

Georgios Varouxakis, "The West: The History of an Idea" (Princeton UP, 2025)
Oct 4, 2025
Georgios Varouxakis, a Professor of the history of political thought at Queen Mary University of London, dives into the fascinating evolution of the idea of ‘the West.’ He argues it emerged in the 1820s, with significant promotion by Auguste Comte, differentiating Western Europe from Russia amidst political needs. Varouxakis explores varied perspectives, including Kant's vision of a peaceful West, the impact of World War I on Western identity, and critiques from figures like James Baldwin, revealing the complexity of what 'the West' truly signifies.
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'The West' Is A Modern Invention
- The explicit self-designation 'the West' is a modern political invention emerging in the early 19th century.
- Georgios Varouxakis traces its deliberate coinage to thinkers who wanted a term distinct from 'Europe' or 'Christendom'.
First Uses Targeted Russia
- Early uses of 'the West' aimed to distinguish Western Europe from Russia rather than from Asia or the Ottoman Empire.
- The term arose from intra-European geopolitical concerns, especially fear of Russian expansion.
Kant's West Was Pacifist And Anti-Imperial
- Immanuel Kant helped theorize the West as a cohesive sociological entity with pacifist, anti-imperial aims.
- His West aimed to abolish empires and expand by voluntary example rather than conquest.