More from Yogendra Kumawat

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Contents, Foreword, Preface, , iii, v, , Chapter 1, The Cold War Era, , 1, , Chapter 2, The End of Bipolarity, , 17, , Chapter 3, US Hegemony in World Politics, , 31, , Chapter 4, Alternative Centres of Power, , 51, , Chapter 5, Contemporary South Asia, , 65, , Chapter 6, International Organisations, , 81, , Chapter 7, Security in the Contemporary World, , 99, , Chapter 8, Environment and Natural Resources, , 117, , Chapter 9, Globalisation, , 135

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Chapter 1, , The Cold War Era, OVERVIEW, This chapter provides a backdrop, to the entire book. The end of the, Cold War is usually seen as the, beginning of the contemporary era, in world politics which is the, subject matter of this book. It is,, therefore, appropriate that we, begin the story with a discussion, of the Cold War. The chapter shows, how the dominance of two, superpowers, the United States of, America and the Soviet Union,, was central to the Cold War. It, tracks the various arenas of the, Cold War in different parts of the, world. The chapter views the NonAligned Movement (NAM) as a, challenge to the dominance of the, two superpowers and describes, the attempts by the non-aligned, countries to establish a New, International Economic Order, (NIEO) as a means of attaining, economic development and, political independence. It, concludes with an assessment of, India’s role in NAM and asks how, successful the policy of nonalignment has been in protecting, India’s interests., , The end of the Second World War led to the rise of two major, centres of power. The two pictures above symbolise the, victory of the US and the USSR in the Second World War., 1. American soldiers raising the US flag during the Battle of, Iwo Jima, Japan, on 23 February 1945, Credit: Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima,, Photograph by Joe Rosenthal/The Associated Press, 2. Soviet soldiers raising the USSR flag on the Reichstag, building in Berlin, Germany, in May 1945, Credit: Reichstag flag, Photograph by Yevgeny Khaldei/TASS

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2, , Contemporary World Politics, , CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, , We are on a world tour! Will meet you in different countries. Feels good, to be around where events have happened., , Map showing the range of the nuclear missiles under construction, in Cuba, used during the secret meetings on the Cuban missile crisis, Source: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, , In April 1961, the leaders of the, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, (USSR) were worried that the, United States of America (USA), would invade communist-ruled, Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro,, the president of the small island, nation off the coast of the United, States. Cuba was an ally of the, Soviet Union and received both, diplomatic and financial aid from, it. Nikita Khrushchev, the leader, of the Soviet Union, decided to, convert Cuba into a Russian base., In 1962, he placed nuclear missiles, in Cuba. The installation of these, weapons put the US, for the first, time, under fire from close range, and nearly doubled the number of, bases or cities in the American, mainland which could be, threatened by the USSR., Three weeks after the Soviet, Union had placed the nuclear, weapons in Cuba, the Americans, became aware of it. The US, President, John F. Kennedy, and, his advisers were reluctant to do, anything that might lead to, full-scale nuclear war between, the two countries, but they were, determined to get Khrushchev to, remove the missiles and nuclear, weapons from Cuba. Kennedy, ordered American warships to, intercept any Soviet ships, heading to Cuba as a way of, warning the USSR of his, seriousness. A clash seemed, imminent in what came to be, known as the Cuban Missile, Crisis. The prospects of this

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3, , The Cold War Era, , clash made the whole world, nervous, for it would have been, no ordinary war. Eventually, to, the world’s great relief, both, sides decided to avoid war. The, Soviet ships slowed down and, turned back., The Cuban Missile Crisis was, a high point of what came to be, known as the Cold War. The Cold, War referred to the competition,, the tensions and a series of, confrontations between the, United States and Soviet Union,, backed by their respective allies., Fortunately, however, it never, escalated into a ‘hot war’, that is,, a full-scale war between these two, powers. There were wars in, various regions, with the two, powers and their allies involved, in warfare and in supporting, regional allies, but at least the, world avoided another global war., T h e C o l d Wa r w a s n o t, simply a matter of power, rivalries, of military alliances,, and of the balance of power., These were accompanied by a, real ideological conflict as well,, a difference over the best and, the most appropriate way of, organising political, economic,, and social life all over the world., The western alliance, headed by, the US, represented the, ideology of liberal democracy, and capitalism while the, eastern alliance, headed by the, Soviet Union, was committed to, the ideology of socialism and, communism. You have already, studied these ideologies in, Class XI., , WHAT IS THE COLD WAR?, The end of the Second World War, is a landmark in contemporary, world politics. In 1945, the Allied, Forces, led by the US, Soviet, Union, Britain and France, defeated the Axis Powers led by, Germany, Italy and Japan, ending, the Second World War (19391945). The war had involved, almost all the major powers of the, world and spread out to regions, outside Europe including, Southeast Asia, China, Burma, (now Myanmar) and parts of, India’s northeast. The war, devastated the world in terms of, loss of human lives and civilian, property. The First World War had, earlier shaken the world between, 1914 and 1918., The end of the Second World, War was also the beginning of the, Cold War. The world war ended, when the United States dropped, two atomic bombs on the, Japanese cities of Hiroshima and, Nagasaki in August 1945, causing, Japan to surrender. Critics of the, US decision to drop the bombs, have argued that the US knew that, Japan was about to surrender and, that it was unnecessary to drop, the bombs. They suggest that the, US action was intended to stop the, Soviet Union from making military, and political gains in Asia and, elsewhere and to show Moscow, that the United States was, supreme. US supporters have, argued that the dropping of the, atomic bombs was necessary to, end the war quickly and to stop, , So near yet so far!, I can't believe that, Cuba survived as a, communist country, for so long despite, being located so, close to the US. Just, look at the map.

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4, , Contemporary World Politics, , further loss of American and Allied, lives. Whatever the motives, the, consequence of the end of the, Second World War was the rise of, two new powers on the global stage., With the defeat of Germany and, Japan, the devastation of Europe, and in many other parts of the, world, the United States and the, Soviet Union became the greatest, powers in the world with the ability, to influence events anywhere on, earth., While the Cold War was an, outcome of the emergence of the, US and the USSR as two, superpowers rival to each other,, it was also rooted in the, understanding that the destruction, caused by the use of atom bombs, is too costly for any country to, bear. The logic is simple yet, powerful. When two rival powers, are in possession of nuclear, These pictures depict the destruction, caused by the bombs dropped by the, US on Hiroshima (the bomb was codenamed ‘Little Boy’) and Nagasaki, (code-named ‘Fat Man’). Yet, these, bombs were very small in their, destructive capacity (measured in, terms of kiloton yield) as compared to, the nuclear bombs that were to be, available in the stockpiles assembled by, the superpowers. The yield of Little Boy, and Fat Man were 15 and 21 kilotons, respectively. By the early 1950s the US, and the USSR were already making, thermonuclear weapons that had a, yield between 10 and 15 thousand, kilotons. In other words, these bombs, were a thousand times more destructive, than the bombs used in Hiroshima and, Nagasaki. During much of the Cold War,, both the superpowers possessed, thousands of such weapons. Just, imagine the extent of destruction that, these could cause all over the globe., , weapons capable of inflicting death, and destruction unacceptable to, each other, a full-fledged war is, unlikely. In spite of provocations,, neither side would want to risk war, since no political gains would, justify the destruction of their, societies., In the event of a nuclear war,, both sides will be so badly harmed, that it will be impossible to declare, one side or the other as the winner., Even if one of them tries to attack, and disable the nuclear weapons, of its rival, the other would still be, left with enough nuclear weapons, to inflict unacceptable destruction., This is called the logic of, ‘deterrence’: both sides have the, capacity to retaliate against an, attack and to cause so much, destruction that neither can afford, to initiate war. Thus, the Cold War, — in spite of being an intense form, of rivalry between great powers —, remained a ‘cold’ and not hot or, shooting war. The deterrence, relationship prevents war but not, the rivalry between powers., Note the main military, features of the Cold War. The two, superpowers and the countries in, the rival blocs led by the, superpowers were expected to, behave, as, rational, and, responsible actors. They were to, be rational and responsible in the, sense that they understood the, risks in fighting wars that might, involve the two superpowers., When two superpowers and the, blocs led by them are in a, deterrence relationship, fighting, wars will be massively destructive.

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5, , The Cold War Era, , Responsibility, therefore, meant, being restrained and avoiding the, risk of another world war. In this, sense the Cold War managed to, ensure human survival., , The smaller states in the, alliances used the link to the, superpowers for their own, purposes. They got the promise of, protection, weapons, and, economic aid against their local, rivals, mostly regional neighbours, with whom they had rivalries. The, alliance systems led by the, two superpowers, therefore,, threatened to divide the entire, world into two camps. This, division happened first in Europe., Most countries of western Europe, sided with the US and those of, eastern Europe joined the Soviet, camp. That is why these were also, called the ‘wester n’ and the, ‘eastern’ alliances., , THE EMERGENCE OF, TWO POWER BLOCS, The two superpowers were keen, on expanding their spheres of, influence in different parts of the, world. In a world sharply divided, between the two alliance systems,, a state was supposed to remain, tied to its protective superpower, to limit the influence of the other, superpower and its allies., , Stockholm, , SWEDEN, , Dublin, , NETH., , London, Brussels, , FRANCE, , The Hague, , BELG., LUX., , Bonn, , Madrid, , Warsaw, , EAST, GERMANY, Prague, , POLAND, , CZEC, WEST, HOS, LOV, AKIA, GERMANY, Bern, Vienna, Budapest, AUSTRIA, SWITZ., HUNGARY ROMANIA, , PORTUGAL, SPAIN, , USSR, , Berlin, , Paris, , Lisbon, , Moscow, , Copenhagen, , BRITAIN, ATLANTIC, OCEAN, , 3. By comparing this, map with that of, the European Union, map, identify three, new countries that, came up in the, post-Cold War, period., , Helsinki, Oslo, , North, Sea, DENMARK, , IRELAND, , 2. Look at the map, of the European, Union in Chapter 4, and identify four, countries that were, part of the Warsaw, Pact and now, belong to the EU., , FINLAND, , NORWAY, , NATO Members, Warsaw Pact Members, Other Communist Nations, Others, , 1. Identify three, countries from each, of the rival blocs., , ITALY, Rome, , Yalta, , Bucharest, , Belgrade, , YUGOSLAVIA, , Black Sea, BULGARIA, Sofia, , ALBANIA, Tirana, , GREECE, Map showing the way Europe was divided into rival alliances during the Cold War, , Ankara, , TURKEY

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6, , Contemporary World Politics, , FIRST WORLD, SECOND WORLD, THIRD WORLD, , In the following, column, write, the names of, three countries,, which belong to:, Capitalist Bloc, ________________, ________________, ________________, , Communist Bloc, ________________, ________________, ________________, , Non-Aligned, Movement, ________________, ________________, ________________, , The western alliance was, formalised into an organisation,, the North Atlantic T reaty, Organisation (NATO), which came, into existence in April 1949. It was, an association of twelve states, which declared that armed attack, on any one of them in Europe or, North America would be regarded, as an attack on all of them. Each, of these states would be obliged, to help the other. The eastern, alliance, known as the Warsaw, Pact, was led by the Soviet Union., It was created in 1955 and its, principal function was to counter, NATO’s forces in Europe., International alliances during, the Cold War era were determined, by the requirements of the, superpowers and the calculations, of the smaller states. As noted, above, Europe became the main, arena of conflict between the, superpowers. In some cases, the, superpowers used their military, power to bring countries into their, , respective alliances. Soviet, intervention in east Europe, provides an example. The Soviet, Union used its influence in, eastern Europe, backed by the, very large presence of its armies, in the countries of the region, to, ensure that the eastern half of, Europe remained within its, sphere of influence. In East and, Southeast Asia and in West Asia, (Middle East), the United States, built an alliance system called —, the Southeast Asian T reaty, Organisation (SEATO) and the, Central T reaty Organisation, (CENTO). The Soviet Union and, communist China responded by, having close relations with, regional countries such as North, Vietnam, North Korea and Iraq., The Cold War threatened to, divide the world into two alliances., Under these circumstances, many, of the newly independent, countries, after gaining their, independence from the colonial

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7, , The Cold War Era, , powers such as Britain and, France, were worried that they, would lose their freedom as soon, as, they, gained, for mal, independence. Cracks and splits, within the alliances were quick to, appear. Communist China, quarrelled with the USSR towards, the late 1950s, and, in 1969, they, fought a brief war over a territorial, dispute. The other important, development was the Non-Aligned, Movement (NAM), which gave the, newly independent countries a, way of staying out of the alliances., You may ask why the, superpowers needed any allies at, all. After all, with their nuclear, weapons and regular armies, they, were so powerful that the combined, power of most of the smaller states, in Asia and Africa, and even in, Europe, was no match to that of, the superpowers. Yet, the smaller, states were helpful for the, superpowers in gaining access to, (i) vital resources, such as oil, and minerals,, (ii) territory, from where the, superpowers could launch, their weapons and troops,, (iii) locations from where they, could spy on each other, and, (iv) economic support, in that, many small allies together, could help pay for military, expenses., They were also important for, ideological reasons. The loyalty of, allies suggested that the, superpowers were winning the, war of ideas as well, that liberal, , democracy and capitalism were, better than socialism and, communism, or vice versa., , ARENAS, , OF THE, , COLD WAR, , The Cuban Missile Crisis that we, began this chapter with was only, one of the several crises that, occurred during the Cold War., The Cold War also led to several, shooting wars, but it is important, to note that these crises and wars, did not lead to another world war., The two superpowers were poised, for direct confrontations in Korea, (1950 - 53), Berlin (1958 - 62), the, Congo (the early 1960s), and in, several other places. Crises, deepened, as neither of the parties, involved was willing to back down., When we talk about arenas of the, Cold War, we refer, therefore, to, areas where crisis and war, occurred or threatened to occur, between the alliance systems but, did not cross certain limits. A, great many lives were lost in some, of these arenas like Korea,, Vietnam and Afghanistan, but the, world was spared a nuclear war, and global hostilities. In some, cases, huge military build-ups, were reported. In many cases,, diplomatic, communication, between the superpowers could, not be sustained and contributed, to the misunderstandings., Sometimes, countries outside, the two blocs, for example, the, non-aligned countries, played a, role in reducing Cold War conflicts, and averting some grave crises., Jawaharlal Nehru — one of the key, , How come there are, still two Koreas while, the other divisions, created by the Cold, War have ended?, Do the people of, Korea want the, division to continue?, , Locate the, flashpoints, of the Cold, War on a, world map.

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8, , Contemporary World Politics, , THE COLD WAR TIMELINE, 1947, , American President Harry Truman’s Doctrine, about the containment of communism, , 1947 - 52 Marshall Plan: US aid for the reconstruction of, the Western Europe, 1948 - 49 Berlin blockade by the Soviet Union and the, airlift of supplies to the citizens of West Berlin, by the US and its allies, 1950 - 53 Korean War; division of Korea along the 38th, Parallel, 1954, , Defeat of the French by the Vietnamese at, Dien Bien Phu, Signing of the Geneva Accords, Division of Vietnam along the 17th Parallel, Formation of SEATO, , 1954 - 75 American intervention in Vietnam, 1955, , Signing of the Baghdad Pact, later CENTO, , 1956, , Soviet intervention in Hungary, , 1961, , US-sponsored Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, Construction of the Berlin Wall, , 1962, , Cuban Missile Crisis, , 1965, , American intervention in the Dominican, Republic, , 1968, , Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia, , 1972, , US President Richard Nixon’s visit to China, , 1978 - 89 Vietnamese intervention in Cambodia, 1979 - 89 Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, 1985, , Gorbachev becomes the President of the, USSR; begins the reform process, , 1989, , Fall of the Berlin Wall; mass protests against, governments in eastern Europe, , 1990, , Unification of Germany, , 1991, , Disintegration of the Soviet Union, End of the Cold War era, , leaders of the NAM — played a, crucial role in mediating between, the two Koreas. In the Congo, crisis, the UN Secretary-General, played a key mediatory role. By, and large, it was the realisation, on a superpower’s part that war, by all means should be avoided, that made them exercise restraint, and behave more responsibly in, international affairs. As the Cold, War rolled from one arena to, another, the logic of restraint was, increasingly evident., However, since the Cold War, did not eliminate rivalries between, the two alliances, mutual, suspicions led them to ar m, themselves to the teeth and to, constantly prepare for war. Huge, stocks of arms were considered, necessary to prevent wars from, taking place., The two sides understood that, war might occur in spite of, restraint. Either side might, miscalculate the number of, weapons in the possession of the, other, side., They, might, misunderstand the intentions of, the other side. Besides, what if, there was a nuclear accident?, What would happen if someone, fired off a nuclear weapon by, mistake or if a soldier, mischievously shot off a weapon, deliberately to start a war? What, if an accident occurred with a, nuclear weapon? How would the, leaders of that country know it, was an accident and not an act of, sabotage by the enemy or that a, missile had not landed from the, other side?

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9, , The Cold War Era, , Drawn by wellknown Indian, cartoonist Kutty,, these two, cartoons depict, an Indian view, of the Cold War., The first cartoon, was drawn when, the US entered, into a secret, understanding, with China,, keeping the, USSR in the dark., Find out more, about the, characters in the, cartoon. The, second cartoon, depicts the, American, misadventure in, Vietnam. Find, out more about, the Vietnam, War., , POLITICAL SPRING China makes overtures to the USA., , FOOD FOR THOUGHT President Johnson is in more troubles over Vietnam.

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10, , Contemporary World Politics, , FOUNDER, FIGURES, OF NAM, , Josip Broz Tito, (1892-1980), President of, Yugoslavia (194580); fought against, Germany in World, War II; communist;, maintained some, distance from the, Soviet Union;, forged unity in, Yugoslavia., , Jawaharlal Nehru, (1889-1964), First Prime Minister, of India (1947-64);, made efforts for, Asian unity,, decolonisation,, nuclear, disarmament;, advocated, peaceful, coexistence for, securing world, peace., , In time, therefore, the US and, USSR decided to collaborate in, limiting or eliminating certain, kinds of nuclear and non-nuclear, weapons. A stable balance of, weapons, they decided, could be, maintained through ‘arms, control’. Starting in the 1960s, the, two, sides, signed, three, significant agreements within a, decade. These were the Limited, Test Ban Treaty, Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty and the, Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty., Thereafter, the superpowers held, several rounds of arms limitation, talks and signed several more, treaties to limit their arms., , CHALLENGE TO BIPOLARITY, We have already seen how the, Cold War tended to divide the, world into two rival alliances. It, was in this context that nonalignment of fered the newly, decolonised countries of Asia,, Africa and Latin America a third, option—not to join either alliance., The roots of NAM went back, to the friendship between three, leaders — Yugoslavia’s Josip Broz, Tito, India’s Jawaharlal Nehru,, and Egypt’s leader Gamal Abdel, Nasser — who held a meeting in, 1956. Indonesia’s Sukarno and, Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, strongly supported them. These, five leaders came to be known as, the five founders of NAM. The first, non-aligned summit was held in, Belgrade in 1961. This was the, culmination of at least three, factors:, , (i) cooperation among these five, countries,, (ii) growing Cold War tensions, and its widening arenas, and, (iii) the dramatic entry of many, newly decolonised African, countries into the inter national arena. By 1960,, there were 16 new African, members in the UN., The first summit was attended, by 25 member states. Over the, years, the membership of NAM, has expanded. The latest meeting,, the 14th summit, was held in, Havana in 2006. It included 116, member states and 15 observer, countries., As non-alignment grew into a, popular international movement,, countries of various different, political systems and interests, joined it. This made the movement, less homogeneous and also made, it more difficult to define in very, neat and precise terms: what did, it really stand for? Increasingly,, NAM was easier to define in terms, of what it was not. It was not about, being a member of an alliance., The policy of staying away, from alliances should not, be considered isolationism or, neutrality. Non-alignment is not, isolationism since isolationism, means remaining aloof from world, affairs. Isolationism sums up the, foreign policy of the US from the, American War of Independence in, 1787 up to the beginning of the, First World War. In comparison,, the non-aligned countries,, including India, played an active

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11, , The Cold War Era, , role in mediating between the two, rival alliances in the cause of, peace and stability. Their strength, was based on their unity and their, resolve to remain non-aligned, despite the attempt by the two, superpowers to bring them into, their alliances., Non-alignment is also not, neutrality. Neutrality refers, principally to a policy of staying, out of war. States practising, neutrality are not required to help, end a war. They do not get, involved in wars and do not, take any position on the, appropriateness or morality of a, war. Non-aligned states, including, India, were actually involved in, wars for various reasons. They, also worked to prevent war, between others and tried to end, wars that had broken out., , NEW INTERNATIONAL, ECONOMIC ORDER, The non-aligned countries were, more than merely mediators during, the Cold War. The challenge for most, of the non-aligned countries — a, majority of them were categorised, as the Least Developed Countries, (LDCs) — was to be more developed, economically and to lift their people, out of poverty. Economic, development was also vital for the, independence of the new countries., Without sustained development, a, country could not be truly free. It, would remain dependent on the, richer countries including the, colonial powers from which political, freedom had been achieved., , The idea of a New Inter national Economic Order (NIEO), originated with this realisation., The United Nations Conference, on T rade and Development, (UNCTAD) brought out a report, in 1972 entitled Towards a New, T rade Policy for Development., The report proposed a reform of, the global trading system so, as to:, (i) give the LDCs control over, their natural resources, exploited by the developed, Western countries,, (ii) obtain access to Western, markets so that the LDCs, could sell their products and,, therefore, make trade more, beneficial for the poorer, countries,, (iii) reduce the cost of technology, from the Western countries, and, (iv) provide the LDCs with a, greater role in international, economic institutions., Gradually, the nature of nonalignment changed to give greater, importance to economic issues., In 1961, at the first summit in, Belgrade, economic issues had, not been very important. By the, mid-1970s, they had become the, most important issues. As a, result, NAM became an economic, pressure group. By the late, 1980s, however, the NIEO, initiative had faded, mainly, because of the stiff opposition, from the developed countries who, acted as a united group while the, non-aligned countries struggled, to maintain their unity in the face, of this opposition., , FOUNDER, FIGURES, OF NAM, , Gamal Abdel, Nasser (1918-70), Ruled Egypt from, 1952 to 1970;, espoused the, causes of Arab, nationalism,, socialism and, anti-imperialism;, nationalised the, Suez Canal,, leading to an, international, conflict in 1956., , Sukarno (1901-70), First President of, Indonesia (194565); led the, freedom struggle;, espoused the, causes of, socialism and, anti-imperialism;, organised the, Bandung, Conference;, overthrown in a, military coup.

