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14Oct

Eclipsing the West: China, India and the forging of a new world

Hosted by the LSE School of Public Policy
In-person and online public event (MAR.2.04, Marshall Building)
Tuesday 14 October 2025 6.30pm - 8pm

Join us for a public event marking the launch of Vince Cable’s new book, Eclipsing the West: China, India and the forging of a new world.

‘As the international order begins to crumble, this incisive book asks what the rise of the Asian superstates means for the future.

The Western-dominated world we have known for the past three hundred years is coming to an end. As America withdraws from its role as enforcer of the international order, other countries are moving in to fill the void. Among them are two rising Asian 'superstates'.

Accounting for more than a third of the world's population, China and India have the potential to wield enormous economic and political power. China is already vying with the US for the top spot in the global economy, and on some measures has surpassed it. By the middle of the century India may be number two. How will these countries navigate their growing roles on the world stage? What are the implications for commerce, international law and the fight against climate change?

Vince Cable has followed China and India for decades, first as a professional economist and later as a senior government minister. In Eclipsing the West he draws on the latest data and a lifetime of political and economic experience to offer a compelling account of what the rise of the Asian superstates means for the future.’

Meet our speakers and chair

Vince Cable is Visiting Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy at LSE. He was UK Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade (2010-2015). He was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2017-19. He served for 20 years as MP for Twickenham and retired in 2019.

Mukulika Banerjee is Professor in Social Anthropology at LSE. Mukulika was the inaugural Director of the LSE South Asia Centre from 2015-2020. She studied in Delhi and Oxford universities and taught at Oxford and UCL before joining LSE. Her books include Why India Votes? (2014), The Pathan Unarmed (2001) and The Sari (2003, with Daniel Miller) and edited Muslim Portraits (2007). Her latest monograph is Cultivating Democracy: Politics and Citizenship in Agrarian India (2021) published by OUP, New York.

Richard Davies is an economist and author. He teaches courses on economics and data science in the School of Public Policy at LSE. Richard is the Director of the UK’s Economics Observatory and the LSE’s Growth Co-Lab, a joint project with Harvard University providing advice to governments on inclusive growth. He is the author of Extreme Economies, and Making Sense of the Modern Economy.

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