Glenn Diesen - Greater Eurasia Podcast

Emmanuel Todd: Defeat of the West - Collapse of Power & Values

Nov 17, 2025
Emmanuel Todd, a historical demographer and bestselling author, explores the decline of Western power in a thought-provoking conversation. He discusses how long-term demographic indicators reveal the disintegration of the Anglo-American world. Todd connects the Soviet collapse to a false sense of Western victory and highlights a critical shortage of engineers as a sign of decline. He critiques the exhaustion of the Anglo-American model and examines how changing family structures shape societal values, ultimately predicting a challenging future for the West.
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INSIGHT

Demographics Reveal Hidden State Decline

  • Emmanuel Todd uses long-term demographic and family-structure data to predict societal shifts and state stability.
  • He detected Soviet decline via rising infant mortality before political collapse, showing deep social indicators outperform surface economics.
INSIGHT

Victory Masked A Hollow Center

  • Todd argues the West's apparent victory after the USSR masked deep structural decline in education, industry, and technical workforce.
  • He identifies engineer and technician shortages as central to Western inability to sustain long industrial or military competition.
ANECDOTE

Writing Calmly Amid 2023 Media Hype

  • Todd recalls writing The Defeat of the West during the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive while remaining calm about his conclusions.
  • He describes personal conviction that Western defeat was certain despite prevailing triumphant media narratives.
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