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12, , Contemporary World Politics, , INDIA AND THE COLD WAR, FOUNDER, FIGURES, OF NAM, , Kwame Nkrumah, (1909-72), First Prime Minister, of Ghana (195266); led the, freedom, movement;, advocated the, causes of, socialism and, African unity;, opposed neocolonialism;, removed in a, military coup., , As a leader of NAM, India’s, response to the ongoing Cold War, was two-fold: At one level, it took, particular care in staying away, from the two alliances. Second, it, raised its voice against the newly, decolonised countries becoming, part of these alliances., India’s policy was neither, negative nor passive. As Nehru, reminded the world, nonalignment was not a policy of, ‘fleeing away’. On the contrary,, India was in favour of actively, intervening in world affairs to, soften Cold War rivalries. India, tried to reduce the differences, between the alliances and thereby, prevent, dif ferences, from, escalating into a full-scale war., Indian diplomats and leaders were, often used to communicate and, mediate between Cold War rivals, such as in the Korea War in the, early 1950s., , It is important to remember, that India chose to involve other, members of the non-aligned group, in this mission. During the Cold, War, India repeatedly tried to, So, NIEO was just an, activate those regional and, idea that never, international organisations, which, became an order., Right?, were not a part of the alliances led, by the US and USSR. Nehru, Name any five reposed great faith in ‘a genuine, countries,, commonwealth of free and, which were, cooperating nations’ that would, decolonised, play a positive role in softening, if, following the, not ending, the Cold War., end of the, Second World, Non-alignment was not, as, War., some suggest, a noble international, , cause which had little to do with, India’s real interests. A non-aligned, posture also served India’s interests, very directly, in at least two ways:, First, non-alignment allowed, India to take international, decisions and stances that, served its interests rather than, the interests of the superpowers and their allies., Second, India was often able, to balance one superpower, against the other. If India felt, ignored or unduly pressurised, by one superpower, it could tilt, towards the other. Neither, alliance system could take, India for granted or bully it., India’s policy of non-alignment, was criticised on a number of, counts. Here we may refer to only, two criticisms:, First, India’s non-alignment, was said to be ‘unprincipled’., In the name of pursuing its, national interest, India, it was, said, often refused to take a, firm stand on crucial, international issues., Second, it is suggested that, India was inconsistent and, took contradictory postures., Having criticised others for, joining alliances, India signed, the Treaty of Friendship in, August 1971 with the USSR, for 20 years. This was, regarded, particularly by, outside observers, as, virtually joining the Soviet, alliance system. The Indian, government’s view was that

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13, , The Cold War Era, , India needed diplomatic and, possibly military support, during the Bangladesh crisis, and that in any case the, treaty did not stop India from, having good relations with, other countries including, the US., Non-alignment as a strategy, evolved in the Cold War context., As we will see in Chapter 2, with, the disintegration of the USSR and, the end of the Cold War in 1991,, non-alignment, both as an, international movement and as, the core of India’s foreign policy,, lost some of its earlier relevance, and effectiveness. However, nonalignment contained some core, values and enduring ideas. It was, based on a recognition that, decolonised states share a, historical affiliation and can, become a powerful force if they, come together. It meant that the, poor and often very small, countries of the world need not, become followers of any of the big, powers, that they could pursue an, independent foreign policy. It was, also based on a resolve to, democratise the international, system by thinking about an, alternative world order to redress, existing inequities. These core, ideas remain relevant even after, the Cold War has ended., , STEPS, ‹ Divide the classroom into three groups of even, number. Each group is to represent three, different worlds - first world/capitalist world,, second world/communist world and the third, world/non-aligned world., , ‹ The teacher is to select any two critical issues, which posed a threat to world peace and, security during the Cold War days. ( The Korean, and Vietnam Wars would be good examples)., , ‹ Assign each group to work on developing an, ‘event profile’. They have to develop, from the, vantage point of the bloc they represent, a, presentation that contains a timeline of the, event, its causes, their preferred course of action, to solve the problem., , ‹ Each group is to present their event profile, before the class., Ideas for the Teacher, Draw students’ attention to the repercussions these crises had, on the rest of the world and on the respective countries., Connect to the present situation in these countries., Highlight the role played by the leaders of the Third World, (India’s stand and contribution in Korea and Vietnam could, be taken up for reference) and the UN to bring back peace in, these regions., Open a debate on ‘how we could avert these kind of crises’, in the post-Cold War world.

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14, , Contemporary World Politics, , ARMS CONTROL TREATIES, , LIMITED TEST BAN TREATY (LTBT), Banned nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water., Signed by the US, UK and USSR in Moscow on 5 August 1963., Entered into force on 10 October 1963., , NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY (NPT), Allows only the nuclear weapon states to have nuclear weapons and stops others from, aquiring them. For the purposes of the NPT, a nuclear weapon state is one which has, manufactured and exploded a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device prior to 1, January 1967. So there are five nuclear weapon states: US, USSR (later Russia), Britain, France, and China. Signed in Washington, London, and Moscow on 1 July 1968., Entered into force on 5 March 1970. Extended indefinitely in 1995., , STRATEGIC ARMS LIMITATION TALKS I (SALT-I), The first round of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks began in November 1969. The Soviet, leader Leonid Brezhnev and the US President Richard Nixon signed the following in Moscow, on 26 May 1972 – a) Treaty on the limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems (ABM Treaty); and, b) Interim Agreement on the limitation of strategic offensive arms., Entered into force on 3 October 1972., , STRATEGIC ARMS LIMITATION TALKS II (SALT-II), The second round started in November 1972. The US President Jimmy Carter and the Soviet, leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the Treaty on the limitation of strategic offensive arms in Vienna, on 18 June 1979., , STRATEGIC ARMS REDUCTION TREATY I (START-I), Treaty signed by the USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev and the US President George Bush (Senior), on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms in Moscow on 31 July 1991., , STRATEGIC ARMS REDUCTION TREATY II (START-II), Treaty signed by the Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the US President George Bush (Senior), on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms in Moscow on 3 January 1993.

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15, , The Cold War Era, , 1., , 3., , 4., , a), , It was a competition between the US and Soviet Union and, their respective allies., , b), , It was an ideological war between the superpowers., , c), , It triggered off an arms race., , d), , the US and USSR were engaged in direct wars., , Which among the following statements does not reflect the, objectives of NAM, a), , Enabling newly decolonised countries to pursue independent, policies, , b), , No to joining any military alliances, , c), , Following a policy of ‘neutrality’ on global issues, , d), , Focus on elimination of global economic inequalities, , Mark correct or wrong against each of the following statements, that describe the features of the military alliances formed by the, superpowers., a), , Member countries of the alliance are to provide bases in their, respective lands for the superpowers., , b), , Member countries to support the superpower both in terms of, ideology and military strategy., , c), , When a nation attacks any member country, it is considered, as an attack on all the member countries., , d), , Superpowers assist all the member countries to develop their, own nuclear weapons., , Here is a list of countries. Write against each of these the bloc they, belonged to during the Cold War., a), , Poland, , b), , France, , c), , Japan, , d), , Nigeria, , e), , North Korea, , f), , Sri Lanka, , 5., , The Cold War produced an arms race as well as arms control. What, were the reasons for both these developments?, , 6., , Why did the superpowers have military alliances with smaller, countries? Give three reasons., , E x e r c i s e s, , 2., , Which among the following statements about the Cold War is, wrong?

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16, , Contemporary World Politics, , E x e r c i s e s, , 7. Sometimes it is said that the Cold War was a simple struggle for, power and that ideology had nothing to do with it. Do you agree, with this? Give one example to support your position., 8., , What was India’s foreign policy towards the US and USSR during, the Cold War era? Do you think that this policy helped India’s, interests?, , 9., , NAM was considered a ‘third option’ by Third World countries. How, did this option benefit their growth during the peak of the Cold, War?, , 10., , What do you think about the statement that NAM has become, irrelevant today. Give reasons to support your opinion.

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Chapter 2, , The End of Bipolarity, OVERVIEW, The Berlin Wall, which had been, built at the height of the Cold War, and was its greatest symbol, was, toppled by the people in 1989., This dramatic event was followed, by an equally dramatic and, historic chain of events that led, to the collapse of the ‘second, world’ and the end of the Cold War., Germany, divided after the Second, World War, was unified. One after, another, the eight East European, countries that were part of the, Soviet bloc replaced their, communist gover nments in, response to mass demonstrations., The Soviet Union stood by as the, Cold War began to end, not by, military means but as a result of, mass actions by ordinary men and, women. Eventually the Soviet, Union itself disintegrated. In this, chapter, we discuss the meaning,, the causes and the consequences, of the disintegration of the ‘second, world’. We also discuss what, happened to that part of the world, after the collapse of communist, regimes and how India relates to, these countries now., , The Berlin Wall, symbolised the division, between the capitalist, and the communist, world. Built in 1961 to, separate East Berlin from West Berlin, this more than 150, kilometre long wall stood for 28 years and was finally broken, by the people on 9 November 1989. This marked the, unification of the two parts of Germany and the beginning, of the end of the communist bloc. The pictures here depict:, 1. People making a tiny hole in the wall, 2. A section of the wall opened to allow free movement, 3. The Berlin Wall as it stood before 1989, Credit: 1. and 2. Frederik Ramm,, www.remote.org/frederik/culture/berlin, 3. www.cs.utah.edu

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18, , Contemporary World Politics, , WHAT WAS THE SOVIET, SYSTEM?, LEADERS OF THE, SOVIET UNION, , Vladimir Lenin, (1870-1924), Founder of the, Bolshevik, Communist party;, leader of the, Russian Revolution, of 1917 and the, founder-head of, the USSR during, the most difficult, period following, the revolution, (1917-1924); an, outstanding, theoretician and, practitioner of, Marxism and a, source of, inspiration for, communists all, over the world., , The Union of Soviet Socialist, Republics (USSR) came into being, after the socialist revolution in, Russia in 1917. The revolution was, inspired by the ideals of socialism,, as opposed to capitalism, and the, need for an egalitarian society. This, was perhaps the biggest attempt, in human history to abolish the, institution of private property and, consciously design a society based, on principles of equality. In doing, so, the makers of the Soviet system, gave primacy to the state and the, institution of the party. The Soviet, political system centred around, the communist party, and no other, political party or opposition was, allowed. The economy was planned, and controlled by the state., After the Second World War,, the east European countries that, the Soviet army had liberated from, the fascist forces came under the, control of the USSR. The political, and the economic systems of all, these countries were modelled, after the USSR. This group of, countries was called the Second, World or the ‘socialist bloc’. The, Warsaw Pact, a military alliance,, held them together. The USSR was, the leader of the bloc., The Soviet Union became a, great power after the Second, World War. The Soviet economy, was then more developed than the, rest of the world except for the US., It had a complex communications, network, vast energy resources, including oil, iron and steel,, , machinery production, and a, transport sector that connected its, remotest areas with efficiency. It, had a domestic consumer, industry that produced everything, from pins to cars, though their, quality did not match that of the, Western capitalist countries. The, Soviet state ensured a minimum, standard of living for all citizens,, and the government subsidised, basic necessities including health,, education, childcare and other, welfare schemes. There was no, unemployment. State ownership, was the dominant for m of, ownership: land and productive, assets were owned and controlled, by the Soviet state., The Soviet system, however,, became very bureaucratic and, authoritarian, making life very, difficult for its citizens. Lack of, democracy and the absence of, freedom of speech stifled people who, often expressed their dissent in, jokes and cartoons. Most of the, institutions of the Soviet state, needed reform: the one-party, system represented by the, Communist Party of the Soviet, Union had tight control over all, institutions and was unaccountable, to the people. The party refused to, recognise the urge of people in the, fifteen different republics that formed, the Soviet Union to manage their, own affairs including their cultural, affairs. Although, on paper, Russia, was only one of the fifteen republics, that together constituted the USSR,, in reality Russia dominated, everything, and people from other, regions felt neglected and often, suppressed.

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19, , The End of Bipolarity, , In the arms race, the Soviet, Union managed to match the US, from time to time, but at great, cost. The Soviet Union lagged, behind the West in technology,, infrastructure (e.g. transport,, power), and most importantly, in, fulfilling the political or economic, aspirations of citizens. The Soviet, invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, weakened the system even, further. Though wages continued, to grow, productivity and, technology fell considerably, behind that of the West. This led, to shortages in all consumer, goods. Food imports increased, every year. The Soviet economy, was faltering in the late 1970s and, became stagnant., , GORBACHEV AND THE, DISINTEGRATION, Mikhail Gorbachev, who had, become General Secretary of the, Communist Party of the Soviet, Union in 1985, sought to reform, this system. Refor ms were, necessary to keep the USSR, abreast of the information and, technological revolutions taking, place in the West. However,, Gorbachev’s decision to normalise, relations with the West and, democratise and reform the Soviet, Union had some other effects that, neither he nor anyone else, intended or anticipated. The, people in the East European, countries which were part of the, Soviet bloc started to protest, against their own governments, and Soviet control. Unlike in the, past, the Soviet Union, under, , Gorbachev, did not intervene, when the disturbances occurred,, and the communist regimes, collapsed one after another., These developments were, accompanied by a rapidly, escalating crisis within the USSR, that hastened its disintegration., Gorbachev initiated the policies of, economic and political reform and, democratisation within the, country. The refor ms were, opposed by leaders within the, Communist Party., A coup took place in 1991 that, was encouraged by Communist, Party hardliners. The people had, tasted freedom by then and did not, want the old-style rule of the, Communist Party. Boris Yeltsin, emerged as a national hero in, opposing this coup. The Russian, Republic, where Yeltsin won a, popular election, began to shake, off centralised control. Power, began to shift from the Soviet, centre to the republics, especially, in the more Europeanised part of, the Soviet Union, which saw, themselves as sovereign states., The Central Asian republics did, not ask for independence and, wanted to remain with the Soviet, Federation. In December 1991,, under the leadership of Yeltsin,, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus,, three major republics of the, USSR, declared that the Soviet, Union was disbanded. The, Communist Party of the Soviet, Union was banned. Capitalism, and democracy were adopted as, the bases for the post-Soviet, republics., , LEADERS OF THE, SOVIET UNION, , Joseph Stalin, (1879-1953), Successor to Lenin, and led the Soviet, Union during its, consolidation, (1924-53); began, rapid, industrialisation, and forcible, collectivisation of, agriculture;, credited with, Soviet victory in, the Second World, War; held, responsible for the, Great Terror of the, 1930s,, authoritarian, functioning and, elimination of, rivals within the, party.

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20, , Contemporary World Politics, , A Communist Party bureaucrat drives down from Moscow to a collective farm, to register a potato harvest., “Comrade farmer, how has the harvest been this year?” the official asks., , LEADERS OF THE, SOVIET UNION, , “Oh, by the grace of God, we had mountains of potatoes,” answers the, farmer., “But there is no God,” counters the official., “Huh”, says the farmer, “And there are no mountains of potatoes either.”, , Nikita Khrushchev, (1894-1971), Leader of the, Soviet Union, (1953-64);, denounced, Stalin’s leadership, style and, introduced some, reforms in 1956;, suggested, “peaceful, coexistence” with, the West;, involved in, suppressing, popular rebellion, in Hungary and in, the Cuban missile, crisis., , The declaration on the, disintegration of the USSR and the, formation of the Commonwealth, of Independent States (CIS) came, as a surprise to the other, republics, especially to the Central, Asian ones. The exclusion of these, republics was an issue that was, quickly solved by making them, founding members of the CIS., Russia was now accepted as the, successor state of the Soviet, Union. It inherited the Soviet seat, in the UN Security Council. Russia, accepted all the international, treaties and commitments of the, Soviet Union. It took over as the, only nuclear state of the postSoviet space and carried out some, nuclear disarmament measures, with the US. The old Soviet Union, was thus dead and buried., , WHY DID THE SOVIET UNION, DISINTEGRATE?, , I am amazed! How, could so many, sensitive people all, over the world, admire a system like, this?, , How did the second most powerful, country in the world suddenly, disintegrate? This is a question, worth asking not just to, understand the Soviet Union and, the end of communism but also, because it is not the first and may, not be the last political system to, collapse. While there are unique, features of the Soviet collapse,, , there may be more general lessons, to be drawn from this very, important case., There is no doubt that the, internal weaknesses of Soviet, political and economic institutions,, which failed to meet the, aspirations of the people, were, responsible for the collapse of the, system. Economic stagnation for, many years led to severe, consumer shortages and a large, section of Soviet society began to, doubt and question the system, and to do so openly., Why did the system become so, weak and why did the economy, stagnate? The answer is partially, clear. The Soviet economy used, much of its resources in, maintaining a nuclear and, military arsenal and the, development of its satellite states, in Eastern Europe and within the, Soviet system (the five Central, Asian Republics in particular)., This led to a huge economic, burden that the system could not, cope with. At the same time,, ordinary citizens became more, knowledgeable, about, the, economic advance of the West., They could see the disparities, between their system and the, systems of the West. After years, of being told that the Soviet

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21, , The End of Bipolarity, , system was better than Western, capitalism, the reality of its, backwardness came as a political, and psychological shock., The Soviet Union had become, stagnant in an administrative and, political sense as well. The, Communist Party that had ruled, the Soviet Union for over 70 years, was not accountable to the people., Ordinary people were alienated by, slow and stifling administration,, rampant corruption, the inability, of the system to correct mistakes, it had made, the unwillingness to, allow more openness in, government, and the centralisation, of authority in a vast land. Worse, still, the party bureaucrats gained, more privileges than ordinary, citizens. People did not identify, with the system and with the, rulers, and the government, increasingly lost popular backing., Gorbachev’s reforms promised, to deal with theseproblems., Gorbachev promised to reform the, economy, catch up with the West,, and loosen the administrative, system. You may wonder why the, Soviet Union collapsed in spite of, Gorbachev’s accurate diagnosis of, the problem and his attempt to, implement reforms. Here is where, the answers become more, controversial, and we have to, depend on future historians to, guide us better., The most basic answer seems, to be that when Gorbachev carried, out his reforms and loosened the, system, he set in motion forces and, expectations that few could have, predicted and became virtually, , impossible to control. There were, sections of Soviet society which felt, that Gorbachev should have, moved much faster and were, disappointed and impatient with, his methods. They did not benefit, in the way they had hoped, or they, benefited too slowly. Others,, especially members of the, Communist Party and those who, were served by the system, took, exactly the opposite view. They felt, that their power and privileges, were eroding and Gorbachev was, moving too quickly. In this ‘tug of, war’, Gorbachev lost support on all, sides and divided public opinion., Even those who were with him, became disillusioned as they felt, that he did not adequately defend, his own policies., All this might not have led to, the collapse of the Soviet Union but, for another development that, surprised most observers and, indeed many insiders. The rise of, nationalism and the desire for, sovereignty within various, republics including Russia and the, Baltic Republics (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), Ukraine, Georgia,, and others proved to be the final, and most immediate cause for the, disintegration of the USSR. Here, again there are differing views., One view is that nationalist, urges and feelings were very much, at work throughout the history of, the Soviet Union and that whether, or not the reforms had occurred, there would have been an internal, struggle within the Soviet Union., This is a ‘what-if’ of history, but, surely it is not an unreasonable, , LEADERS OF THE, SOVIET UNION, , Leonid Brezhnev, (1906-82), Leader of the, Soviet Union (196482); proposed, Asian Collective, Security system;, associated with, the détente phase, in relations with, the US; involved in, suppressing a, popular rebellion, in Czechoslovakia, and in invading, Afghanistan.

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22, , LEADERS OF THE, SOVIET UNION, , Contemporary World Politics, , view given the size and diversity of, the Soviet Union and its growing, internal problems. Others think, that Gorbachev’s reforms speeded, up and increased nationalist, dissatisfaction to the point that, the government and rulers could, not control it., , Ironically, during the Cold War, many thought that nationalist, unrest would be strongest in the, Central Asian republics given their, ethnic and religious differences with, the rest of the Soviet Union and their, economic backwardness. However,, as things turned out, nationalist, , TIMELINE OF DISINTEGRATION, OF THE SOVIET UNION, Mikhail, Gorbachev, (Born 1931), Last leader of the, Soviet Union, (1985-91);, introduced, economic and, political reform, policies of, perestroika, (restructuring), and glasnost, (openness);, stopped the arms, race with the US;, withdrew Soviet, troops from, Afghanistan and, eastern Europe;, helped in the, unification of, Germany; ended, the Cold War;, blamed for the, disintegration of, the Soviet Union., , 1985 March: Mikhail Gorbachev elected as the General Secretary of the, Communist Party of the Soviet Union; appoints Boris Yeltsin as the head of the, Communist Party in Moscow; initiates a series of reforms in the Soviet Union, 1988: Independence movement begins in Lithuania; later spreads to Estonia, and Latvia, 1989 October: Soviet Union declares that the Warsaw Pact members are free, to decide their own futures; Berlin Wall falls in November, 1990 February: Gorbachev strips the Soviet Communist Party of its 72-year-long, monopoly on power by calling on the Soviet parliament (Duma) to permit multiparty politics, 1990 March: Lithuania becomes the first of the 15 Soviet republics to declare its, independence, 1990 June: Russian parliament declares its independence from the Soviet Union, 1991 June: Yeltsin, no longer in the Communist Party, becomes the President of, Russia, 1991 August: The Communist Party hardliners stage an abortive coup against, Gorbachev, 1991 September: Three Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania become, UN members (later join NATO in March 2004), 1991 December: Russia, Belarus and Ukraine decide to annul the 1922 Treaty, on the Creation of the USSR and establish the Commonwealth of Independent, States (CIS); Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan join the CIS (Georgia joins later in 1993); Russia, takes over the USSR seat in the United Nations, 1991 December 25: Gorbachev resigns as the President of the Soviet Union; the, end of the Soviet Union

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23, , The End of Bipolarity, , dissatisfaction with the Soviet Union, was strongest in the more, “European” and prosperous part –, in Russia and the Baltic areas as, well as Ukraine and Georgia., Ordinary people here felt alienated, from the Central Asians and from, each other and concluded also that, they were paying too high an, economic price to keep the more, backward areas within the Soviet, Union., , CONSEQUENCES, DISINTEGRATION, , OF, , The collapse of the second world, of the Soviet Union and the, socialist systems in eastern Europe, had profound consequences for, world politics. Let us note here, three broad kinds of enduring, changes that resulted from it., Each of these had a number of, effects that we cannot list here., First of all, it meant the end of, Cold War confrontations. The, ideological dispute over whether, the socialist system would beat the, capitalist system was not an issue, any more. Since this dispute had, engaged the military of the two, blocs, had triggered a massive, arms race and accumulation of, nuclear weapons, and had led to, the existence of military blocs, the, end of the confrontation demanded, an end to this arms race and a, possible new peace., Second, power relations in, world politics changed and,, therefore, the relative influence of, ideas and institutions also, , changed. The end of the Cold War, left open only two possibilities:, either the remaining superpower, would dominate and create a, unipolar system, or different, countries or groups of countries, could become important players in, the international system, thereby, bringing in a multipolar system, where no one power could, dominate. As it turned out, the US, became the sole superpower., Backed by the power and prestige, of the US, the capitalist economy, was now the dominant economic, system internationally. Institutions, like the World Bank and, International Monetary Fund, became powerful advisors to all, these countries since they gave, them loans for their transitions to, capitalism. Politically, the notion of, liberal democracy emerged as the, best way to organise political life., Third, the end of the Soviet bloc, meant the emergence of many new, countries. All these countries had, their own independent aspirations, and choices. Some of them,, especially the Baltic and east, European states, wanted to join the, European Union and become part, of the North Atlantic Treaty, Organisation (NATO). The Central, Asian countries wanted to take, advantage of their geographical, location and continue their close ties, with Russia and also to establish ties, with the West, the US, China and, others. Thus, the international, system saw many new players, emerge, each with its own identity,, interests, and economic and political, difficulties. It is to these issues that, we now turn., , LEADERS OF THE, SOVIET UNION, , Boris Yeltsin (Born, 1931), The first elected, President of, Russia (19911999); rose to, power in the, Communist Party, and was made, the Mayor of, Moscow by, Gorbachev; later, joined the critics, of Gorbachev, and left the, Communist Party;, led the protests, against the Soviet, regime in 1991;, played a key role, in dissolving the, Soviet Union;, blamed for, hardships, suffered by, Russians in their, transition from, communism to, capitalism.

