Asians have absorbed many Western practices in economics, corporate governance, the rule of law and technology. As a result, by 2050, the world’s three largest economies will be China, India and Japan. To remain relevant, global groups must graciously welcome and incorporate emerging economic powers, writes Kishore Mahbubani, dean and professor of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. In Chapter 6 of his book, “The New Asian Hemisphere,” Mahbubani assesses the role of the United Nations.

Laws can include or exclude, protect or harm. Nationalist retentionist cultural-property laws have failed to protect antiquities and the human record, argues James Cuno, president and director of the Art Institute of Chicago. Instead of encouraging the collection of all artifacts and displaying the historical evidence for all to observe and analyze, some nations use their power to control the narrative, selecting pieces that support their claim to power. All global citizens have a right to view ancient artifacts, regardless of where they might have been found, and learn cultural truths.

About one out of every four people in the world practice Islam.Since the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and the US response, the study of “political Islam” has become a “growth industry” in the West, too often narrowly defined as a threat, explains Mohammed Ayoob, professor of international relations, in his book “The Many Faces of Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Muslim World.” In reality, Islam and other religious traditions wield similar influence over politics. Ayoob examines the complex interplay between domestic concerns in various Muslim countries with international events.

During the course of hiring an assistant to write a book about Indonesia torn between two forces, Islmization and globalization, journalist Sadanand Dhume met Herri Nurdi, managing editor of a fundamentalist magazine “Sabili.” The book, “My Friend the Fanantic: Travels with an Indonesian Islamist” combines first-person travel narrative and reporting on the world’s most populous Muslim nation enduring rapid transition from democratic moderation to rigid intolerance.

Nations increasingly look to India as a rising economic power to take an active role in international affairs and contribute to resolving a range of global challenges. In his book, “Contemporary Debates in Indian Foreign and Security Policy: India Negotiates Its Rise in the International System,” Harsh Pant, who teaches at King’s College London, identifies major foreign-policy issues for the nation, and suggests that India’s political parties need to put small differences aside and determine long-term goals to develop a workable strategy.