For a decade or so, the idea of a “world order” led by the West has been coming apart at the seams. The United States is increasingly unable to play its self-proclaimed role as global policeman, its legitimacy stained by disastrous illegal wars abroad and the rougher edges of its own domestic political combat. Rising powers like China and India are no longer content to play second fiddle to the world hegemon.

These developments are still in their infancy, but it’s increasingly clear that a new balance of power is emerging on the world stage. This is the subject of Mutiny, a new book by Peter Mertens, who is general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB). He spoke with Jacobin about how our world is changing and what he thinks it means for socialists in the West and East alike.