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24, , Contemporary World Politics, , SHOCK THERAPY IN, POST-COMMUNIST REGIMES, , I heard someone say, “The end of the, Soviet Union does, not mean the end of, socialism.” Is that, possible?, , The collapse of communism was, followed in most of these, countries by a painful process of, transition from an authoritarian, socialist system to a democratic, capitalist system. The model of, transition in Russia, Central Asia, and east Eur ope that was, influenced by the World Bank, and the IMF came to be known, as ‘shock therapy’. Shock therapy, varied in intensity and speed, amongst the former second world, countries, but its direction and, features were quite similar., , Each of these countries was, required to make a total shift to, a capitalist economy, which, meant rooting out completely, any structures evolved during, the Soviet period. Above all, it, meant that private ownership, was to be the dominant pattern, of ownership of property., Privatisation of state assets and, corporate ownership patterns, were to be immediately brought, in. Collective farms were to be, replaced by private farming and, capitalism in agriculture. This, transition ruled out any, alternate or ‘third way’, other, than state-controlled socialism, or capitalism., , POLITICAL MAP OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES, 1997, , Locate the, Central Asian, Republics on, the map., “Courtesy of the University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin”

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25, , The End of Bipolarity, , Shock therapy also involved a, drastic change in the external, orientation of these economies., Development was now envisaged, through more trade, and thus a, sudden and complete switch to, free trade was considered, essential. The free trade regime, and foreign direct investment, (FDI) were to be the main engines, of change. This also involved, openness to foreign investment,, financial opening up or, deregulation, and currency, convertibility., Finally, the transition also, involved a break up of the existing, trade alliances among the, countries of the Soviet bloc. Each, state from this bloc was now, linked directly to the West and not, to each other in the region. These, states were thus to be gradually, absorbed into the Wester n, economic system. The Western, capitalist states now became the, leaders and thus guided and, controled the development of the, region through various agencies, and organisations., , CONSEQUENCES OF SHOCK, THERAPY, The shock therapy administered in, the 1990s did not lead the people, into the promised utopia of mass, consumption. Generally, it, brought ruin to the economies and, disaster upon the people of the, entire region. In Russia, the large, state-controlled, industrial, complex almost collapsed, as, , about 90 per cent of its industries, were put up for sale to private, individuals and companies. Since, the restructuring was carried out, through market forces and not by, government-directed industrial, policies, it led to the virtual, disappearance of entire industries., This was called ‘the largest garage, sale in history’, as valuable, industries were undervalued and, sold at throwaway prices. Though, all citizens were given vouchers to, participate in the sales, most, citizens sold their vouchers in the, black market because they needed, the money., The value of the ruble, the, Russian currency, declined, dramatically. The rate of inflation, was so high that people lost all, their savings. The collective farm, system disintegrated leaving, people without food security, and, Russia started to import food. The, real GDP of Russia in 1999 was, below what it was in 1989. The old, trading structure broke down with, no alternative in its place., The old system of social welfare, was systematically destroyed. The, withdrawal of gover nment, subsidies pushed large sections of, the people into poverty. The middle, classes were pushed to the, periphery of society, and the, academic and intellectual, manpower disintegrated or, migrated. A mafia emerged in most, of these countries and started, controlling many economic, activities. Privatisation led to new, disparities. Post-Soviet states,, especially Russia, were divided, , I can see the shock., But where is the, therapy? Why do we, talk in such, euphemisms?

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26, , Contemporary World Politics, , between rich and poor regions., Unlike the earlier system, there, was now great economic inequality, between people., As a result of, ‘shock therapy’, about half of, Russia’s 1,500, banks and other, finacial institutions, went bankrupt., This image is that, of Inkombank,, Russia’s second, largest bank, that, went bankrupt in, 1998. As a result,, the money of, 10,000 corporate, and private, shareholders was, lost, along with the, money kept in the, bank by, customers., , What is the difference, between nationalism, and secessionism? If, you succeed, you are, celebrated as a, nationalist hero, and if, you fail you are, condemned for crimes, of secessionism., , The construction of democratic, institutions was not given the, same attention and priority as, the demands of economic, transformation. The constitutions, of all these countries were drafted, in a hurry and most, including, Russia, had a strong executive, president with the widest possible, powers that rendered elected, parliaments relatively weak. In, Central Asia, the presidents had, great powers, and several of them, became very authoritarian. For, example, the presidents of, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, appointed themselves to power, first for ten years and then, extended it for another ten years., They allowed no dissent or, opposition. A judicial culture and, independence of the judiciary was, yet to be established in most of, these countries., Most of these economies,, especially Russia, started, reviving in 2000, ten years after, their independence. The reason, for the revival for most of their, economies was the export of, natural resources like oil, natural, gas and minerals. Azerbaijan,, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are major oil and gas, producers. Other countries have, gained because of the oil, pipelines that cr oss their, territories for which they get rent., Some amount of manufacturing, has restarted., , TENSIONS, , AND, , CONFLICTS, , Most of the former Soviet, Republics are prone to conflicts,, and many have had civil wars and, insurgencies. Complicating the, picture is the growing involvement, of outside powers., In Russia, two republics,, Chechnya and Dagestan, have, had, violent, secessionist, movements. Moscow’s method of, dealing with the Chechen rebels, and indiscriminate military, bombings have led to many, human rights violations but failed, to deter the aspirations for, independence., In Central Asia, Tajikistan, witnessed a civil war that went on, for ten years till 2001. The region, as a whole has many sectarian, conflicts. In Azerbaijan’s province, of Nagorno-Karabakh, some local, Armenians want to secede and, join Armenia. In Georgia, the, demand for independence has, come from two provinces,, resulting in a civil war. There are, movements against the existing, regimes in Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, and Georgia. Countries and, provinces are fighting over river, waters. All this has led to, instability, making life difficult for, the ordinary citizen., The Central Asian Republics are, areas with vast hydrocarbon, resources, which have brought, them economic benefit. Central, Asia has also become a zone of, competition between outside, powers and oil companies. The, region is next to Russia, China,, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and

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27, , The End of Bipolarity, , close to West Asia. After 11, September 2001, the US wanted, military bases in the region and, paid the governments of all Central, Asian states to hire bases and to, allow airplanes to fly over their, territory during the wars in, Afghanistan and Iraq. However,, Russia perceives these states as its, ‘Near Abroad’ and believes that they, should be under Russian influence., China has interests here because, of the oil resources, and the Chinese, have begun to settle around the, borders and conduct trade., In, easter n, Europe,, Czechoslovakia split peacefully, into two, with the Czechs and the, Slovaks forming independent, countries. But the most severe, conflict took place in the Balkan, republics of Yugoslavia. After, 1991, it broke apart with several, provinces like Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, declaring independence. Ethnic, Serbs opposed this, and a, massacre of non-Serb Bosnians, followed. The NATO intervention, and the bombing of Yugoslavia, followed the inter-ethnic civil war., , INDIA AND POST-COMMUNIST, COUNTRIES, India has maintained good, relations with all the postcommunist countries. But the, strongest relations are still those, between Russia and India. India’s, relations with Russia are an, important aspect of India’s foreign, policy. Indo-Russian relations are, , embedded in a history of trust and, common interests and are, matched by popular perceptions., Indian heroes from Raj Kapoor to, Amitabh Bachhan are household, names in Russia and many postSoviet countries. One can hear, Hindi film songs all over the, region, and India is part of the, popular memory., , Make a list of, the similarities, between, India and the, USSR in their, political and, economic, ideologies., , Russia and India share a vision, of a multipolar world order. What, they mean by a multipolar world, , BOLLYWOOD STIRS UZBEK, PASSIONS, Seven years after the Soviet Union collapsed, the Uzbek, passion for Indian films continues. Within months of the, release of the latest film in India, pirate copies were already, on sale in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent., Mohammed Sharif Pat runs a shop selling Indian films near, one of Tashkent’s biggest markets. He is an Afghan who, brings videos from the Pakistani frontier town Peshawar., “There are many people who love Indian films here. I’d say, at least 70% of the people in Tashkent buy them. We sell, about 100 videos a day. I’ve just had to put in an order for a, thousand more,” he says. “The Uzbeks are Central Asians,, they are part of Asia. They have a common culture. That’s, why they like Indian films.”, Despite the shared history, for many Indians living in, Uzbekistan, the passion the Uzbeks have for their films and, film stars has come as a bit of a surprise. “Wherever we go, and meet local dignitaries - even ministers or cabinet, ministers - during our conversation it is always mentioned,”, says Ashok Shamer from the Indian embassy in Tashkent. “This, shows that Indian films, culture, songs and especially Raj, Kapoor have been household names here. Most of them, can sing some Hindi songs, they may not know the meaning, but their pronunciation is correct and they know the music,”, he says. “I have found out that almost all my neighbours, can sing and play Hindi songs. This was really a big surprise, to me when I came to Uzbekistan.”, A report by the BBC’s Central Asia Correspondent Louise Hidalgo

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28, , Contemporary World Politics, , FLASHBACK: INDIA, AND THE USSR, During the Cold War era, India and, the USSR enjoyed a special, relationship which led critics to say, that India was part of the Soviet, camp. It was a multi-dimensional, relationship:, Economic: The Soviet Union assisted, India’s public sector companies at a, time when such assistance was, difficult to get. It gave aid and, technical assistance for steel plants, like Bhilai, Bokaro, Visakhapatnam,, and machinery plants like Bharat, Heavy Electricals Ltd., etc. The Soviet, Union accepted Indian currency for, trade when India was short of foreign, exchange., Political: The Soviet Union supported, India’s positions on the Kashmir issue, in the UN. It also supported India, during its major conflicts, especially, during the war with Pakistan in 1971., India too supported Soviet foreign, policy in some crucial but indirect, ways., Military: India received most of its, military hardware from the Soviet, Union at a time when few other, countries were willing to part with, military technologies. The Soviet Union, entered into various agreements, allowing India to jointly produce, military equipment., Culture: Hindi films and Indian culture, were popular in the Soviet Union. A, large number of Indian writers and, artists visited the USSR., , order is the co-existence of several powers in the, international system, collective security (in which an, attack on any country is regarded as a threat to all, countries and requires a collective response), greater, regionalism, negotiated settlements of international, conflicts, an independent foreign policy for all countries,, and decision making through bodies like the UN that, should be strengthened, democratised, and empowered., More than 80 bilateral agreements have been signed, between India and Russia as part of the Indo-Russian, Strategic Agreement of 2001., India stands to benefit from its relationship with, Russia on issues like Kashmir, energy supplies,, sharing information on international terrorism,, , STEPS, ‹ Select any five Cold War allies each of the Soviet, Union and the US., , ‹ Divide the class accordingly (10 groups). Allot a, country to each group. Assign the group to, collect information on the political, social and, economic profile of these countries during the, Cold War days., , ‹ They should also prepare a profile of that, country after the collapse of communism and, say what difference, if any, the disintegration of, the second world made to that country., , ‹ Each group is to present its findings to the entire, class. Ensure that students talk about how, people of these countries felt about themselves, as citizens., Ideas for the Teacher, You could link the students’ findings to the working of the, democratic system and communist system and highlight, the pros and cons of both these systems., You could encourage the students to discuss if there is an, alternative to both communism and capitalism.

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29, , The End of Bipolarity, , access to Central Asia, and, balancing its relations with, China. Russia stands to benefit, from this relationship because, India is the second largest arms, market for Russia. The Indian, military gets most of its hardware, from Russia. Since India is an oilimporting nation, Russia is, important to India and has, repeatedly come to the assistance, of India during its oil crises. India, is seeking to increase its energy, , 2., , 3., , 4., , Which among the following statements that describe the nature, of Soviet economy is wrong?, a., , Socialism was the dominant ideology, , b., , State ownership/control existed over the factors of production, , c., , People enjoyed economic freedom, , d., , Every aspect of the economy was planned and controlled by, the State, , Arrange the following in chronological order:, a., , Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, , b., , Fall of the Berlin Wall, , c., , Disintegration of the Soviet Union, , d., , Russian Revolution, , Which among the following is NOT an outcome of the disintegration, of the USSR?, a., , End of the ideological war between the US and USSR, , b., , Birth of CIS, , c., , Change in the balance of power in the world order, , d., , Crises in the Middle East, , Match the following:, i., , Mikhail Gorbachev, , a. Successor of USSR, , ii., , Shock Therapy, , b. Military pact, , iii., , Russia, , c. Introduced reforms, , iv., , Boris Yeltsin, , d. Economic model, , v., , Warsaw, , e. President of Russia, , E x e r c i s e s, , 1., , imports from Russia and the, republics of Kazakhstan and, Turkmenistan. Cooperation with, these republics includes, partnership and investment in, oilfields. Russia is important for, India’s nuclear energy plans and, assisted India’s space industry by, giving, for example, the cryogenic, rocket when India needed it., Russia, and, India, have, collaborated on various scientific, projects.

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30, , Contemporary World Politics, , E x e r c i s e s, , 5., , Fill in the blanks., a., , The Soviet political system was based on ___________________, ideology., , b., , _________________ was the military alliance started by the USSR., , c., , ____________________ party dominated the Soviet Union’s, political system., , d., , ______________________ initiated the reforms in the USSR in 1985., , e., , The fall of the ____________________ symbolised the end of the, Cold War., , 6., , Mention any three features that distinguish the Soviet economy from, that of a capitalist country like the US?, , 7., , What were the factors that forced Gorbachev to initiate the reforms, in the USSR?, , 8., , What were the major consequences of the disintegration of the, Soviet Union for countries like India?, , 9., , What was Shock Therapy? Was this the best way to make a transition, from communism to capitalism?, , 10., , Write an essay for or against the following proposition: “With the, disintegration of the second world, India should change its foreign, policy and focus more on friendship with the US rather than with, traditional friends like Russia”.

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Chapter 3, , US Hegemony in World Politics, OVERVIEW, We have seen that the end of Cold, War left the US without any, serious rival in the world. The era, since then has been described as, a period of US dominance or a, unipolar world. In this chapter, we, try to understand the nature,, extent and limits of this, dominance. We begin by narrating, the story of the rise of the new, world order from the First Gulf, War to the US-led invasion of Iraq., We then pause to understand the, nature of US domination with the, help of the concept of ‘hegemony’., After exploring the political,, economic and cultural aspects of, US hegemony, we assess India’s, policy options in dealing with the, US. Finally, we turn to see if there, are challenges to this hegemony, and whether it can be overcome., , The attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in, New York on 11 September 2001 has been seen as a, watershed event in contemporary history.

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32, , Contemporary World Politics, , AYESHA, JABU AND ANDREI, Ayesha was doing very well in her, studies at a high school in the, outskirts of Baghdad, and was, planning to study medicine in, university. She lost a leg in 2003, when a missile slammed into an, air raid shelter in which she was, hiding with her friends. Now she, is learning to walk all over again., She still plans to become a doctor,, but only after the foreign armies, leave her country., Jabu is a talented young artist, who lives in Durban, South Africa., His paintings are heavily, influenced by traditional tribal art, forms. He wants to go to art school, and later open his own studio., However, his father wants him to, study for an MBA and then join, the family business. The business, is not doing too well; Jabu’s father, feels that with an MBA degree,, Jabu will be able to make the, family business profitable., , I’m glad I did not opt, for the Science, subjects. Or else I too, would have been a, victim of US, hegemony. Can you, think how and why?, , Andrei is a young man living, in Perth, Australia. His parents are, immigrants from Russia. His, mother gets very angry every time, Andrei puts on blue jeans to go to, church. She wants him to look, respectable in church. Andrei tells, his mother that jeans are “cool”,, that they give him the sense of, freedom. Andrei’s father reminds, his wife how they too used to wear, jeans when they were youngsters, in Leningrad, and for the same, reason that their son now invokes., Andrei has had an argument, with his mother. Jabu may be, , forced to study a subject that he, has no interest in. In contrast,, Ayesha has lost her leg and is, lucky to be alive. How can we even, discuss their problems in the same, breath? We can, and must, do so., As we shall see in this chapter, all, three have been, in different ways,, affected by US hegemony. We will, meet Ayesha, Jabu and Andrei, again. But let us first understand, how US hegemony began and how, it operates in the world today., We will follow the popular, usage of the word ‘America’ to, refer to the United States of, America. But it may be useful to, remind ourselves that the, expression America covers the two, continents of North and South, America and that the US is only, one of the countries of the, American continent. Thus, the use, of the word America solely for the, US is already a sign of the US, hegemony that we seek to, understand in this chapter., , BEGINNING OF THE ‘NEW, WORLD ORDER’, The sudden collapse of the Soviet, Union took everyone by surprise., While one of the two superpowers, ceased to exist, the other remained, with all its powers intact, even, enhanced. Thus, it would appear, that the US hegemony began in, 1991 after Soviet power, disappeared from the international, scene. This is largely correct, but, we need to keep in mind two riders, to this. First, as we shall see in this

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33, , US Hegemony in World Politics, , This picture of burned and broken vehicles was taken on the ‘Highway of Death’, a road between Kuwait and, Basra, on which the retreating Iraqi army was attacked by American aircraft during the First Gulf War in February, 1991. Some commentators have suggested that the US forces deliberately bombed this stretch of highway where, fleeing and ‘out of combat’ Iraqi soldiers were stuck in a frenzied traffic jam and that the victims included Kuwaiti, prisoners and hostages and Palestinian civilian refugees. Many observers have called it a ‘war crime’ and a, violation of the Geneva Convention., , chapter, some aspects of US, hegemony did not emerge in 1991, but in fact go back to the end of, the Second World War in 1945., Second, the US did not start, behaving like a hegemonic power, right from 1991; it became clear, much later that the world was in, fact living in a period of hegemony., Let us therefore look at this, process by which US hegemony, got established more closely., In August 1990, Iraq invaded, Kuwait, rapidly occupying and, subsequently annexing it. After a, , series of diplomatic attempts failed, at convincing Iraq to quit its, aggression, the United Nations, mandated the liberation of Kuwait, by force. For the UN, this was a, dramatic decision after years of, deadlock during the Cold War. The, US President George H.W. Bush, hailed the emergence of a ‘new, world order’., A massive coalition force of, 660,000 troops from 34 countries, fought against Iraq and defeated, it in what came to be known as, the First Gulf War. However, the

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34, , Contemporary World Politics, , UN operation, which was called, ‘Operation Desert Storm’, was, overwhelmingly American. An, American general, Nor man, Schwarzkopf, led the UN coalition, and nearly 75 per cent of the, coalition forces were from the US., Although the Iraqi President,, Saddam Hussein, had promised, “the mother of all battles”, the, Iraqi forces were quickly defeated, and forced to withdraw from, Kuwait., , Is it true that the US has, never fought a war on, its own land? Doesn’t, that make it easy for, Americans to get into, miliray adventures?, , The First Gulf War revealed, the vast technological gap that had, opened up between the US military, capability and that of other states., The highly publicised use of socalled ‘smart bombs’ by the US led, some observers to call this a, ‘computer war’. Widespread, television coverage also made it a, ‘video game war’, with viewers, around the world watching the, destruction of Iraqi forces live on, TV in the comfort of their living, rooms., Incredibly, the US may, actually have made a profit from, the war. According to many, reports, the US received more, money from countries like, Ger many, Japan and Saudi, Arabia than it had spent on the, war., , THE CLINTON YEARS, Despite winning the First Gulf War,, George H.W. Bush lost the US, presidential elections of 1992 to, William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton of, the Democratic Party, who had, , campaigned on domestic rather, than foreign policy issues. Bill, Clinton won again in 1996 and, thus remained the president of the, US for eight years. During the, Clinton years, it often seemed that, the US had withdrawn into its, internal affairs and was not fully, engaged in world politics. In, foreign policy, the Clinton, government tended to focus on, ‘soft issues’ like democracy, promotion, climate change and, world trade rather than on the, ‘hard politics’ of military power and, security., Nevertheless, the US on, occasion did show its readiness to, use military power even during the, Clinton years. The most important, episode occurred in 1999, in, response to Yugoslavian actions, against the predominantly, Albanian population in the, province of Kosovo. The air forces, of the NATO countries, led by the, US, bombarded targets around, Yugoslavia for well over two, months, forcing the downfall of, the gover nment of Slobodan, Milosevic and the stationing of a, NATO force in Kosovo., Another significant US military, action during the Clinton years was, in response to the bombing of the, US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania in, 1998. These bombings were, attributed to Al-Qaeda, a terrorist, organisation strongly influenced by, extremist Islamist ideas. Within a, few days of this bombing, President, Clinton ordered Operation Infinite

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35, , US Hegemony in World Politics, This is ridiculous!, Does it mean, that Sri Lanka, can drop a, missile on Paris if, it suspects that, some of the LTTE, militants are, hiding there?, , Reach, a series of cruise missile, strikes on Al-Qaeda terrorist targets, in Sudan and Afghanistan. The US, did not bother about the UN, sanction or provisions of, international law in this regard. It, was alleged that some of the targets, were civilian facilities unconnected, to terrorism. In retrospect, this was, merely the beginning., , 9/11 AND THE ‘GLOBAL, WAR ON TERROR’, On 11 September 2001, nineteen, hijackers hailing from a number, of Arab countries took control of, four American commercial aircraft, shortly after takeoff and flew them, into important buildings in the, US. One airliner each crashed into, the North and South Towers of the, World Trade Centre in New York., A third aircraft crashed into the, Pentagon building in Arlington,, Virginia, where the US Defence, Department is headquartered., The fourth aircraft, presumably, bound for the Capitol building of, the US Congress, came down in a, field in Pennsylvania. The attacks, have come to be known as “9/11”., (In America the convention is to, , This is how The New York Times reported 9/11 in its edition the, following morning., , write the month first, followed by, the date; hence the short form ‘9/, 11’ instead of ‘11/9’ as we would, write in India)., The attacks killed nearly three, thousand persons. In terms of their, shocking effect on Americans, they, have been compared to the British, burning of Washington, DC in 1814, and the Japanese attack on Pearl, Harbour in 1941. However, in terms, of loss of life, 9/11 was the most

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36, , Contemporary World Politics, , severe attack on US soil since the, founding of the country in 1776., , The US forces made arrests, all over the world, often without, the knowledge of the government, of the persons being arrested,, transported these persons, across countries and detained, them in secret prisons. Some of, them, were, brought, to, Guantanamo Bay, a US Naval, base in Cuba, where the, prisoners did not enjoy the, protection of international law or, the law of their own country or, that of the US. Even the UN, representatives were not allowed, to meet these prisoners., , © Andy Singer, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , © Andy Singer, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , Do they also have, political dynasties in, the US? Or was this the, only exception?, , The US response to 9/11 was, swift and ferocious. Clinton had, been succeeded in the US, presidency by George W. Bush, of the Republican Party, son of, the earlier President George H., W. Bush. Unlike Clinton, Bush, had a much harder view of US, interests and of the means by, which to advance them. As a part, of its ‘Global War on Terror’, the, US, launched, ‘Operation, Enduring Freedom’ against all, those suspected to be behind, this attack, mainly Al-Qaeda and, the, Taliban, regime, in, Afghanistan. The Taliban regime, was easily overthr own, but, remnants of the Taliban and Al-, , Qaeda have remained potent, as, is clear from the number of, terrorist attacks launched by, them against Western targets, since., , Suppose you are the Secretary of State in the US (their equivalent of our Minister of External Affairs)., How would you react in a press conference to these cartoons?

