In 2002, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee enthused: "No Russian leader since Peter the Great has aligned himself so closely with the West as Vladimir Putin." The senator's name: Joe Biden. Exactly twenty years later, as President of the United States, he faced Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

This book traces the economic origins of the rift between the West and the rest of the world. It begins in the 1990s, when the West promised that globalization would raise prosperity for all.

The reality for the Global South was very different. While the rules of global trade and the financial system were set in Washington, governments elsewhere lacked the power to assert their own interests.

Instead of embracing market liberalization, the West entrenched itself behind agricultural subsidies, technical standards, patent protections, and anti-dumping tariffs. While the Global South remained exposed to intense competition, the West protected its workers, farmers, and companies. The rising tide that was meant to lift all boats turned into a tsunami that swept over hundreds of millions of people. Latin America and Asia were shaken by currency crises, pushing their middle classes back into poverty. In Russia, industry imploded, and in Africa, entire states collapsed.

This book tells the story of the "new world disorder" from the perspective of those societies that paid the price for the neoliberal order. It shows how rules, financial programs, and geopolitical interventions weakened local democracies and fueled conflicts-until, in the 2020s, the West itself was confronted with the consequences of its own policies. Drawing on historical research, theoretical models, and detailed case studies, the book challenges Western narratives of success as guardians of democracy and prosperity.