“The carnage in Gaza has undermined the moral authority of the United States”

Amin Maalouf (1949) keeps a serious expression when debating the international order. “We are surrounded by dangers,” he recalls on several occasions during an interview with elDiario.es. The essayist and 2010 Princess of Asturias Prize winner for Literature presented his latest book in Madrid Labyrinth of the lost (Published by Alianza Editorial). A work that is presented as the fourth part – it has been published before Deadly recognition, the disturbance of the world And collapse of civilisations– A puzzle that underlines the decadence of the West and how other countries such as China, Russia or Japan have also tried to become defenders of progress and world hegemony, without much success.

The Franco-Lebanese writer, permanent secretary of the French Academy from September 2023 and winner of the Goncourt Prize in 1993, explores through letters the complexity of international challenges and threats, where responsibility is diminishing without responsible people. “No country has sufficient moral credibility to serve as a world power,” says Maalouf.