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37, , US Hegemony in World Politics, , THE IRAQ INVASION, On 19 March 2003, the US, launched its invasion of Iraq under, the codename ‘Operation Iraqi, Freedom’. More than forty other, countries joined in the US-led, ‘coalition of the willing’ after the UN, refused to give its mandate to the, invasion. The ostensible purpose of, the invasion was to prevent Iraq, from developing weapons of mass, destruction (WMD). Since no, evidence of WMD has been, unearthed in Iraq, it is speculated, that the invasion was motivated by, other objectives, such as controlling, Iraqi oilfields and installing a regime, friendly to the US., Although the government of, Saddam Hussein fell swiftly, the, US has not been able to ‘pacify’, Iraq. Instead, a full-fledged, insurgency against US occupation, was ignited in Iraq. While the US, has lost over 3,000 military, personnel in the war, Iraqi, casualties are very much higher., It is conservatively estimated that, 50,000 Iraqi civilians have been, killed since the US-led invasion., It is now widely recognised that, the US invasion of Iraq was, in, some crucial respects, both a, military and political failure., , List the postCold War, conflicts/wars, in which the, US played a, critical role., , Soldier World Map, , © Ares, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , WHAT DOES HEGEMONY, MEAN?, Politics is about power. Just as, individuals want to gain and, retain power, groups too want to, gain and retain power. We, routinely talk of someone, becoming powerful or someone, doing something for power. In the, case of world politics too,, countries and groups of countries, are engaged in constantly trying, to gain and retain power. This, power is in the form of military, domination, economic power,, political clout and cultural, superiority.

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38, © Angel Boligan, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , Contemporary World Politics, , is called a ‘unipolar’ system. This, appears to be a misapplication of, the idea of ‘pole’ derived from, physics. It may be more appropriate, to describe an international system, with only one centre of power by, the term ‘hegemony’., We can identify three very, different understandings of what, hegemony is. Let us examine each, of these meanings of hegemony, and relate them to contemporary, international politics., , HEGEMONY AS HARD, POWER, , Entitled ‘Under US Thumb’, this cartoon captures our, commonsensical understanding of what hegemony means., What does this cartoon say about the nature of US hegemony?, Which part of the world is the cartoonist talking about?, , Why use such, complicated words, like hegemony? In, my town they call it, dadagiri. Isn’t that, better?, , Therefore, if we wanted to, understand world politics, it is, necessary that we understand the, distribution of power among the, countries of the world. For, instance, during the years of the, Cold War (1945-91) power was, divided between the two groups of, countries, and the US and the, Soviet Union represented the two, ‘camps’ or centres of power in, international politics during that, period. The collapse of the Soviet, Union left the world with only a, single power, the United States, of America. Sometimes, the, international system dominated by, a sole superpower, or hyper-power,, , The roots of the word hegemony, lie in classical Greek. The word, implies the leadership or, predominance of one state, and, was originally used to denote the, preponderant position of Athens, vis-à-vis the other city-states of, ancient Greece. Thus, the first, meaning of hegemony relates to the, relations, patterns and balances of, military capability between states., It is this notion of hegemony as, military preponderance that is, especially germane to the current, position and role of the US in world, politics. Do you remember Ayesha,, who lost her leg in an American, missile attack? It is hard power, hegemony that has broken, Ayesha’s body, if not her spirit., The bedrock of contemporary, US power lies in the overwhelming, superiority of its military power., American military dominance, today is both absolute and, relative. In absolute terms, the US

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39, , US Hegemony in World Politics, , US COMMAND STRUCTURE, , USEUCOM, USNORTHCOM, USCENTCOM, , USSOUTHCOM, , USPACOM, , Source: http://www.army.mil/institution/organization/areaof_responsibility.jpg, , today has military capabilities, that can reach any point on the, planet accurately, lethally and in, real time, thereby crippling the, adversary while its own forces are, sheltered to the maximum extent, possible from the dangers of war., But even more awesome than, the absolute capabilities of the US, is the fact that no other power, today can remotely match them., The US today spends more on its, military capability than the, next 12 powers combined., Furthermore, a large chunk of the, Pentagon’s budget goes into, military research and development,, or, in other words, technology., Thus, the military dominance of, the US is not just based on higher, military spending, but on a, qualitative gap, a technological, , chasm that no other power can at, present conceivably span., Undoubtedly, the US invasion, of Iraq reveals several American, vulnerabilities. The US has not, been able to force the Iraqi people, into submitting to the occupation, forces of the US-led coalition. To, fully understand the nature of, American weakness, however, we, need to have a historical, perspective. Imperial powers, through history have used, military forces to accomplish only, four tasks: to conquer, deter,, punish and police. As the Iraq, invasion shows, the American, capacity to conquer is formidable., Similarly, the US capability to, deter and to punish is self-evident., Where US military capability has, thus far been shown to have, , Most armed forces, in the world divide, their areas of, operation into, various, ‘commands’, which are, assigned to, different, commanders. This, map depicts the, areas of, responsibility of the, five Commands of, the US armed, forces. It shows, that the, commands of the, US military are not, limited to the area, of the United, States; it extends, to include the, whole world. What, does this map tell, us about the, military power of, the US?

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40, , Contemporary World Politics, , possess both the ability and the, desire to establish certain norms, for order and must sustain the, global structure. The hegemon, usually does this to its own, advantage but often to its relative, detriment, as its competitors take, advantage of the openness of the, world economy without paying the, costs of maintaining its openness., , The US today spends more on its military capability than the next 12, powers combined. As you can see here, most of the other countries, that are big military spenders are US friends and allies. Thus,, balancing US power is not a feasible strategy today., , Hegemony in this second, sense is reflected in the role, played by the US in providing, global public goods. By public, goods we mean those goods that, can be consumed by one person, without reducing the amount of, the good available for someone, else. Fresh air and roads are, examples of public goods. In the, context of the world economy, the, best examples of a global public, good, are, sea-lanes, of, communication (SLOCs), the sea, routes commonly used by, merchant ships. Free trade in an, open world economy would not, be possible without open SLOCs., , serious weaknesses is in policing, an occupied territory., , HEGEMONY AS STRUCTURAL, POWER, © Ares, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , The second notion of hegemony is, very different from the first. It, emerges from a particular, understanding of the world, economy. The basic idea is that, an open world economy requires, a hegemon or dominant power to, support its creation and, existence. The hegemon must, Dollar World

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41, , US Hegemony in World Politics, , It is the naval power of the, hegemon that underwrites the, law of the sea and ensures, fr eedom of navigation in, international waters. Since the, decline of British naval power, after the Second World War, the, multi-oceanic US Navy has, played this role., Another example of a global, public good is the Inter net., Although it is seen today as, making the virtual world of the, World Wide Web possible, we, should not forget that the Internet, is the direct outcome of a US, military research project that, began in 1950. Even today, the, Internet relies on a global network, of satellites, most of which are, owned by the US government., As we know, the US is present, in all parts of the world, in all, , sectors of the world economy and, in all areas of technology. The US, share of the world economy, remains an enormous 28 per cent., The US also accounts for 15, per cent of world trade, if intraEuropean Union trade is included, in world trade data. There is not, a single sector of the world, economy in which an American, firm does not feature in the “top, three” list., It is important to remember, that the economic preponderance, of the US is inseparable from its, structural power, which is the, power to shape the global, economy in a particular way. After, all, the Bretton Woods system, set, up by the US after the Second, World War, still constitutes the, basic structure of the world, economy. Thus, we can regard the, , The American economy is the largest in the world, but unlike in the sphere of military power,, the US faces credible competitors in the world economy. This becomes even clearer if we, consider the world economy in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms as in the graphic on the, right. PPP is what a nation’s currency actually buys in goods and services., , How can this country, be so rich? I see so, many poor people, here. Most of them, are non-White.

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42, , Contemporary World Politics, , World Bank, Inter national, Monetary Fund (IMF) and World, Trade Organisation (WTO) as the, products of American hegemony., A classic example of the, structural power of the US is the, academic degree called the, Master’s in Business Administration, (MBA). The idea that business is, a profession that depends upon, skills that can be taught in a, university is uniquely American., The first business school in the, world, the Wharton School at the, University of Pennsylvania, was, established in 1881. The first MBA, courses were initiated around, 1900. The first MBA course, outside the US was established, only in 1950. Today, there is no, country in the world in which the, MBA is not a prestigious academic, degree. This takes us back to our, South African friend Jabu., Structural hegemony explains, why Jabu’s father is insisting that, his son gives up painting and, studies for the MBA instead., , HEGEMONY AS SOFT POWER, , If I had opted for the, Science subjects, I would have to sit for, the entrance exams to, medical or, engineering college., That would mean, competing with so, many others who wish, to become doctors or, engineers so as to go, to the US., , It would however be a mistake to, see US hegemony in purely military, and economic terms without, considering the ideological or the, cultural dimension of US, hegemony. This third sense of, hegemony is about the capacity to, ‘manufacture consent’. Here,, hegemony, implies, class, ascendancy in the social, political, and particularly ideological, spheres. Hegemony arises when, the dominant class or country can, , win the consent of dominated, classes, by persuading the, dominated classes to view the, world in a manner favourable to the, ascendancy of the dominant class., Adapted to the field of world, politics, this notion of hegemony, suggests that a dominant power, deploys not only military power but, also ideological resources to shape, the behaviour of competing and, lesser powers. The behaviour of the, weaker countries is influenced in, ways that favour the interests of, the most powerful country, in, particular its desire to remain preeminent. Consent, in other words,, goes hand-in-hand with, and is, often more effective than, coercion., The predominance of the US in, the world today is based not only, on its military power and economic, prowess, but also on its cultural, presence. Whether we choose to, recognise the fact or not, all ideas, of the good life and personal, success, most of the dreams of, individuals and societies across, the globe, are dreams churned out, by practices prevailing in, twentieth-century America., America is the most seductive, and, in this sense the most powerful,, culture on earth. This attribute is, called ‘soft power’: the ability to, persuade rather than coerce. Over, time we get so used to hegemony, that we hardly notice it, any more, than we notice the rivers, birds,, and trees around us., You couldn’t have forgotten, Andrei and his ‘cool’ pair of blue, jeans. When his parents were, youngsters in the Soviet Union,

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US Hegemony in World Politics, , blue jeans were the ultimate, symbol of ‘liberation’ for their, generation. Young men and, women often spent over a year’s, salary to buy blue jeans from, foreign tourists on the black, market. Somehow, for an entire, Soviet generation blue jeans came, to represent aspirations of the, ‘good life’ that were not available, in their own country., During the Cold War, the US, found it difficult to score victories, against the Soviet Union in the, realm of hard power. It was in the, area of structural power and soft, power that the US scored notable, victories. Although the Soviet, centrally-planned economy, provided an alternate model of, internal economic organisation,, the world economy throughout, the Cold War years remained a, world capitalist economy. But it, was in the area of soft power that, the US was ultimately triumphant., As the example of blue jeans in, , That is strange!, I never think of the, US when buying, jeans for myself., How can I still be, a victim of US, hegemony?, , All these images are from Jakarta in, Indonesia. Identify elements of US, hegemony in each of these, photographs. Can you identify similar, elements on your way back from, school to home?, , 43

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44, , Contemporary World Politics, , the Soviet Union clearly shows,, the US was able to engineer a, generational divide in Soviet, society on the basis of a cultural, product., , three branches of government, places significant brakes upon the, unrestrained and immoderate, exercise of America’s military, power by the executive branch., , CONSTRAINTS, POWER, , The second constraint on, American power is also domestic, in nature, and stems from the, open nature of American society., Although the American mass, media may from time to time, impose or promote a particular, perspective on domestic public, opinion in the US, there is, nevertheless a deep scepticism, regarding the purposes and, methods of gover nment in, American political culture. This, factor, in the long run, is a huge, constraint on US military action, overseas., , ON, , AMERICAN, , History tells us that empires, decline because they decay from, within. Similarly, the biggest, constraints, to, American, hegemony lie within the heart of, hegemony itself. We can identify, three constraints on American, power. None of these constraints, seemed to operate in the years, following 9/11. However, it now, appears that all three of these, constraints are slowly beginning, to operate again., The first constraint is the, institutional architecture of the, American state itself. A system of, division of powers between the, , However, it is the third, constraint on the US that is, perhaps the most important., There is only one organisation in, the international system that, , These two photographs are from an exhibition on the Human Costs of the Iraq War by the American Friends, Service Committee organised at the National Convention of the Democratic Party in 2004. To what extent do, protests like this constrain the US government?

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45, , US Hegemony in World Politics, , could possibly moderate the, exercise of American power today,, and that is the North Atlantic, Treaty Organisation (NATO). The, US obviously has an enormous, interest in keeping the alliance of, democracies that follow the, market economies alive and, therefore it is possible that its, allies in the NATO will be able to, moderate the exercise of US, hegemony., , INDIA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH, THE US, During the Cold War years, India, found itself on the opposite side, of the divide from the US. India’s, closest friendship during those, years was with the Soviet Union., After the collapse of the Soviet, Union, India suddenly found itself, friendless in an increasingly hostile, international environment. However,, these were also the years when, India decided to liberalise its, economy and integrate it with the, global economy. This policy and, India’s impressive economic, growth rates in recent years have, made the country an attractive, economic partner for a number of, countries including the US., It is important that we do not, lose sight of the fact that two new, factors have emerged in Indo-US, relations in recent years. These, factors relate to the technological, dimension and the role of the, Indian-American diaspora., Indeed, these two factors are, , interrelated., following facts:, , Consider, , the, , The US absorbs about 65 per, cent of India’s total exports in, the software sector., 35 per cent of the technical, staff of Boeing is estimated to, be of Indian origin., 300,000 Indians work in, Silicon Valley., 15 percent of all high-tech, start-ups are by IndianAmericans., Like all other countries, India, too has to decide exactly what type, of relationship it wants with the US, in this phase of global hegemony., The choices are not exactly easy., Within India, the debate seems to, be around three possible strategies., Those Indian analysts who see, international politics largely in, terms of military power are, fearful of the growing, closeness between India and, the US. They would prefer that, India maintains its aloofness, from Washington and focuses, upon increasing its own, comprehensive national power., Other analysts see the growing, convergence of interests, between the US and India as a, historic opportunity for India., They advocate a strategy that, would allow India to take, advantage of US hegemony, and the mutual convergences, to establish the best possible, options for itself. Opposing the, US, they argue, is a futile, , As soon as I say I am, from India, they ask, me if I am a, computer engineer., That feels nice., , Collect news, clippings and, articles about, the recent, Indo-US civil, nuclear deal., Summarise the, position of the, supporters and, opponents of, the deal.

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46, , Contemporary World Politics, , LOK SABHA DEBATES INDO-US, RELATIONS, Here are three extracts from the speeches by the Prime, Minister and two opposition leaders during the debate, in Lok Sabha on the Indo-US agreement on nuclear, energy. Are these three positions in some way linked, to the three strategies mentioned in the chapter?, Dr Manmohan Singh, Congress, “Sir, I would respectfully urge this august House to, recognise the changed mood of the world towards, India. This is not to say that power politics is a thing of, the past; that there will never be any attempt to twist, our arms. We will protect ourselves to ensure against, the risks that are there. But it would be wrong for us, not to take advantage of the opportunities that are, now on the horizon. I sincerely believe that it is in the, interest of our country to have good relations with all, the major powers. I make no apology that we seek, good relations with the United States. The United States, is a pre-eminent power.”, Shri Basu Deb Acharia, CPI(M), “Since Independence, we have been pursuing, independent foreign policy because of our national, interest. What have we seen in case of Iraq and in, case of Iran? After the July statement, and when there, was voting in International Atomic Energy Agency, we, found that we sided with the United States of America., We supported the resolution moved by US and P 5., That was not expected before that. When we were, trying to bring gas from Iran via Pakistan which we, need, we supported America’s stand in regard to Iran., There we find that the independent foreign policy has, been affected.”, Maj. Gen. (Retd.) B. C. Khanduri, BJP, “We have also to take note of the fact that today US, is — whether we like it or not — the only super power, in this unipolar world. But at the same time, we must, also remember that India is also emerging as a world, power, and a super power. Therefore, we feel that, we should have good relations with the USA in the, international scenario, but it should not be at the cost, of our security.”, , strategy that will only hurt, India in the long run., A third group of analysts, would advocate that India, should take the lead in, establishing a coalition of, countries from the developing, world. Over time, this coalition, would become more powerful, and may succeed in weaning, the hegemon away from its, dominating ways., India-US relations are perhaps, too complex to be managed by a, single strategy. India needs to, develop an appropriate mix of, foreign policy strategies to deal, with the US., , HOW CAN HEGEMONY BE, OVERCOME?, How long will hegemony last? How, do we get beyond hegemony?, These become, for obvious, reasons, some of the burning, questions of our time. History, provides us with some fascinating, clues to answer these questions., But what about the present and, the future? In inter national, politics, very few factors formally, curtail the exercise of military, power by any country. There is no, world gover nment like the, government of a country. As we, shall see in Chapter 6,, international organisation is not, world gover nment. Thus,, international politics is ‘politics, without government’. There are, some rules and norms called the, laws of war that restrict, but do

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47, © Cam Cardow, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , US Hegemony in World Politics, , not prohibit, war. But few states, will entrust their security to, international law alone. Does this, mean that there is no escape from, war and hegemony?, In the short term, we must, recognise that no single power is, anywhere near balancing the US, militarily. A military coalition, against the US is even less likely, given the differences that exist, among big countries like China,, India, and Russia that have the, potential to challenge US, hegemony., Some people argue that it is, strategically more prudent to take, advantage of the opportunities, that hegemony creates. For, instance, raising economic growth, rates requires increased trade,, technology transfers, and, investment, which are best, acquired by working with rather, than against the hegemon. Thus,, it is suggested that instead of, engaging in activities opposed to, the hegemonic power, it may be, advisable to extract benefits by, operating within the hegemonic, system. This is called the, ‘bandwagon’ strategy., Another strategy open to, states is to ‘hide’. This implies, staying as far removed from the, dominant power as possible., There are many examples of this, behaviour. China, Russia, the, European Union—all of them, in, different ways, are seeking to stay, below the radar, as it were, and, not overly and unduly antagonise, the US. However, this would not, , How long do you think the US will stay on the super-power, stage? If you were to draw this, who would you show as waiting, in the wings?, , seem to be viable for the big,, second-rank powers for very long., While it may be an attractive,, viable policy for small states, it is, hard to imagine mega-states like, China, India, and Russia or huge, agglomerations such as the EU, being able to hide for any, substantial length of time., Some people believe that, resistance to American hegemony, may not come from other states,, which as we have seen are, powerless to confront the US, today, but rather from non-state, actors. These challenges to, American hegemony will emerge, in the economic and cultural, realms, and will come from a, combination of non-governmental, organisations (NGOs), social, movements, and public opinion;, it may arise from sections of the, media and intellectuals, artists,, and writers. These various actors

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48, , Contemporary World Politics, , may well form links across, national boundaries, including, with Americans, to criticise and, resist US policies., , STEPS, ‹ Assign students to major geo-political regions of, the world from the vantage point of the US, (Central America, South America, Africa,, Europe, former USSR, West Asia, South Asia, East, Asia and Australia). Alternatively, you could, assign students to major conflict zones of the, post-Cold War period in which the US was, involved. (e.g., Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel-Palestine, or Kosovo or any active conflict at the time of, teaching)., , You might have heard the, saying that we now live in a, ‘global village’. In this global, village, we are all neighbours of, the village headman. If the, behaviour of the headman, becomes intolerable, we will not, have the option of leaving the, global village, because this is the, only world we know and the only, village we have. Resistance will, then be the only option available., , ‹ Group the students in equal strength according, to the number of areas identified. Each group is, to prepare a fact-file on the role of the US in, these regions or conflicts. The fact-file should, focus on the US interest in the region, its activities, and the public opinion about the US in the, region. Students can also collect and present, related pictures/cartoons from all available, sources., , ‹ Each group is to present their fact-file before, the class., Ideas for the Teacher, Using the fact-file as the background information, the teacher, has to refocus on the intervention made by the US and whether, these interventions have been in line with the principles, advocated by the UN., Invite the students to reflect on the future of the region or, conflict twenty years from now. How long will the US continue, to be hegemonic? Which other powers may be in a position, to challenge US hegemony in that region?, , All this sounds like a, lot of jealousy. What, is our problem with US, hegemony? Just that, we were not born, there? Or something, else?

