As we remain isolated in the bubble of our daily lives, and increasingly unengaged with the global society, a new world order is taking shape right under our noses. Why are we oblivious to it, and what lessons can we glean from it? Peter Frankopan, a renowned historian at the University of Oxford, believes the arrogance of the West has left them impotent when it comes to exerting truly meaningful strength and influence around the world. The vpro documentary The Silk Roads, based on his book of the same name, features Frankopan's revisionist insights into world history and exposes the many ways our past and future are interconnected.

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The film argues that the United States and neighboring European countries are crippled by a strong sense of nationalism; the belief that their nations should dictate the standards for every continent across the globe.