Mary University of London and Codirector of the Centre for the Study of the History of Political Thought. He is the author of Mill on Nationality, Victorian Political Thought on France and the French, and Liberty Abroad: J. S. Mill on International Relations and the coauthor of Contemporary France.