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US Hegemony in World Politics, , 49, , WHAT DOES HISTORY TEACH US ABOUT HEGEMONY?, Given the logic of balance of power, hegemony is a rather unusual condition in international affairs. This is for, a very simple reason: in the absence of world government, every state must ensure its own security and, in, extreme circumstances, its own survival. Thus, states are acutely aware of power distribution in the international, political system, and would not normally allow a single state to become so powerful as to pose a mortal threat, to other states., The balance of power logic of international politics, as outlined above, is amply supported by history. By, convention, we regard 1648 as the year in which the sovereign territorial state emerged as the principal, actor in world politics. In the over three and a half centuries since then, there have been only two previous, occasions when a single state succeeded in gaining preponderance in the system to a similar degree as the, US predominates the system today. France from 1660 to 1713 in the context of European continental politics, in the first instance of hegemony, Britain with its global maritime empire from 1860 to 1910 is the second., History also tells us that although at its height hegemony seems formidable, it does not last forever. To the, contrary, balance of power politics over time reduces the relative power of the hegemon. In 1660, France, under Louis XIV was unchallenged; by 1713, England, Habsburg Austria and Russia were contesting French, power. In 1860, the high noon of the Victorian period, Pax Britannica looked secure forever. By 1910, it was, clear that Germany, Japan and the US had emerged as contenders to British power. Thus, twenty years from, now, another great power, or may be a coalition of great powers could well emerge just as US capabilities, are declining in relative terms., Based on an article by Christopher Layne, “The Unipolar Illusion: Why New Great Powers Will Rise”, , 2., , Which among the following statements about hegemony is, incorrect?, a., , The word implies the leadership or predominance of one State., , b., , It was used to denote the predominance of Athens in the, ancient Greece., , c., , The country having hegemonic position will possess, unchallenged military power., , d., , Hegemonic position is fixed. Once a hegemon, always a, hegemon., , Which among the following statements is wrong about the, contemporary world order?, a., , There is an absence of world government, which could regulate, the State’s behaviour., , b., , The US is the predominant player in world affairs., , c., , States are using force against one another., , d., , States, which violate international law, are severely punished, by the UN., , Exercises, , 1.

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50, , Contemporary World Politics, , E x e r c i s e s, , 3. Which among the following statements is wrong with regard to, ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’?, a., , More than forty countries joined in the US-led coalition of the, willing to invade Iraq., , b., , The reason given for invading Iraq was to prevent it from, developing weapons of mass destruction., , c., , The action was taken with the prior approval of the UN., , d., , The US-led coalition did not face major resistance from Iraqi, forces, , 4., , Give an example each of the three kinds of hegemony that are, dealt with in the chapter. Do not cite examples that are in the, chapter., , 5., , Mention three ways in which US dominance since the Cold War is, different from its position as a superpower during the Cold War., , 6., , Match the following:, i., , Operation Infinite Reach, , ii., , Operation Enduring Freedom, , iii., , Operation Desert Storm, , iv., , Operation Iraqi Freedom, , a., , War against Al-Qaeda and Taliban, , b., , Coalition of the willing, , c., , Missile attack in Sudan, , d., , First Gulf War, , 7., , What are the constraints on American hegemony today? Which, one of these do you expect to get more important in the future?, , 8., , Read the three extracts in the chapter from the Lok Sabha debate, on the Indo-US deal. Develop any one of these into a full speech, defending a certain position on Indo-US relations., , 9., , “If big and resourceful states cannot resist the US hegemony, it is, unrealistic to expect much smaller and weaker non-state actors to, offer any resistance.” Examine this proposition and give your opinion.

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Chapter 4, , Alternative Centres, of Power, OVERVIEW, After the end of the bipolar, structure of world politics in the, early 1990s, it became clear that, alternative centres of political and, economic power could limit, America’s dominance. Thus, in, Europe, the European Union (EU), and, in Asia, the Association of, South East Asian Nations (ASEAN),, have emerged as forces to reckon, with. While evolving regional, solutions to their historical, enmities and weaknesses, both the, EU and the ASEAN have developed, alternative institutions and, conventions that build a more, peaceful and cooperative regional, order and have transformed the, countries in the region into, prosperous economies. The, economic rise of China has made, a dramatic impact on world, politics. In this chapter, we take a, look at some of these emerging, alternative centres of power and, assess their possible role in the, future., , The two images here represent two phases of the history of, China. The red poster – “The Socialist Road is the Broadest of, All” – represents the ideology that guided China during its, early phase after the Revolution. The photograph below is, that of the city of Shanghai, the symbol of China’s new, economic power.

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52, , Contemporary World Politics, , EUROPEAN UNION, As the Second World War came to, an end, many of Europe’s leaders, grappled with the ‘Question of, Europe’. Should Europe be, allowed to revert to its old rivalries, or be reconstructed on principles, and institutions that would, contribute to a positive conception, of international relations? The, Second World War shattered many, of the assumptions and structures, on which the European states had, based their relations. In 1945, the, European states confronted the, ruin of their economies and the, destruction of the assumptions, and structures on which Europe, had been founded., European integration after, 1945 was aided by the Cold War., America extended massive, financial help for reviving, Europe’s economy under what, was called the ‘Marshall Plan’., The US also created a new, collective security structure, under NATO. Under the Marshall, P l a n , t h e O rg a n i s a t i o n f o r, European Economic Cooperation, , The European Union Flag, The circle of gold stars stands for solidarity and harmony between, the peoples of Europe. It has twelve stars, as the number twelve is, traditionally the symbol of perfection, completeness and unity., Source: http://europa.eu/abc/symbols/emblem/index_en.htm, , (OEEC) was established in 1948, to channel aid to the west, European states. It became a, forum where the wester n, European states began to, cooperate on trade and, economic issues. The Council of, Europe, established in 1949,, was another step forward in, political cooperation. The, process of economic integration, of European capitalist countries, proceeded step by step (see, Timeline of European Integration), leading to the formation of the, European Economic Community, in 1957. This process acquired, a political dimension with the, creation of the European, Parliament. The collapse of the, Soviet bloc put Europe on a fast, track and resulted in the, establishment of the European, Union in 1992. The foundation, was thus laid for a common, foreign and security policy,, cooperation on justice and, home affairs, and the creation, of a single currency., The European Union has, evolved over time fr om an, economic, union, to, an, increasingly political one. The EU, has started to act more as a, nation state. While the attempts, to have a Constitution for the EU, have failed, it has its own flag,, anthem, founding date, and, currency. It also has some form, of a common foreign and security, policy in its dealings with other, nations. The European Union, has tried to expand areas of, cooperation while acquiring new

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53, , Alternative Centres of Power, , EUROPEAN UNION MAP, , Older Members, New Members, , Sweden, , Finland, , Estonia, Denmark, , Latvia, Lithuania, , Netherlands, Ireland, , United, Kingdom, , Poland, Belgium, , Germany, , Luxembourg, France, , Czech, Republic, Austria, Hungary, , Portugal, , Ita, , ly, , Slovakia, , Slovenia, , Spain, , Malta, , Greece, Cyprus, , members, especially from the, erstwhile Soviet bloc. The process, has not proved easy, for people, in many countries are not very, enthusiastic in giving the EU, powers that were exercised by the, government of their country., There are also reservations about, including some new countries, within the EU., The EU has economic, political, and diplomatic, and military, influence. The EU is the world’s, biggest economy with a GDP of, , more than $12 trillion in 2005,, slightly larger than that of the, United States. Its currency, the, euro, can pose a threat to the, dominance of the US dollar. Its, share of world trade is three times, larger than that of the United, States allowing it to be more, assertive in trade disputes with, the US and China. Its economic, power gives it influence over its, closest neighbours as well as in, Asia and Africa. It also functions as, an important bloc in international, , Oh, now I know what a, Schengen visa means!, Under the Schengen, agreement, you have to, get a visa from just one, of the EU countries and, that allows you entry in, most of the other, European Union, countries.

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54, , Contemporary World Politics, , TIMELINE OF EUROPEAN, INTEGRATION, 1951 April: Six west European countries, France, West, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, sign the Treaty of Paris establishing the European Coal and, Steel Community (ECSC)., 1957 March 25: These six countries sign the Treaties of Rome, establishing the European Economic Community (EEC) and, the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom)., 1973 January: Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom, join the European Community (EC)., 1979 June: First direct elections to the European Parliament, 1981 January: Greece joins the EC., 1985 June: The Schengen Agreement abolishes border, controls among the EC members., 1986 January: Spain and Portugal join the EC., 1990 October: Unification of Germany., 1992 February 7: The Treaty of Maastricht was signed, establishing the European Union (EU)., 1993 January: The single market was created., 1995 January: Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU., 2002 January: Euro, the new currency, was introduced in, the 12 EU members., 2004 May: Ten new members, Cyprus, the Czech Republic,, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia join the EU., 2007 January: Bulgaria and Romania join the EU., Slovenia adopts the Euro., , economic organisations such as, the World Trade Organisation, (WTO)., The EU also has political and, diplomatic influence. Two, members of the EU, Britain and, , France, hold permanent seats on, the UN Security Council. The EU, includes several non-permanent, members of the UNSC. This has, enabled the EU to influence some, US policies such as the current US, position on Iran’s nuclear, programme. Its use of diplomacy,, economic investments, and, negotiations rather than coercion, and military force has been, effective as in the case of its, dialogue with China on human, rights and environmental, degradation., Militarily, the EU’s combined, armed forces are the second, largest in the world. Its total, spending on defence is second, after the US. Two EU member, states, Britain and France, also, have nuclear arsenals of, approximately 550 nuclear, warheads. It is also the world’s, second most important source of, space and communications, technology., As a supranational organisation, the EU is able to intervene, in economic, political and social, areas. But in many areas its, member states have their own, foreign relations and defence, policies that are often at odds, with each other. Thus, Britain’s, Prime Minister Tony Blair was, America’s partner in the Iraq, invasion, and many of the EU’s, newer members made up the USled ‘coalition of the willing’, whereas Germany and France, opposed American policy. There, is also a deep-seated ‘Euroskepticism’ in some parts

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55, © Ares, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , Alternative Centres of Power, , The cartoon appeared in 2003 when the European Union’s initiative to draft a, common Constitution failed. Why does the cartoonist use the image of the ship, Titanic to represent EU?, , of Europe about the EU’s, integrationist agenda. Thus, for, example, Britain’s former prime, minister, Margaret Thatcher,, kept the UK out of the European, Market. Denmark and Sweden, have resisted the Maastricht, Treaty and the adoption of the, euro, the common European, currency. This limits the ability, of the EU to act in matters of, foreign relations and defence., , ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH, EAST ASIAN NATIONS, (ASEAN), Take a look at the political map of, the world. Which countries would, you say fall in the southeastern, , region of Asia? Before and during, the Second World War, this region, of Asia suffered the economic and, political consequences of, repeated colonialisms, both, European and Japanese. At the, end of the war, it confronted, problems of nation-building, the, ravages of poverty and economic, backwardness and the pressure, to align with one great power or, another during the Cold War. This, was a recipe for conflict, which, the countries of Southeast Asia, could ill afford. Efforts at Asian, and Third World unity, such as, the Bandung Conference and the, Non-Aligned Movement, were, ineffective in establishing the, conventions for infor mal, cooperation and interaction., Hence, the Southeast Asian, , Imagine what would, happen if they have, a European Union, football team!

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56, , Contemporary World Politics, , MAP OF EAST AND SOUTH EAST ASIA, , cultural development’. A secondary, objective was to promote regional, peace and stability based on the, rule of law and the principles of the, United Nations Charter. Over the, years, Brunei Darussalam,, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar, (Burma) and Cambodia joined, ASEAN taking its strength to ten., Unlike the EU there is little, desire in ASEAN for supranational, structures and institutions. ASEAN, countries have celebrated what has, become known as the ‘ASEAN, Way’, a form of interaction that is, informal, non-confrontationist and, cooperative. The respect for national, sovereignty is critical to the, functioning of ASEAN., , “Courtesy of the University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas, at Austin”, , With some of the fastest, growing economies in the world,, ASEAN broadened its objectives, beyond the economic and social, spheres. In 2003, ASEAN moved, along the path of the EU by, agreeing to establish an ASEAN, Community comprising three, pillars, namely, the ASEAN, Security Community, the ASEAN, Economic Community and the, ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community., , nations sought an alternative by, establishing the Association for, South East Asian Nations, (ASEAN)., Who are, the, members, of the, ASEAN, Regional, Forum, (ARF)?, , ASEAN was established in, 1967 by five countries of this, region — Indonesia, Malaysia, the, Philippines, Singapore and, Thailand — by signing the, Bangkok Declaration. The, objectives of ASEAN were primarily, to accelerate economic growth and, through that ‘social progress and, , The ASEAN Flag, In the ASEAN logo, the ten stalks of, paddy (rice) represent the ten, Southeast Asian countries bound, together in friendship and solidarity., The circle symbolises the unity of ASEAN., Source : www.aseansec.org

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57, , Alternative Centres of Power, , The, ASEAN, security, community was based on the, conviction that outstanding, territorial disputes should not, escalate into armed confrontation., By 2003, ASEAN had several, agreements in place by which, member states promised to uphold, peace, neutrality, cooperation,, non-interference, and respect for, national differences and sovereign, rights. The ASEAN Regional, Forum (ARF), which was, established in 1994, is the, organisation that carries out, coordination of security and, foreign policy., ASEAN was and still remains, principally, an, economic, association. While the ASEAN, region as a whole is a much, smaller economy compared to the, US, the EU, and Japan, its, economy is growing much faster, than all these. This accounts for, the growth in its influence both in, the region and beyond. The, objectives of the ASEAN Economic, Community are to create a, common market and production, base within ASEAN states and to, aid social and economic, development in the region. The, Economic Community would also, like to improve the existing ASEAN, Dispute Settlement Mechanism to, resolve economic disputes. ASEAN, has focused on creating a Free, Trade Area (FTA) for investment,, labour, and services. The US and, China have already moved fast to, negotiate FTAs with ASEAN., a, , ASEAN is rapidly growing into, very important regional, , organisation. Its Vision 2020 has, defined an outward-looking role, for ASEAN in the international, community. This builds on the, existing ASEAN policy to, encourage negotiation over, conflicts in the region. Thus,, ASEAN has mediated the end of, the Cambodian conflict, the East, Timor crisis, and meets annually, to discuss East Asian cooperation., , Isn’t India a part of, Southeast Asia? The, north-eastern states, are so close to the, ASEAN countries., , The current economic strength, of ASEAN, especially its economic, relevance as a trading and, investment partner to the growing, Asian economies such as India, and China, makes this an, attractive proposition. During the, Cold War years Indian foreign, policy did not pay adequate, attention to ASEAN. But in recent, years, India has tried to make, amends. It signed FTAs with two, ASEAN members, Singapore and, , Keshav, The Hindu, , India’s ‘Look East’ Policy since 1991 has led to greater economic, interaction with the East Asian nations (ASEAN, China, Japan and, South Korea).

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58, , Contemporary World Politics, , Thailand. It is trying to sign an, FTA with ASEAN itself. ASEAN’s, strength, however, lies in its, policies of interaction and, consultation with member states,, with dialogue partners, and with, other non-regional organisations., It is the only regional association, in Asia that provides a political, forum where Asian countries and, the major powers can discuss, political and security concerns., Why did ASEAN, succeed where, SAARC did not? Is this, because they do not, have one dominant, country in that, region?, , Locate the, ASEAN, members on, the map. Find, the location of, the ASEAN, Secretariat., , THE RISE OF THE CHINESE, ECONOMY, Let us now turn to the third major, alternative centre of power and, our immediate neighbour, China., The cartoon on the following page, sums up the current mood all over, the world about the rise of China, as an economic power. China’s, economic success since 1978 has, been linked to its rise as a great, power. China has been the fastest, growing economy since the, reforms first began there. It is, projected to overtake the US as the, world’s largest economy by 2040., Its economic integration into the, region makes it the driver of East, Asian growth, thereby giving it, enormous influence in regional, , af fairs. The strength of its, economy, together with other, factors such as population, land, mass, resources, regional location, and political influence, adds to its, power in significant ways., After the inception of the, People’s Republic of China in 1949,, following the communist revolution, under the leadership of Mao, its, economy was based on the Soviet, model. The economically backward, communist China chose to sever, its links with the capitalist world., It had little choice but to fall back, on its own resources and, for a, brief period, on Soviet aid and, advice. The model was to create a, state-owned heavy industries, sector, from, the, capital, accumulated from agriculture. As, it was short of foreign exchange, that it needed in order to buy, technology and goods on the, world market, China decided to, substitute imports by domestic, goods., This model allowed China to, use its resources to establish the, foundations of an industrial, economy on a scale that did not, exist before. Employment and, social welfare was assured to all, citizens, and China moved ahead, of most developing countries in, educating its citizens and ensuring, better health for them. The, economy also grew at a respectable, rate of 5-6 per cent. But an annual, growth of 2-3 per cent in population, meant that economic growth was, insufficient to meet the needs of a, growing population. Agricultural, production was not sufficient to

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59, , Alternative Centres of Power, , The Chinese leadership took, major policy decisions in the, 1970s. China ended its political, and economic isolation with the, establishment of relations with, the United States in 1972., Premier Zhou Enlai proposed the, ‘four modernisations’(agriculture,, industry, science and technology, and military) in 1973. By 1978,, the then leader Deng Xiaoping, announced the ‘open door’ policy, and economic reforms in China., The policy was to generate higher, productivity by investments of, capital and technology from, abroad., China followed its own path in, introducing a market economy. The, Chinese did not go for ‘shock, therapy’ but opened their economy, step by step. The privatisation of, agriculture in 1982 was followed, by the privatisation of industry in, 1998. T rade barriers were, eliminated only in Special, Economic Zones (SEZs) where, foreign investors could set up, enterprises. In China, the state, played and continues to play a, central role in setting up a market, economy., The new economic policies, helped the Chinese economy, to break from stagnation., , © Deng Coy Miel, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , generate a surplus for industry. In, Chapter 2, we discussed the crisis, of the state controlled economy in, the USSR. A similar crisis was to, face China too: its industrial, production was not growing fast, enough, international trade was, minimal and per capita income was, very low., , The Great Wall and Dragon are two symbols most commonly, associated with China. This cartoon uses both these to depict, China’s economic rise. Who do you think is the little man in this, cartoon? Can he stop the dragon?, , Privatisation of agriculture led to, a remarkable rise in agricultural, production and rural incomes., High personal savings in the rural, economy lead to an exponential, growth in rural industry. The, Chinese economy, including both, industry and agriculture, grew at, a faster rate. The new trading laws, and the creation of Special, Economic Zones led to a, phenomenal rise in foreign trade., China has become the most, important destination for foreign, direct investment (FDI) anywhere, in the world. It has large foreign, exchange reserves that now allow, it to make big investment in other, countries. China’s accession to the, , A total of 6 SEZs in, China and more, than 200 approved, SEZs in India! Is this, good for India?

