WorldcrunchThomas Assheuer is a German journalist. He was an editor in the features section of the “Frankfurter Rundschau” and from 1997 to 2021 editor in the features section of Die Zeit.
The West once promised freedom, justice and reason. But after centuries of global dominance, war crimes and broken ideals, its future hangs in the balance. As nationalism rises and China stakes its claim, is the West entering its final act — or just another turning point?
Americans have re-elected Donald Trump, choosing a convicted demagogue who champions power over principle. This historic turn raises a sobering question: Is the West’s beacon of democracy slipping toward the authoritarianism it opposed in its founding principles? A timely viewpoint from Germany’s Die Zeit.