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© Mike Lane, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , 60, , Contemporary World Politics, , WTO in 2001 has been a further, step in its opening to the outside, world. The country plans to deepen, its integration into the world, economy and shape the future, world economic order., While the Chinese economy has, improved dramatically, not, everyone in China has received the, benefits of the refor ms., Unemployment has risen in China, with nearly 100 million people, looking for jobs. Female, employment and conditions of, work are as bad as in Europe of, the eighteenth and nineteenth, centuries. Environmental degradation, and corruption have increased, besides a rise in economic, inequality between rural and, urban residents and coastal and, inland provinces., , © Ares, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , China then and now, , Chinese bicycle, Like the opening images for this chapter, the first cartoon, comments on the change in China’s orientation. The second, cartoon uses the symbol of the bicycle — China is the largest user, of bicycles in the world — to comment on a duality in today’s, China. What is this duality? Can we call this a contradiction?, , However, regionally and, globally, China has become an, economic power to reckon with., The integration of China’s economy, and the inter-dependencies that, this has created has enabled China, to have considerable influence, with its trade partners. Hence, its, outstanding issues with Japan, the, US, ASEAN, and Russia have been, tempered, by, economic, considerations. It hopes to resolve, its differences with Taiwan, which, it regards as a renegade province,, by integrating it closely into its, economy. Fears of China’s rise, have also been mitigated by its, contributions to the stability of the, ASEAN economies after the 1997, financial crisis. Its more outward, looking investment and aid

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61, , Alternative Centres of Power, , policies in Latin America and, Africa are increasingly projecting, it as a global player on the side of, developing economies., , INDIA – CHINA RELATIONS, India and China were great, powers in Asia before the advent, of Western imperialism. China, had considerable influence and, control on the periphery of its, borders based on its unique, tributary system. At different, times in China’s long history of, dynastic rule, Mongolia, Korea,, parts of Indo-China, and Tibet, accepted China’s authority., Various kingdoms and empires, in India also extended their, influence beyond their borders., In both cases this influence was, political, economic and cultural., However, the regions where India, and China exercised influence, rarely ever overlapped. Thus,, there was limited political and, cultural interaction between the, two. The result was that neither, country was very familiar with, the other. In the twentieth, century, when both nations, confronted each other, they had, some difficulty evolving a foreign, policy to deal with each other., After India regained its, independence from Britain, and, China expelled the foreign powers,, there was hope that both would, come together to shape the future, of the developing world and of, Asia particularly. For a brief while,, the slogan of ‘Hindi-Chini bhaibhai’ was popular. However,, , military conflict over a border, dispute between the two countries, marred that hope. Soon after, independence, both states were, involved in differences arising from, the Chinese takeover of Tibet in, 1950 and the final settlement of, the Sino-Indian border. China and, India were involved in a border, conflict in 1962 over competing, territorial claims principally in, Arunachal Pradesh and in the, Aksai Chin region of Ladakh., The conflict of 1962, in which, India suffered military reverses,, had long-term implications for, India–China relations. Diplomatic, relations between the two, countries were downgraded until, 1976. Thereafter, relations, between the two countries began, to improve slowly. After the change, in China’s political leadership, from the mid to late 1970s,, China’s policy became more, pragmatic and less ideological. So, it was prepared to put off the, settlement of contentious issues, while improving relations with, India. A series of talks to resolve, the border issue were also initiated, in 1981., Since the end of the Cold, War, there have been significant, changes in India–, China, relations., The Chinese, Their relations now, President Hu Jintao, have a strategic as, was in India during, well as an economic, November 2006., dimension. Both view, Find out about the, themselves as rising, agreements signed, powers in global, during his visit., politics, and both, would like to play a

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62, , Contemporary World Politics, , STEPS, ‹ Divide the classroom into three groups., ‹ Assign each group one organisation to work on, a fact file on the EU, ASEAN and SAARC., , ‹ Students have to prepare a fact file that, contains information on the objectives,, functions and recent activities of these, organisations. Pictures of the conferences /, summit meetings can be collected., , ‹ Each group is to present its fact file before the, class., Ideas for the Teacher, The teacher is to focus on the functions of these organisations., Draw the attention of students to the achievements of regional, organisations., Link the role of regional economic organisations to the over, all development of the member countries., Sensitise students to the growing importance of regional, economic organisations as an alternative approach to the, peace and security of the world., , major role in the Asian economy, and politics., , Some people say, Chinese products are, going to flood our, market? But where, are they?, , Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to China in, December 1988 provided the, impetus for an improvement in, India–China relations. Since then, both governments have taken, measures to contain conflict and, maintain ‘peace and tranquility’ on, the border. They have also signed, agreements on cultural exchanges, and cooperation in science and, technology, and opened four, border posts for trade. With India–, China trade growing at 30 per cent, per year since 1999, a more, , positive perspective on relations, with China has emerged. Bilateral, trade between India and China has, increased from $338 million in, 1992 to more than $18 billion in, 2006. More recently, both, countries have agreed to cooperate, with each other in areas that could, otherwise create conflict between, the two, such as bidding for energy, deals abroad. At the global level,, India and China have adopted, similar policies in international, economic institutions like the, World Trade Organisation., India’s nuclear tests in 1998,, sometimes justified on the, grounds of a threat from China,, did not stop greater interaction., It is true that China was seen as, contributing to the build up of, Pakistan’s nuclear programme., China’s military relations with, Bangladesh and Myanmar were, viewed as hostile to Indian, interests in South Asia. However,, none of these issues is likely to, lead to conflict between the two., One sign of this is that the talks to, resolve the boundary question have, continued without interruption and, military-to-military cooperation is, increasing. Indian and Chinese, leaders and officials visit Beijing, and New Delhi with greater, frequency, and both sides are, now becoming more familiar, with each other. Increasing, transportation and communication, links, common economic interests, and global concerns should help, establish a more positive and, sound relationship between the, two most populous countries of, the world.

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63, , Alternative Centres of Power, , JAPAN, You might have heard about famous Japanese brands such as Sony,, Panasonic, Canon, Suzuki, Honda, Toyota, Mazda. They have a, reputation for making high-technology products. Japan has very few, natural resources and imports most of the its raw materials. Even then it, progressed rapidly after the end of the Second World War. It is the, second largest economy in the world. It is the only Asian member of the, G-8. It is the tenth most populous nation in the world., Japan is the only nation that suffered the destruction caused by nuclear, bombs. It is the second largest contributor to the regular budget of the, UN, contributing almost 20 per cent of the total. Japan has a security, alliance with the US since 1951. As per Article 9 of the Japanese, Constitution, “the Japanese people forever renounce war as a, sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of, settling international disputes.” Although Japan’s military expenditure is, only one per cent of its GDP, it is the fourth largest in the world., Keeping all this in mind, do you think Japan can effectively function as, an alternative centre of power?, Also find out about the agreements signed during the visit of the Indian, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Japan during December 2006., , 2., , 3., , Arrange the following in chronological order., a. China’s accession to WTO, , b. Establishment of the EEC, , c. Establishment of the EU, , d. Birth of ARF, , The ‘ASEAN Way’, a., , Reflects the life style of ASEAN members, , b., , A form of interaction among ASEAN members that is informal, and cooperative, , c., , The defence policy followed by the ASEAN members, , d., , The road that connects all the ASEAN members, , Who among the following adopted an ‘open door’ policy?, a. China, , 4., , b. EU, , c. Japan, , d. USA, , Fill in the blanks:, a., , The border conflict between China and India in 1962 was, principally over ______________ and __________________ region., , b., , ARF was established in the year ______________________ ., , c., , China entered into bilateral relations with __________ (a major, country) in 1972., , Exercises, , 1., , ASIMO, The World’s Most, Advanced Humanoid Robot, Credit:, http://world.honda.com/news/, 2005/c051213_13.html

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64, , E x e r c i s e s, , Contemporary World Politics, , d., , ____________ Plan influenced the establishment of the, Organisation for European Economic Cooperation in 1948., , e., , ___________ is the organisation of ASEAN that deals with security., , 5., , What are the objectives of establishing regional organisations?, , 6., , How does geographical proximity influence the formation of, regional organisations?, , 7., , What are the components of the ASEAN Vision 2020?, , 8., , Name the pillars and the objectives of the ASEAN Community., , 9., , In what ways does the present Chinese economy differs from its, command economy?, , 10., , How did the European countries resolve their post-Second World, War problem? Briefly outline the attempts that led to the formation, of the European Union., , 11., , What makes the European Union a highly influential regional, organisation?, , 12., , The emerging economies of China and India have great potential, to challenge the unipolar world. Do you agree with the statement?, Substantiate your arguments., , 13., , The Peace and prosperity of countries lay in the establishment and, strengthening of regional economic organisations. Justify this, statement., , 14., , Identify the contentious issues between China and India. How could, these be resolved for greater cooperation? Give your suggestions.

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Chapter 5, , Contemporary South Asia, OVERVIEW, Let us shift our gaze from the larger, global developments in the post-Cold, War era to developments in our own, region, South Asia. When India and, Pakistan joined the club of nuclear, powers, this region suddenly, became the focus of global attention., The focus was, of course, on the, various kinds of conflict in this, region: there are pending border and, water sharing disputes between the, states of the region. Besides, there, are conflicts arising out of, insurgency, ethnic strife and, resource sharing. This makes the, region very turbulent. At the same, time, many people in South Asia, recognise the fact that this region, can develop and prosper if the states, of the region cooperate with each, other. In this chapter, we try to, understand the nature of conflict, and cooperation among different, countries of the region. Since much, of this is rooted in or conditioned by, the domestic politics of these, countries, we first introduce the, region and the domestic politics of, some of the big countries in the, region., , Source: Subhas Rai’s adaptation of ‘Liberty Leading the, People’, painted by Eugene Delacroix in 1830. Courtesy of, Himal Southasian, (January 2007) The Southasia Trust, Nepal

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66, , Contemporary World Politics, , WHAT IS SOUTH ASIA?, We are all familiar with the, gripping tension during an IndiaPakistan cricket match. We have, Identify some, also seen the goodwill and, features, common to all hospitality shown to visiting, the South Asian Indian and Pakistani fans by their, countries but, hosts when they come to watch a, different from, cricket match. This is symbolic of, countries in, the larger pattern of South Asian, West Asia or, affairs. Ours is a region where, Southeast Asia. rivalry and goodwill, hope and, despair, mutual suspicion and, trust coexist., , Is there a fixed, definition of these, regions? Who, decides that?, , Let us begin by asking an, elementary question: what is South, Asia? The expression ‘South Asia’, usually includes the following, countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan,, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The mighty, Himalayas in the north and the vast, Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and, the Bay of Bengal in the south, west, and east respectively provide a, natural insularity to the region,, which is largely responsible for the, linguistic, social and cultural, distinctiveness of the subcontinent. The boundaries of the, region are not as clear in the east, and the west, as they are in the, north and the south. Afghanistan, and Myanmar are often included, in discussions of the region as a, whole. China is an important player, but is not considered to be a part, of the region. In this chapter, we, shall use South Asia to mean the, seven countries mentioned above., Thus defined, South Asia stands for, diversity in every sense and yet, constitutes one geo-political space., , The various countries in South, Asia do not have the same kind of, political systems. Despite many, problems and limitations, Sri, Lanka and India have successfully, operated a democratic system, since their independence from the, British. You will study more about, the evolution of democracy in, India in the textbook that deals, with politics in India since, independence. It is, of course,, possible to point out many, limitations of India’s democracy;, but we have to remember the fact, that India has remained a, democracy throughout its, existence as an independent, country. The same is true of Sri, Lanka., Pakistan and Bangladesh have, experienced both civilian and, military rulers, with Bangladesh, remaining a democracy in the, post-Cold War period. Pakistan, began the post-Cold War period, with successive democratic, gover nments under Benazir, Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, respectively. But it suffered a, military coup in 1999 and has, been run by a military regime, since then. Till 2006, Nepal was a, constitutional monarchy with the, danger of the king taking over, executive powers. In 2006 a, successful popular uprising led to, the restoration of democracy and, reduced the king to a nominal, position. From the experience of, Bangladesh and Nepal, we can say, that democracy is becoming an, accepted norm in the entire region, of South Asia.

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Contemporary South Asia, , 67, , Similar changes are taking place in the two, smallest countries of the region. Bhutan is still, a monarchy but the king has initiated plans for, its transition to multi-party democracy. The, Maldives, the other island nation, was a, Sultanate till 1968 when it was transformed into, a republic with a presidential for m of, government. In June 2005, the parliament of the, Maldives voted unanimously to introduce a, multi-party system. The Maldivian Democratic, Party (MDP) dominates the political affairs of the, island. Democracy strengthened in the Maldives, after the 2005 elections when some opposition, parties were legalised., Despite the mixed record of the democratic, experience, the people in all these countries share, the aspiration for democracy. A recent survey of, the attitudes of the people in the five big countries, of the region showed that there is widespread, support for democracy in all these countries., Ordinary citizens, rich as well as poor and, belonging to different religions, view the idea of, democracy positively and support the institutions, of representative democracy. They prefer, democracy over any other form of democracy and, think that democracy is suitable for their country., These are significant findings, for it was earlier, believed that democracy could flourish and find, support only in prosperous countries of the world., , Both these graphs are based on interviews with, more than 19,000 ordinary citizens in the five, countries of South Asia. Source: SDSA Team, State of, Democracy in South Asia, New Delhi: Oxford, University Press, 2007

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68, , Contemporary World Politics, , TIMELINE OF SOUTH ASIA, SINCE 1947, 1947: India and Pakistan emerge as independent nations, after the end of British rule, 1948: Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) gains independence; IndoPak conflict over Kashmir, 1954-55: Pakistan joins the Cold War military blocs, SEATO, and CENTO, 1960 September: India and Pakistan sign the Indus Waters, Treaty, 1962: Border conflict between India and China, 1965: Indo-Pak War; UN India-Pakistan Observation Mission, 1966: India and Pakistan sign the Tashkent Agreement;, Six-point proposal of Sheikh Mujib-ur Rahman for greater, autonomy to East Pakistan, 1971 March: Proclamation of Independence by leaders of, Bangladesh, August : Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship signed for 20 years, December : Indo-Pak War, Liberation of Bangladesh, 1972 July: India and Pakistan sign the Shimla Agreement, 1974 May: India conducts nuclear test, 1976: Pakistan and Bangladesh establish diplomatic, relations, 1985 December: South Asian leaders sign the SAARC, Charter at the first summit in Dhaka, 1987: Indo-Sri Lanka Accord; Indian Peace Keeping Force, (IPKF) operation in Sri Lanka (1987-90), 1988: India sends troops to the Maldives to foil a coup, attempt by mercenaries, India and Pakistan sign the agreement not to attack, nuclear installations and facilities of each other, 1988-91: Democracy restoration in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal, 1996 December: India and Bangladesh sign the Farakka, Treaty for sharing of the Ganga Waters, 1998 May: India and Pakistan conduct nuclear tests, December: India and Sri Lanka sign the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), 1999 February: Indian PM Vajpayee undertakes bus journey, to Lahore to sign a Peace Declaration, June-July: Kargil conflict between India and Pakistan, 2001 July: Vajpayee - Musharraf Agra Summit unsuccessful, 2004 January: SAFTA signed at the 12th SAARC Summit in, Islamabad, , In that sense the South Asian, experience of democracy has, expanded the global imagination of, democracy., Let us look at the experience, of democracy in each of the four, big countries of the region other, than India., , THE MILITARY AND, DEMOCRACY IN PAKISTAN, After Pakistan framed its first, constitution, General Ayub Khan, took over the administration of, the country and soon got himself, elected. He had to give up office, when there was popular, dissatisfaction against his rule., This gave way to a military, takeover once again under, General Yahya Khan. During, Yahya’s military rule, Pakistan, faced the Bangladesh crisis, and, after a war with India in 1971,, East Pakistan broke away to, emerge as an independent country, called Bangladesh. After this, an, elected government under the, leadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, came to power in Pakistan from, 1971 to 1977. The Bhutto, gover nment was removed by, General Zia-ul-Haq in 1977., General Zia faced a pro-democracy, movement from 1982 onwards and, and an elected democratic, government was established once, again in 1988 under the leadership, of Benazir Bhutto. In the period, that followed, Pakistani politics, centred around the competition, between her party, the Pakistan

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Contemporary South Asia, , 69, , People’s Party, and the Muslim, League. This phase of elective, democracy lasted till 1999 when, the army stepped in again and, General Pervez Musharraf removed, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. In, 2001, General Musharraf got, himself elected as the President., Pakistan continues to be ruled by, the army, though the army rulers, have held some elections to give, their rule a democratic image., Several, factors, have, contributed to Pakistan’s failure, in building a stable democracy., The social dominance of the, military, clergy, and landowning, aristocracy has led to the frequent, overthrow of elected governments, and the establishment of military, government. Pakistan’s conflict, with India has made the promilitary groups more powerful., These groups have often said that, political parties and democracy in, Pakistan are flawed, that, Pakistan’s security would be, harmed by selfish-minded parties, and chaotic democracy, and that, the ar my’s stay in power, is, therefore, justified. While, democracy has not been fully, successful in Pakistan, there has, been a strong pro-democracy, sentiment in the country., Pakistan has a courageous and, relatively free press and a strong, human rights movement., The, lack, of, genuine, inter national support for, democratic rule in Pakistan has, further encouraged the military to, continue its dominance. The, United States and other Western, , Surendra, The Hindu, , This cartoon comments on the dual role of Pakistan’s ruler Pervez, Musharraf as the President of the country and as the army General., Read the equations carefully and write down the message of this, cartoon., , countries have encouraged the, military’s authoritarian rule in the, past, for their own reasons. Given, their fear of the threat of what they, call ‘global Islamic terrorism’ and, the apprehension that Pakistan’s, nuclear arsenal might fall into the, hands of these terrorist groups,, the military regime in Pakistan, has been seen as the protector of, Western interests in West Asia and, South Asia., , DEMOCRACY, , IN, , BANGLADESH, , Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan, from 1947 to 1971. It consisted, of the partitioned areas of Bengal, and Assam from British India. The, people of this region resented the, domination of western Pakistan, and the imposition of the Urdu, language. Soon after the partition,, , If Germany can be, reunited, why can’t, the people of India, and Pakistan at least, travel more easily to, each other’s, country?

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70, , Contemporary World Politics, , they began protests against the, unfair treatment meted out to the, Bengali culture and language. They, also demanded fair representation, in administration and a fair share, in political power. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman led the popular, struggle against West Pakistani, domination. He demanded, autonomy for the eastern region., In the 1970 elections in the then, Pakistan, the Awami League led, by Sheikh Mujib won all the seats, in East Pakistan and secured a, majority in the proposed, constituent assembly for the, whole of Pakistan. But the, government dominated by the, West Pakistani leadership refused, , to convene the assembly. Sheikh, Mujib was arrested. Under the, military rule of General Yahya, Khan, the Pakistani army tried to, suppress the mass movement of, the Bengali people. Thousands, were killed by the Pakistan army., This led to a large scale migration, into India, creating a huge refugee, problem for India. The government, of India supported the demand of, the people of East Pakistan for, their independence and helped, them financially and militarily., This resulted in a war between, India and Pakistan in December, 1971 that ended in the surrender, of the Pakistani forces in East, Pakistan and the formation of, , A mural in Dhaka University to remember Noor Hossain who was killed by the police during pro-democracy protests, against General Ershad in 1987. Painted on his back: “Let Democracy be Freed” . Photo credit: Shahidul Alam/ Drik

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Contemporary South Asia, , Bangladesh as an independent, country., Bangladesh drafted its, constitution declaring faith in, secularism, democracy and, socialism. However, in 1975 Sheikh, Mujib got the constitution, amended to shift from the, parliamentary to presidential form, of government. He also abolished, all parties except his own, the, Awami League. This led to conflicts, and tensions. In a dramatic and, tragic development, he was, assassinated in a military uprising, in August 1975. The new military, ruler, Ziaur Rahman, formed his, own Bangladesh National Party, and won elections in 1979. He was, assassinated and another military, takeover followed under the, leadership of Lt Gen H. M. Ershad., The people of Bangladesh soon rose, in support of the demand for, democracy. Students were in the, forefront. Ershad was forced to, allow political activity on a limited, scale. He was later elected as, President for five years. Mass public, protests made Ershad step down, in 1990. Elections were held in, 1991. Since then representative, democracy based on multi-party, elections has been working in, Bangladesh., , MONARCHY AND, DEMOCRACY IN NEPAL, Nepal was a Hindu kingdom in the, past and then a constitutional, monarchy in the modern period, for many years. Throughout this, period, political parties and the, , 71, common people of Nepal have, wanted a more open and, responsive system of government., But the king, with the help of the, army, retained full control over the, government and restricted the, expansion of democracy in Nepal., , Let’s know more, about, Bangladesh’s, Grameen Bank., Can we make, use of the idea, to reduce, poverty in, The king accepted the demand India?, , for a new democratic constitution, in 1990, in the wake of a strong, pro-democracy, movement., However, democratic governments, had a short and troubled career., During the nineties, the Maoists, of Nepal were successful in, spreading their influence in many, parts of Nepal. They believed in, armed insurrection against the, monarch and the ruling elite. This, led to a violent conflict between, the Maoist guerrillas and the, armed forces of the king. For, some time, there was a triangular, conflict among the monarchist, forces, the democrats and the, Maoists. In 2002, the king, abolished the parliament and, dismissed the government, thus, ending even the limited, democracy that existed in Nepal., , In April 2006, there were, massive, country wide, prodemocracy protests. The struggling, pro-democracy forces achieved their, first major victory when the king was, forced to restore the House of, Representatives that had been, dissolved in April 2002. The largely, non-violent movement was led by, the Seven Party Alliance (SPA), the, Maoists and social activists., Nepal’s, transition, to, democracy is not complete. At the, moment, Nepal is undergoing a

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72, , Contemporary World Politics, , Nepal sounds really, exciting. I wish I was, in Nepal!, , unique moment in its history, because it is moving towards the, for mation of a constituent, assembly that will write the, constitution for Nepal. Some, sections in Nepal still think that a, nominal monarchy is necessary, for Nepal to retain its link with the, past. The Maoist groups have, agreed to suspend armed struggle., They want the constitution to, include the radical programmes of, social and economic restructuring., All the parties in the SPA may not, agree with this programme. The, Maoists and some other political, groups are also deeply suspicious, of the Indian government and its, role in the future of Nepal., , ETHNIC CONFLICT AND, DEMOCRACY IN SRI LANKA, We have already seen that Sri, Lanka has retained democracy, , Democracy activist, Durga Thapa,, participating in a pro-democracy rally in, Kathmandu in 1990. The second picture, shows the same person in 2006, this time, celebrating the success of the second, democracy movement., Photo credit: Min Bajracharya, , since its independence in 1948., But it faced a serious challenge,, not from the military or monarchy, but rather from ethnic conflict, leading to the demand for, secession by one of the regions., After its independence, politics, in Sri Lanka (it was then known, as Ceylon) was dominated by, forces that represented the interest, of, the, majority, Sinhala, community. They were hostile to a, large number of Tamils who had, migrated from India to Sri Lanka, and settled there. This migration, continued even after independence., The Sinhala nationalists thought, that Sri Lanka should not give, ‘concessions’ to the Tamils because, Sri Lanka belongs to the Sinhala, people only. The neglect of Tamil, concerns led to militant Tamil, nationalism. From 1983 onwards,, the militant organisation, the, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

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Contemporary South Asia, , 73, , (LTTE) has been fighting an armed, struggle with the army of Sri Lanka, and demanding ‘Tamil Eelam’ or a, separate country for the Tamils of, Sri Lanka. The LTTE controls the, northeastern parts of Sri Lanka., The Sri Lankan problem, involves people of Indian origin,, and there is considerable pressure, from the Tamil people in India to, the ef fect that the Indian, government should protect the, interests of the Tamils in Sri, Lanka. The government of India, has from time to time tried to, negotiate with the Sri Lankan, government on the Tamil question., But in 1987, the government of, India for the first time got directly, involved in the Sri Lankan Tamil, question. India signed an accord, with Sri Lanka and sent troops to, stabilise relations between the Sri, Lankan government and the, Tamils. Eventually, the Indian, Army got into a fight with the, LTTE. The presence of Indian, troops was also not liked much, by the Sri Lankans. They saw this, as an attempt by India to interfere, in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka., In 1989, the Indian Peace Keeping, Force (IPKF) pulled out of Sri, Lanka without attaining its, objective., The Sri Lankan crisis, continues to be violent. However,, international actors, particularly, the Scandinavian countries such, as Norway and Iceland have been, trying to bring the warring groups, back to negotiations. The future, of the island hinges on the, outcome of these talks., , Keshav, The Hindu, , The cartoon depicts the dilemma of the Sri Lankan leadership in, trying to balance Sinhala hardliners or the Lion and Tamil militants, or the Tiger while negotiating peace., , In spite of the ongoing conflict,, Sri Lanka has registered, considerable economic growth, and recorded high levels of human, development. Sri Lanka was one, of the first developing countries to, successfully control the rate of, growth of population, the first, country in the region to liberalise, the economy, and it has had the, highest per capita gross domestic, product (GDP) for many years, right through the civil war. Despite, the ravages of internal conflict, it, has maintained a democratic, political system., , INDIA-PAKISTAN CONFLICTS, Let us now move from domestic, politics and take a look at some, of the areas of conflict in the international relations in this region., The post-Cold War era has not, meant the end of conflicts and

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74, , Contemporary World Politics, , Kashmir and the Indian province of, Jammu and Kashmir divided by the, Line of Control. In 1971, India won, a decisive war against Pakistan but, the Kashmir issue remained, unsettled., , Keshav, The Hindu, , A view of the current phase of the Indo-Pak negotiations., , tensions in this region. We have, already noted the conflicts around, internal democracy or ethnic, differences. But there are also, some very crucial conflicts of an, international nature. Given the, position of India in this region,, most of these conflicts involve, India., , Discussion on Kashmir, sounds like a property, dispute between the, rulers of India and, Pakistan! What do the, Kashmiris feel about it?, , The most salient and over whelming of these conflicts is, of, course, the one between India and, Pakistan. Soon after the partition,, the two countries got embroiled in, a conflict over the fate of Kashmir., The Pakistani government claimed, that Kashmir belonged to it. Wars, between India and Pakistan in, 1947-48 and 1965 failed to settle, the matter. The 1947-48 war, resulted in the division of the, province into Pakistan-occupied, , India’s conflict with Pakistan is, also over strategic issues like the, control of the Siachen glacier and, over acquisition of arms. The arms, race between the two countries, assumed a new character with, both states acquiring nuclear, weapons and missiles to deliver, such arms against each other in, the 1990s. In 1998, India, conducted nuclear explosion in, Pokaran. Pakistan responded, within a few days by carrying out, nuclear tests in the Chagai Hills., Since then India and Pakistan, seem to have built a military, relationship in which the, possibility of a direct and full-scale, war has declined., But both the governments, continue to be suspicious of each, other. The Indian government has, blamed the Pakistan government, for using a strategy of low-key, violence by helping the Kashmiri, militants with arms, training,, money and protection to carry out, terrorist strikes against India. The, Indian government also believes, that Pakistan had aided the proKhalistani militants with arms, and ammunitions during the, period 1985-1995. Its spy agency,, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), is, alleged to be involved in various, anti-India campaigns in India’s, northeast, operating secretly, through Bangladesh and Nepal.

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Contemporary South Asia, , The government of Pakistan, in, tur n, blames the Indian, government and its security, agencies for fomenting trouble in, the provinces of Sindh and, Balochistan., India and Pakistan also have, had problems over the sharing of, river waters. Until 1960, they were, locked in a fierce argument over, the use of the rivers of the Indus, basin. Eventually, in 1960, with, the help of the World Bank, India, and Pakistan signed the Indus, Waters Treaty which has survived, to this day in spite of various, military conflicts in which the two, countries have been involved., There are still some minor, differences about the interpretation, of the Indus Waters Treaty and the, use of the river waters. The two, countries are not in agreement, over the demarcation line in Sir, Creek in the Rann of Kutch. The, dispute seems minor, but there is, an underlying worry that how the, dispute is settled may have an, impact on the control of sea, resources in the area adjoining Sir, Creek. India and Pakistan are, holding negotiations on all these, issues., , INDIA AND ITS OTHER, NEIGHBOURS, The governments of India and, Bangladesh have had differences, over several issues including the, sharing of the Ganga and, Brahmaputra river waters. The, Indian government has been, , 75, unhappy with Bangladesh’s, denial of illegal immigration to, India, its support for anti-Indian, Islamic fundamentalist groups,, Bangladesh’s refusal to allow, Indian troops to move through its, territory to northeastern India,, and its decision not to export, natural gas to India or allow, Myanmar to do so through, Bangladeshi, territory., Bangladeshi governments have felt, that the Indian government, behaves like a regional bully over, the sharing of river waters,, encouraging rebellion in the, Chittagong Hill Tracts, trying to, extract its natural gas and being, unfair in trade. The two countries, have not succeeded in resolving, their boundary dispute., Despite their differences, India, and Bangladesh do cooperate on, many issues. Economic relations, have improved considerably in the, last ten years. Bangladesh is a, part of India’s Look East policy, that wants to link up with, Southeast Asia via Myanmar. On, disaster management and, environmental issues, the two, states have cooperated regularly., Efforts are on to broaden the areas, of cooperation further by, identifying common threats and, being more sensitive to each, other’s needs., Nepal and India enjoy a very, special relationship that has very, few parallels in the world. A treaty, between the two countries allows, the citizens of the two countries, to travel to and work in the other, country without visas and, , Why is it that every, one of our, neighbours has a, problem with India?, Is there something, wrong with our, foreign policy? Or is, it just our size?

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76, , Contemporary World Politics, , STEPS, ‹ Divide the classroom into seven groups (as many, as the number of countries). The number of, students in each group may vary, reflecting the, size of the countries of South Asia., , ‹ Name each group after a country and hand over, a brief country profile to respective groups. Besides, the basic information, include a short note on the, contentious issues/disputes among the South Asian, countries. The issues could be those discussed in, this chapter or an issue of relevance but not, discussed in the chapter., , ‹ Allow students to select an issue of their choice., The dispute could be bilateral or multilateral (the, issue could be related to India, given the, geographic peculiarity of the region)., , ‹ Assign each group to find out what initiatives the, governments involved have taken and the reasons, for their failures in resolving the disputes., , ‹ Students should assume the role of representing, their respective countries and share their findings., Ideas for the Teacher, Pair up the countries sharing the common issue/dispute. It, could be two groups in the case of a bilateral issue or more in, case of a multilateral issue (examples of bilateral issues include, the Jammu and Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan,, the migrant problem between India and Bangladesh;, multilateral issues include the creation of a free trade zone or, tackling terrorism)., Groups should negotiate on the proposals and counterproposals within a time limit. The teacher is to take note of the, outcome of the negotiations. The focus should be on the areas, of agreement and disagreement., Link the outcome of the negotiations with the prevailing, situation among the countries of South Asia. Talk about the, difficulties involved in negotiating on a political issue based, on the observation made. Conclude by discussing the, importance of accommodating each other’s interest for the, sake of peaceful coexistence., , passports. Despite this special, relationship, the governments of the, two countries have had traderelated disputes in the past. The, Indian government has often, expressed displeasure at the warm, relationship between Nepal and, China and at the Nepal, government’s inaction against antiIndian elements. Indian security, agencies see the Maoist movement, in Nepal as a growing security, threat, given the rise of Naxalite, groups in various Indian states, from Bihar in the north to Andhra, Pradesh in the south. Many leaders, and citizens in Nepal think that the, Indian government interferes in its, internal affairs, has designs on its, river waters and hydro-electricity,, and prevents Nepal, a landlocked, country, from getting easier access, to the sea through Indian territory., Nevertheless, Indo-Nepal relations, are fairly stable and peaceful., Despite differences, trade, scientific, cooperation, common natural, resources, electricity generation, and, interlocking, water, management grids hold the two, countries together. There is a hope, that the consolidation of democracy, in Nepal will lead to improvements, in the ties between the two, countries., The difficulties in the, relationship between the, governments of India and Sri Lanka, are mostly over ethnic conflict in, the island nation. Indian leaders, and citizens find it impossible to, remain neutral when Tamils are, politically unhappy and are, being killed. After the military, intervention in 1987, the Indian

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Contemporary South Asia, , government now prefers a policy of, disengagement vis-à-vis Sri Lanka’s, internal troubles. India signed a free, trade agreement with Sri Lanka,, which strengthened relations, between two countries. India’s help, in post-tsunami reconstruction in, Sri Lanka has also brought the two, countries closer., India enjoys a very special, relationship with Bhutan too and, does not have any major conflict, with the Bhutanese government., The efforts made by the Bhutanese, monarch to weed out the guerrillas, and militants from northeastern, India that operate in his country, have been helpful to India. India is, involved in big hydroelectric, projects in Bhutan and remains the, Himalayan kingdom’s biggest, source of development aid. India’s, ties with the Maldives remain warm, and cordial. In November 1988,, when some Tamil mercenaries, from Sri Lanka attacked the, Maldives, the Indian air force and, navy reacted quickly to the, Maldives’ request to help stop the, invasion. India has also, contributed towards the island’s, economic development, tourism, and fisheries., You may have noticed that, India has various problems with its, smaller neighbours in the region., Given its size and power, they are, bound to be suspicious of India’s, intentions. The Indian government,, on the other hand, often feels, exploited by its neighbours. It does, not like the political instability in, these countries, fearing it can help, outside powers to gain influence in, , 77, the region. The smaller countries, fear that India wants to be a, regionally-dominant power., Not all conflicts in South Asia, are between India and its, neighbours. Nepal and Bhutan, as, well as Bangladesh and Myanmar,, have had disagreements in the past, over the migration of ethnic, Nepalese into Bhutan and the, Rohingyas into Myanmar,, respectively. Bangladesh and Nepal, have had some differences over the, future of the Himalayan river, waters. The major conflicts and, differences, though, are between, India and the others, partly, because of the geography of the, region, in which India is located, centrally and is therefore the only, country that borders the others., , If the chapter, on US, was called ‘US, Hegemony’ why is, this chapter not, called ‘Indian, Hegemony’?, , Surendra, The Hindu, , What does this cartoon tell you about the role of India and, Pakistan in the process of regional cooperation in South Asia?

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78, , Contemporary World Politics, , PEACE, , AND, , COOPERATION, , Do the states of South Asia cooperate with each, other? Or do they only keep fighting with each, other? In spite of the many conflicts, the states, of South Asia recognise the importance of, cooperation and friendly relationship, among, themselves. The South Asian Association for, Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is a major regional, initiative by the South Asian states to evolve, cooperation through multilateral means. It, began in 1985. Unfortunately, due to persisting, political differences, SAARC has not had much, success. SAARC members signed the South, Asian Free Trade (SAFTA) agreement which, promised the formation of a free trade zone for, the whole of South Asia., , Keshav, The Hindu, , Pakistan Tribune, , The two cartoons, one from India and the other, from Pakistan, interpret the role of two key, players who are also interested in the region. Do, you notice any commonality between their, perspectives?, , Every association, seems to have, emerged for trade!, Is trade more, important than, people-to-people, relations?, , A new chapter of peace and cooperation might, evolve in South Asia if all the countries in the region, allow free trade across the borders. This is the spirit, behind the idea of SAFTA. The Agreement was, signed in 2004 and came into effect on 1 January, 2006. SAFTA aims at lowering trade tariffs by 20, percent by 2007. But some of our neighbours fear, that SAFTA is a way for India to ‘invade’ their, markets and to influence their societies and politics, through commercial ventures and a commercial, presence in their countries. India thinks that there, are real economic benefits for all from SAFTA and, that a region that trades more freely will be able to, cooperate better on political issues. Some in India, think that SAFTA is not worth the trouble since, India already has bilateral agreements with Bhutan,, Nepal and Sri Lanka., Although India-Pakistan relations seem to be a, story of endemic conflict and violence, there have, been a series of efforts to manage tensions and, build peace. The two countries have agreed to, undertake confidence building measures to reduce, the risk of war. Social activists and prominent, personalities have collaborated to create an, atmosphere of friendship among the people of both, countries. Leaders have met at summits to, understand each other better and to find solutions

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Contemporary South Asia, , to the major problems between the, two neighbours. A number of bus, routes have been opened up, between the two countries. Trade, between the two parts of Punjab, has increased substantially in the, last five years. Visas have been, more easily given., No region exists in a vacuum., It is influenced by outside powers, and events no matter how much, it may try to insulate itself from, non-regional powers. China and, the United States remain key, players in South Asian politics., Sino-Indian relations have, improved significantly in the last, ten years, but China’s strategic, partnership with Pakistan, remains a major irritant. The, demands of development and, globalisation have brought the, two Asian giants closer, and their, economic ties have multiplied, rapidly since 1991., , American involvement in South, Asia has rapidly increased after the, Cold War. The US has had good, relations with both India and, Pakistan since the end of the Cold, War and increasingly works as a, moderator in India-Pakistan, relations. Economic reforms and, liberal economic policies in both, countries have greatly increased, the depth of American participation, in the region. The large South Asian, diasporas in the US and the huge, size of the population and markets, of the region also give America an, added stake in the future of, regional security and peace., However, whether South Asia, will continue to be known as a, conflict prone zone or will evolve into, a regional bloc with some common, cultural features and trade interests, will depend more on the people and, the governments of the region than, any other outside power., , Identify the country:, a., , The struggle among pro-monarchy, pro-democracy groups and, extremists created an atmosphere of political instability:, , b., , A landlocked country with multi-party competition:, , c., , The first country to liberalise its economy in the South Asian, region:, , d., , In the conflict between the military and pro-democracy groups,, the military has prevailed over democracy:, , e., , Centrally located and shares borders with most of the South, Asian countries:, , f., , Earlier the island had the Sultan as the head of state. Now, it’s, a republic:, , g., , Small savings and credit cooperatives in the rural areas have, helped in reducing poverty:, , h., , A landlocked country with a monarchy:, , Exercises, , 1., , 79

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80, , Contemporary World Politics, , E x e r c i s e s, , 2. Which among the following statements about South Asia is wrong?, a), , All the countries in South Asia are democratic., , b), , Bangladesh and India have signed an agreement on river-water, sharing., , c), , SAFTA was signed at the 12th SAARC Summit in Islamabad., , d), , The US and China play an influential role in South Asian politics., , 3., , What are some of the commonalities and differences between, Bangladesh and Pakistan in their democratic experiences?, , 4., , List three challenges to democracy in Nepal., , 5., , Name the principal players in the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. How do, you assess the prospects of the resolution of this conflict?, , 6., , Mention some of the recent agreements between India and Pakistan., Can we be sure that the two countries are well on their way to a, friendly relationship?, , 7., , Mention two areas each of cooperation and disagreement between, India and Bangladesh?, , 8., , How are the external powers influencing bilateral relations in South, Asia? Take any one example to illustrate your point., , 9., , Write a short note on the role and the limitations of SAARC as a forum, for facilitating economic cooperation among the South Asian, countries., , 10., , India’s neighbours often think that the Indian government tries to, dominate and interfere in the domestic affairs of the smaller countries, of the region. Is this a correct impression?

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Chapter 6, , International Organisations, , OVERVIEW, In this chapter we shall discuss, the role of inter national, organisations after the collapse of, the Soviet Union. We shall, examine how, in this emerging, world, there were calls for the, restructuring of international, organisations to cope with various, new challenges including the rise, of US power. The potential reform, of the United Nations Security, Council is an interesting case of, the refor m pr ocess and its, difficulties. We then turn to India’s, involvement in the UN and its view, of Security Council reforms. The, chapter closes by asking if the UN, can play any role in dealing with, a world dominated by one, superpower. In this chapter we, also look at some other transnational organisations that are, playing a crucial role., , This is the United Nations’ logo. The emblem has a world map, with olive branches around it, signifying world peace., Credit : www.un.org

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82, , Contemporary World Politics, , Read the two cartoons on this, page. Both the cartoons comment, on the ineffectiveness of the, United Nations Organisation,, usually referred to as the UN, in, the Lebanon crisis in 2006. Both, the cartoons represent the kind of, opinions that we often hear about, the UN., , “The United Nations was not, created to take humanity to, heaven, but to save it from hell.”, — Dag Hammarskjold, the UN’s, second Secretary-General., , the former UN Under-SecretaryGeneral for Communications and, Public Information., , These two quotes suggest, something important. International, organisations are not the answer, to everything, but they are, important. International organisations help with matters of war, and peace. They also help, countries cooperate to make, better living conditions for us all., Countries have conflicts and, differences with each other. That, does not necessarily mean they, must go to war to deal with their, , © Harry Harrison, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , That’s what they say, about the, parliament too —, a talking shop. Does, it mean that we, need talking shops?, , On the other hand, we also, find that the UN is generally, regarded as the most important, international organisation in, today’s world. In the eyes of many, people all over the world, it is, indispensable and represents the, great hope of humanity for peace, and progress. Why do we then, need organisations like the UN?, Let us hear two insiders:, , “Talking shop? Yes, there are, a lot of speeches and meetings at, the U.N., especially during the, annual sessions of the General, Assembly. But as Churchill put it,, jaw-jaw is better than war-war., Isn’t it better to have one place, where all… countries in the world, can get together, bore each other, sometimes with their words rather, than bore holes into each other on, the battlefield?” — Shashi Tharoor,, , During June 2006, Israel attacked Lebanon, saying that it was necessary to control the militant group called Hezbollah., Large numbers of civilians were killed and many public buildings and even residential areas came under Israeli, bombardment. The UN passed a resolution on this only in August and the Israel army withdrew from the region only in, October. Both these cartoons comment on the role of the UN and its Secretary-General in this episode., , © Petar Pismestrovic, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , WHY INTERNATIONAL, ORGANISATIONS?

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83, , International Organisations, , International organisations, are helpful in another way., Nations can usually see that there, are some things they must do, together. There are issues that are, so challenging that they can only, be dealt with when everyone, works together. Disease is an, example. Some diseases can only, be eradicated if everyone in the, world cooperates in inoculating or, vaccinating their populations. Or, take global war ming and, its ef fects. As atmospheric, temperatures rise because of the, spread of certain chemicals called, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), there, is a danger that sea levels will also, rise, thereby submerging many, coastal areas of the world, including huge cities. Of course,, each country can try to find its, own solution to the effects of, global warming. But in the end a, more effective approach is to stop, the warming itself. This requires, at least all of the major industrial, powers to cooperate., , IMF, The International Monetary Fund, (IMF) is an international organisation that oversees those, financial institutions and regulations that act at the international, level. The IMF has 184 members countries, but, they do not enjoy an equal say. The top ten, countries have 55 per cent of the votes. They, are the G-8 members (the US, Japan, Germany,, France, the UK, Italy, Canada and Russia), Saudi, Arabia and China. The US alone has 17.4 per, cent voting rights., , Unfortunately, recognising the, need for cooperation and actually, cooperating are two different, things. Nations can recognise the, need to cooperate but cannot, always agree on how best to do so,, how to share the costs of, cooperating, how to make sure, that the benefits of cooperating are, justly divided, and how to ensure, that others do not break their end, of the bargain and cheat on an, agreement. An international, organisation can help produce, information and ideas about how, to cooperate. It can provide, mechanisms, rules and a, bureaucracy, to help members have, more confidence that costs will be, shared properly, that the benefits, , Make a list of issues or, problems (other than the, ones mentioned in the, text) that cannot be, handled by any one, country and require an, international organisation., , IMF, , antagonisms. They can, instead,, discuss contentious issues and, find peaceful solutions; indeed,, even though this is rarely noticed,, most conflicts and differences are, resolved without going to war. The, role of an inter national, organisation can be important in, this context. An international, organisation is not a super-state, with authority over its members., It is created by and responds to, states. It comes into being when, states agree to its creation. Once, created, it can help member states, resolve their problems peacefully.

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84, , Contemporary World Politics, , FOUNDING OF THE UNITED NATIONS, 1941August: Signing of the Atlantic Charter by the US President, Franklin D. Roosevelt and British PM Winston S. Churchill, 1942 January: 26 Allied nations fighting against the Axis, Powers meet in Washington, D.C., to support the Atlantic, Charter and sign the ‘Declaration by United Nations’, 1943 December: Tehran Conference Declaration of the, Three Powers (US, Britain and Soviet Union), 1945 February: Yalta Conference of the ‘Big Three’, (Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin) decides to organise a United, Nations conference on the proposed world organisation, April-May: The 2-month long United Nations Conference on, International Organisation at San Francisco, 1945 June 26: Signing of the UN Charter by 50 nations, (Poland signed on October 15; so the UN has 51 original, founding members), 1945 October 24: the UN was founded (hence October 24 is, celebrated as UN Day), 1945 October 30: India joins the UN, , government? We shall try to, answer this question at the end, of the chapter., , EVOLUTION OF THE UN, The First World War encouraged, the world to invest in an, international organisation to deal, with conflict. Many believed that, such an organisation would help, the world to avoid war. As a result,, the League of Nations was born., However, despite its initial, success, it could not prevent the, Second World War (1939-45)., Many more people died and were, wounded in this war than ever, before., The UN was founded as a, successor to the League of, Nations. It was established in, 1945 immediately after the, , will be fairly divided, and that once, a member joins an agreement it, will honour the terms and, conditions of the agreement., With the end of the Cold War,, we can see that the UN may have, a slightly different role. As the, United States and its allies, emerged victorious, there was, concer n, amongst, many, governments and peoples that the, Western countries led by the US, would be so powerful that there, would be no check against their, wishes and desires. Can the UN, serve to promote dialogue and, discussion with the US in, particular, and could it limit the, power, of, the, American, , The US Office of War Information, created the above poster during the, Second World War as per the, Declaration by United Nations of 1942., The poster features the flags of all, nations that were part of the Allied, Forces. It reflects the belligerent origins, of the UN.

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86, , Contemporary World Politics, , Search for at, least one news, item about the, activities of, each of the, UN agencies, mentioned on, this page., , Cold War or no, Cold War, one, reform is needed, above all. Only, democratic leaders, should be allowed, to represent their, countries in the UN., How can they allow, dictators to speak in, the name of the, people of their, country?, , Second World War. The, organisation was set up through, the signing of the United Nations, Charter by 51 states. It tried to, achieve what the League could not, between the two world wars. The, UN’s objective is to prevent, inter national conflict and to, facilitate cooperation among, states. It was founded with the, hope that it would act to stop the, conflicts between states escalating, into war and, if war broke out, to, limit the extent of hostilities., Furthermore, since conflicts often, arose from the lack of social and, economic development, the UN, was intended to bring countries, together to improve the prospects, of, social, and, economic, development all over the world., By 2006, the UN had 192, member states. These includeed, almost all independent states. In, the UN General Assembly, all, members have one vote each. In, the UN Security Council, there are, five permanent members. These, are: the United States, Russia, the, United Kingdom, France and, China. These states were selected, as permanent members as they, were the most power ful, immediately after the Second, World War and because they, constituted the victors in the War., The UN’s most visible public, figure, and the representative, head, is the Secretary-General., The present Secretary-General is, Ban Ki-Moon from South Korea., He is the eighth Secretary-General, of the UN. He took over as the, Secretary-General on 1 January, , 2007. He is the first Asian to hold, the post since 1971., The UN consists of many, different structures and agencies., War and peace and differences, between member states are, discussed in the General, Assembly as well as the Security, Council. Social and economic, issues are dealt with by many, agencies including the World, Health Organisation (WHO), the, United Nations Development, Programme (UNDP), the United, Nations Human Rights Commision, (UNHRC), the United Nations High, Commission for Refugees (UNHCR),, the United Nations Children’s Fund, (UNICEF), and the United Nations, Educational, Scientific, and, Cultural Organisation (UNESCO),, among others., , REFORM OF THE UN AFTER, THE COLD WAR, Reform and improvement are, fundamental to any organisation, to serve the needs of a changing, envir onment. The UN is no, exception. In recent years, there, have been demands for reform of, the world body. However, there is, little clarity and consensus on the, nature of reform., Two basic kinds of reforms, face the UN: refor m of the, organisation’s structures and, processes; and a review of the, issues that fall within the, jurisdiction of the organisation., Almost everyone is agreed that, both aspects of refor m are

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87, , International Organisations, , necessary. What they cannot agree, on is precisely what is to be done,, how it is to be done, and when it is, to be done., On the reform of structures, and processes, the biggest, discussion has been on the, functioning of the Security, Council. Related to this has been, the demand for an increase in the, UN Security Council’s permament, and non-permanent membership, so that the realities of, contemporary world politics are, better reflected in the structure of, the organisation. In particular,, there are proposals to increase, membership from Asia, Africa and, South America. Beyond this, the, US and other Western countries, want improvements in the UN’s, budgetary procedures and its, administration., On the issues to be given greater, priority or to be brought within the, jurisdiciton of the UN, some, countries and experts want the, organisation to play a greater or, more effective role in peace and, security missions, while others, want its role to be confined to, development and humanitarian, work, (health,, education,, environment, population control,, human rights, gender and social, justice)., Let us look at both sets of, reforms, with an emphasis on, reform of the structures and, processes., The UN was established in, 1945 immediately after the, Second World War. The way it was, , UN SECRETARIES-GENERAL, Trygve Lie(1946-1952) Norway; lawyer and, foreign minister; worked for ceasefire, between India and Pakistan on Kashmir;, criticised for his failure to quickly end the, Korean war; Soviet Union opposed second, term for him; resigned from the post., Dag Hammarskjöld(1953-1961) Sweden;, Economist and lawyer; worked for resolving, the Suez Canal dispute and the, decolonisation of Africa; awarded Nobel, Peace Prize posthumously in 1961 for his, efforts to settle the Congo crisis; Soviet Union, and France criticised his role in Africa., U Thant(1961-1971) Burma (Myanmar);, teacher and diplomat; worked for resolving, the Cuban Missile Crisis and ending the, Congo crisis; established the UN, Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus; criticised, the US during the Vietnam War., Kurt Waldheim(1972-1981) Austria; diplomat, and foreign minister; made efforts to resolve, the problems of Namibia and Lebanon;, oversaw the relief operation in Bangladesh;, China blocked his bid for a third term., Javier Perez de Cuellar(1982-1991) Peru;, lawyer and diplomat; worked for peace in, Cyprus, Afghanistan and El Salvador;, mediated between Britain and Argentina, after the Falklands War; negotiated for the, independence of Namibia., Boutros Boutros-Ghali(1992-1996) Egypt;, diplomat, jurist, foreign minister; issued a, report, An Agenda for Peace; conducted, a successful UN operation in Mozambique;, blamed for the UN failures in Bosnia, Somalia, and Rwanda; due to serious disagreements,, the US blocked a second term for him., Kofi A. Annan (1997-2006) Ghana; UN, official; created the Global Fund to fight, AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; declared, the US-led invasion of Iraq as an illegal act;, established the Peacebuilding Commission, and the Human Rights Council in 2005;, awarded the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize, Photo Credit: www.un.org

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88, , Contemporary World Politics, , terrorism, nuclear proliferation,, climate change, environmental, degradation, epidemics)., , UN60: A Time for Renewal, , Credit: www.un.org, , organised and the way it, functioned reflected the realities of, world politics after the Second, World War. After the Cold War,, those realities are different. Here, are some of the changes that have, occurred:, The Soviet, collapsed., , Union, , has, , The US is the strongest power., The relationship between, Russia, the successor to the, Soviet Union, and the US is, much more cooperative., China is fast emerging as a, great power, and India also is, growing rapidly., The economies of Asia are, growing at an unprecedented, rate., Many new countries have, joined the UN (as they became, independent from the Soviet, Union or former communist, states in eastern Europe)., A whole new set of challenges, confronts the world (genocide,, civil war, ethnic conflict,, , In this situation, in 1989, as, the Cold War was ending, the, question facing the world was: is, the UN doing enough? Is it, equipped to do what is required?, What should it be doing? And, how? What reforms are necessary, to make it work better? For the, past decade and a half, member, states have been trying to find, satisfactory and practical answers, to these questions., , REFORM OF STRUCTURES AND, PROCESSES, While the case for reform has, widespread support, getting, agreement on what to do is, difficult. Let us examine the, debate over reform of the UN, Security Council. In 1992, the UN, General Assembly adopted a, resolution. The resolution, reflected three main complaints:, The Security Council no longer, represents contemporary, political realities., Its decisions reflect only, Western values and interests, and are dominated by a few, powers., It lacks equitable representation., In view of these growing, demands for the restructuring of, the UN, on 1 January 1997, the, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, initiated an inquiry into how the

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89, , International Organisations, , In the years since then, the, following are just some of the, criteria that have been proposed, for new permanent and nonper manent members of the, Security Council. A new member,, it has been suggested, should be:, A major economic power, A major military power, A substantial contributor to, the UN budget, A big nation in terms of its, population, , World Bank, The World Bank was created, immediately after the Second, World War in 1945. Its activities, are focused on the developing, countries. It works for human, development (education, health), agriculture, and rural development (irrigation, rural services),, environmental protection (pollution reduction,, establishing and enforcing regulations),, infrastructure (roads, urban regeneration,, electricity) and governance (anti-corruption,, development of legal institutions). It provides, loans and grants to the member-countries. In, this way, it exercises enormous influence on the, economic policies of developing countries. It is, often criticised for setting the economic, agenda of the poorer nations, attaching, stringent conditions to its loans and forcing free, market reforms., , A nation that respects, democracy and human rights, A country that would, make the Council more, representative of the world’s, diversity in ter ms of, geography, economic systems,, and culture, , Clearly, each of these criteria, has some validity. Governments, saw advantages in some criteria, and disadvantages in others, depending on their interests and, aspirations. Even if they had no, desire to be members themselves,, countries could see that the, criteria were problematic. How big, an economic or military power did, you have to be to qualify for, Security Council membership?, What level of budget contribution, would enable a state to buy its way, into the Council? Was a big, population an asset or a liability, for a country trying to play a bigger, role in the world? If respect for, democracy and human rights was, the criteria, countries with, excellent records would be in line, to be members; but would they be, effective as Council members?, , WORLD BANK, , UN should be reformed. How, for, instance, should new Security, Council members be chosen?

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90, , Contemporary World Politics, , STEPS, ‹ Divide the class into six groups. Each group is to, follow one of the six criteria (or more if there are, more suggestions) listed here for permanent, membership of the UN Security Council., , ‹ Each group is to make its own list of the, permanent members based on its given, criterion (e.g. the group working on the, ‘population’ criterion will find out the which are, five most populous countries)., , ‹ Each group can make a presentation of their, recommended list and reasons why their, criterion should be accepted., Ideas for the Teacher, , Allow the students to opt for the group whose criterion they, themselves favour., Compare all the lists and see how many names are, common and how often India features., Keep some time for an open ended discussion on which, criterion should be adopted., , Furthermore, how was the, matter of representation to be, resolved?, Did, equitable, representation in geographical, terms mean that there should be, one seat each from Asia, Africa,, and Latin America and the, Caribbean?, Should, the, representation, on the other hand,, be by regions or sub-regions, (rather than continents)? Why, should the issue of equitable, representation be decided by, geography? Why not by levels of, economic development? Why not,, in other words, give more seats to, , members of the developing world?, Even here, there are difficulties., The developing world consists of, countries at many different levels, of development. What about, culture? Should different cultures, or ‘civilisations’ be given, representation in a more balanced, way? How does one divide the, world by civilisations or cultures, given that nations have so many, cultural streams within their, borders?, A related issue was to change, the nature of membership, altogether. Some insisted, for, instance, that the veto power of, the five permanent members be, abolished. Many perceived the, veto to be in conflict with the, concept of democracy and, sovereign equality in the UN and, thought that the veto was no, longer right or relevant., In the Security Council, there, are five permanent members and, ten non-permanent members. The, Charter gave the per manent, members a privileged position to, bring about stability in the world, after the Second World War. The, main privileges of the five, per manent, members, are, permanency and the veto power., The non-permanent members, serve for only two years at a time, and give way after that period to, newly elected members. A country, cannot be re-elected immediately, after completing a term of two, years. The non-per manent, members are elected in a manner, so that they represent all, continents of the world.

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91, , International Organisations, , Most importantly, the nonpermanent members do not have, the veto power. What is the veto, power? In taking decisions, the, Security Council proceeds by, voting. All members have one vote., However, the permanent members, can vote in a negative manner so, that even if all other permanent, and non-permanent members, vote for a particular decision, any, permanent member’s negative, vote can stall the decision. This, negative vote is the veto., While there has been a move, to abolish or modify the veto, system, there is also a realisation, that the permanent members are, unlikely to agree to such a reform., Also, the world may not be ready, for such a radical step even, though the Cold War is over., Without the veto, there is the, danger as in 1945 that the great, powers would lose interest in the, world body, that they would do, what they pleased outside it, and, that without their support and, involvement the body would be, ineffective., , JURISDICTION OF THE UN, The question of membership is a, serious one. In addition, though,, there are more substantial issues, before the world. As the UN, completed 60 years of its, existence, the heads of all the, member-states met in September, 2005 to celebrate the anniversary, and review the situation. The, leaders in this meeting decided, that the following steps should be, taken to make the UN more, relevant in the changing context., , That’s very unfair! It’s, actually the weaker, countries who need, a veto, not those, who already have so, much power., , Creation of a Peacebuilding, Commission, Acceptance of the responsibility, of the international community, in case of failures of national, governments to protect their, own citizens from atrocities, Establishment of a Human, Rights Council (operational, since 19 June 2006), Agreements to achieve the, Millennium Development, Goals, Condemnation of terrorism in, all its forms and manifestations, Creation of a Democracy Fund, An agreement to wind up the, Trusteeship Council, It is not hard to see that these, are equally contentious issues for, the UN. What should a, Peacebuilding Commission do?, There are any number of conflicts, all over the world. Which ones, should it intervene in? Is it possible, or even desirable for it to intervene, , What are, the, Millennium, Development, Goals?

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92, , © Pat Bagley, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , Contemporary World Politics, , The humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan since 2003 has, attracted empty promises by the International Community., How do you think the UN can intervene in situations like this?, Would that require a change in its jurisdiction?, , in each and every conflict?, Similarly, what is the responsibility, of the international community in, dealing with atrocities? What are, human rights and who should, determine the level of human, rights violations and the course of, action to be taken when they are, violated? Given that so many, countries are still part of the, developing world, how realistic is, it for the UN to achieve an, ambitious set of goals such as, those listed in the Millennium, Development Goals? Can there be, agreement on a definition of, terrorism? How shall the UN use, funds to promote democracy? And, so on., , MAP OF UN PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS, MISSIONS ADMINISTERED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS, , Sierra, Leone*, 2006-, , Western, Sahara 1991-, , Sudan 2005-, , Cyprus 1964Georgia, 1993-, , Kosovo 1999-, , Haiti, 2004-, , Côte d'Ivoire, 2004Liberia, 2003-, , Lebanon 1978-, , DR Congo, 1999-, , Afghanistan*, 2002-, , Israel and, Syria 1974-, , India and, Pakistan, 1949-, , Ethiopia and, Eritrea 2000-, , Burundi, 2004-, , Middle, East 1948-, , East Timor, 2006-, , * political or peacebuilding mission, , Adapted from http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/maplib/flag.html. Should the UN increase its peacekeeping, activities? Place a star on the parts of the world where you would like to see the UN peacekeeping forces.

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93, , International Organisations, , INDIA AND THE UN REFORMS, , One of India’s major concerns, has been the composition of the, Security Council, which has, remained largely static while the, UN General Assembly membership has expanded considerably., India considers that this has, har med the representative, character of the Security Council., It also argues that an expanded, Council, with more representation,, will enjoy greater support in the, world community., We should keep in mind that, the membership of the UN, Security Council was expanded, from 11 to 15 in 1965. But, there, was no change in the number of, permanent members. Since then,, the size of the Council has, remained stationary. The fact, remains that the overwhelming, majority of the UN General, Assembly members now are, developing countries. Therefore,, India argues that they should also, have a role in shaping the, decisions in the Security Council, which affect them., , WTO, , WTO, , India has supported the, restructuring of the UN on several, grounds. It believes that a, strengthened and revitalised UN is, desirable in a changing world., India also supports an enhanced, role for the UN in promoting, development and cooperation, among states. India believes that, development should be central to, the UN’s agenda as it is a vital, precondition for the maintenance, of international peace and security., , The World Trade Organisation, (WTO) is an international, organisation which sets the rules, for global trade. This organisation, was set up in 1995 as the, successor to the General Agreement on Trade, and Tariffs (GATT) created after the Second, World War. It has 150 members. All decisions are, taken unanimously but the major economic, powers such as the US, EU and Japan have, managed to use the WTO to frame rules of trade, to advance their own interests. The developing, countries often complain of non-transparent, procedures and being pushed around by big, powers., , India supports an increase in, the number of both permanent, and non-permanent members. Its, representatives have argued that, the activities of the Security, Council have greatly expanded in, the past few years. The success of, the Security Council’s actions, depends upon the political, support of the inter national, community. Any plan for, restructuring of the Security, Council should, therefore, be, broad-based. For example, the, Security Council should have, more developing countries in it., Not surprisingly, India itself, also wishes to be a permanent, member in a restructured UN., India is the second most populous, country in the world comprising, almost one-fifth of the world, population. Moreover, India is also, the world’s largest democracy., India has participated in virtually, all of the initiatives of the UN. Its, role in the UN’s peacekeeping, , Do we want to, oppose the bossism, of the big five or do, we want to join them, and become, another boss?

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94, , Contemporary World Politics, , IAEA, , IAEA, The International Atomic Energy, Agency (IAEA) was established in, 1957. It came into being to, implement US President Dwight, Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace”, proposal. It seeks to promote the peaceful use of, nuclear energy and to prevent its use for military, purposes. IAEA teams regularly inspect nuclear, facilities all over the world to ensure that civilian, reactors are not being used for military purposes., , efforts is a long and substantial, one. The country’s economic, emergence on the world stage is, another factor that perhaps, justifies India’s claim to a, permanent seat in the Security, Council. India has also made, regular financial contributions to, the UN and never faltered on its, payments. India is aware that, permanent membership of the, Security Council also has, symbolic importance. It signifies, a country’s growing importance in, world affairs. This greater status, is an advantage to a country in, the conduct of its foreign policy:, the reputation for being powerful, makes you more influential., , What happens if the, UN invites someone, to New York but the, US does not issue, visa?, , Despite India’s wish to be a, permanent veto-wielding member, of the UN, some countries, question, its, inclusion., Neighbouring Pakistan, with, which India has troubled, relations, is not the only country, that is reluctant to see India, become a permanent veto member, of the Security Council. Some, countries, for instance, are, concerned about India’s nuclear, weapons capabilities. Others, , think that its difficulties with, Pakistan will make India, inef fective as a per manent, member. Yet others feel that if, India is included, then other, emerging powers will have to be, accommodated such as Brazil,, Germany, Japan, perhaps even, South Africa, whom they oppose., There are those who feel that, Africa and South America must be, represented in any expansion of, the permanent membership since, those are the only continents not, to have representation in the, present structure. Given these, concerns, it may not be very easy, for India or anyone else to become, a permanent member of the UN in, the near future., , THE UN IN A UNIPOLAR, WORLD, Among the concerns about the, reform and restructuring of the, UN has been the hope of some, countries that changes could help, the UN cope better with a unipolar, word in which the US was the, most powerful country without, any serious rivals. Can the UN, serve as a balance against US, dominance? Can it help maintain, a dialogue between the rest of the, world and the US and prevent, America from doing whatever it, wants?, US power cannot be easily, checked. First of all, with the, disappearance of the Soviet, Union, the US stands as the only, superpower. Its military and, economic power allow it to ignore

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95, , International Organisations, , the UN or any other international, organisation., Secondly, within the UN, the, influence of the US is, considerable. As the single largest, contributor to the UN, the US has, unmatched financial power. The, fact that the UN is physically, located within the US territory, gives Washington additional, sources of influence. The US also, has many nationals in the UN, bureaucracy. In addition, with its, veto power the US can stop any, moves that it finds annoying or, damaging to its interests or the, interests of its friends and allies., The power of the US and its veto, within the organisation also, ensure that Washington has a, considerable degree of say in the, choice of the Secretary General of, the UN. The US can and does use, this power to “split” the rest of the, world and to reduce opposition to, its policies., © Mike Lane, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, , The UN is not therefore a great, balance to the US. Nevertheless,, in a unipolar world in which the, US is dominant, the UN can and, has served to bring the US and, the rest of the world into, discussions over various issues., US leaders, in spite of their, frequent criticism of the UN, do, see the organisation as serving a, purpose in bringing together over, 190 nations in dealing with, conflict and social and economic, development. As for the rest of the, world, the UN provides an arena, in which it is possible to modify, US attitudes and policies. While, the rest of the world is rarely, , Amnesty, International, Amnesty International is an NGO, that campaigns for the, protection of human rights all, over the world. It promotes, respect for all the human rights in the Universal, Declaration of Human Rights. It believes that, human rights are interdependent and indivisible., It prepares and publishes reports on human rights., Governments are not always happy with these, reports since a major focus of Amnesty is the, misconduct of government authorities., Nevertheless, these reports play an important role, in research and advocacy on human rights.

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Contemporary World Politics, , Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Watch is another, international NGO involved in, research and advocacy on, human rights. It is the largest, international human rights, organisation in the US. It draws the global media’s, attention to human rights abuses. It helped in, building international coalitions like the, campaigns to ban landmines, to stop the use of, child soldiers and to establish the International, Criminal Court., , united against Washington, and, while it is virtually impossible to, “balance” US power, the UN does, provide a space within which, arguments against specific US, attitudes and policies are heard, and, compromises, and, concessions can be shaped., , Exercises, , HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, , 96, , 1., , 2., , The UN is an imperfect body,, but without it the world would be, worse off. Given the growing, connections and links between, societies and issues—what we, often call ‘interdependence’—it is, hard to imagine how more than, seven billion people would live, together without an organisation, such as the UN. Technology, promises to increase planetary, interdependence, and therefore, the importance of the UN will only, increase. Peoples and governments will have to find ways of, supporting and using the UN and, other international organisations, in ways that are consistent with, their own interests and the, interests of the international, community more broadly., , Mark correct or wrong against each of the following statements, below about the veto power., a., , Only the permanent members of the Security Council possess, the veto power., , b., , It’s a kind of negative power., , c., , The Secretary-General uses this power when not satisfied with, any decision., , d., , One veto can stall a Security Council resolution., , Mark correct or wrong against each of the following statements, below that describe the way the UN functions., a., , All security and peace related issues are dealt with in the, Security Council., , b., , Humanitarian policies are implemented by the main organs, and specialised agencies spread across the globe., , c., , Having consensus among the five permanent members on, security issues is vital for its implementation., , d., , The members of the General Assembly are automatically the, members of all other principal organs and specialised agencies, of the UN.

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International Organisations, 3., , 5., , 6., , 7., , Which among the following would give more weightage to India’s, proposal for permanent membership in the Security Council?, a., , Nuclear capability, , b., , It has been a member of the UN since its inception, , c., , It is located in Asia, , d., , India’s growing economic power and stable political system, , The UN agency concerned with the safety and peaceful use of, nuclear technology is:, a., , The UN Committee on Disarmament, , b., , International Atomic Energy Agency, , c., , UN International Safeguard Committee, , d., , None of the above, , WTO is serving as the successor to which of the following, organisations, a., , General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs, , b., , General Arrangement on Trade and Tariffs, , c., , World Health Organisation, , d., , UN Development Programme, , Fill in the blanks., a., , The prime objective of the UN is ___________________________, , b., , The highest functionary of the UN is called_________________, , c., , The UN Security Council has _____ permanent and _____nonpermanent members., , d., , ______________________ is the present UN Secretary-General., , Match the principal organs and agencies of the UN with their, functions:, 1., , Economic and Social Council, , 2., , International Court of Justice, , 3., , International Atomic Energy Agency, , 4., , Security Council, , 5., , UN High Commission for Refugees, , 6., , World Trade Organisation, , 7., , International Monetary Fund, , 8., , General Assembly, , 9., , World Health Organisation, , 10., , Secretariat, , E x e r c i s e s, , 4., , 97

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98, , E x e r c i s e s, , Contemporary World Politics, a., , Oversees the global financial system, , b., , Preservation of international peace and security, , c., , Looks into the economic and social welfare of the member, countries, , d., , Safety and peaceful use of nuclear technology, , e., , Resolves disputes between and among member countries, , f., , Provides shelter and medical help during emergencies, , g., , Debates and discusses global issues, , h., , Administration and coordination of UN affairs, , i., , Providing good health for all, , j., , Facilitates free trade among member countries, , 8., , What are the functions of the Security Council?, , 9., , As a citizen of India, how would you support India’s candidature for, the permanent membership of the Security Council? Justify your, proposal., , 10., , Critically evaluate the difficulties involved in implementing the, suggested reforms to reconstruct the UN., , 11., , Though the UN has failed in preventing wars and related miseries,, nations prefer its continuation. What makes the UN an indispensable, organisation?, , 12., , ‘Reforming the UN means restructuring of the Security Council’. Do, you agree with this statement? Give arguments for or against this, position.

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Chapter 7, , Security in the, Contemporary World, OVERVIEW, In reading about world politics, we, frequently encounter the terms, ‘security’ or ‘national security’. Do, we know what these terms mean?, Often, they are used to stop debate, and discussion. We hear that an, issue is a security issue and that, it is vital for the well-being of the, country. The implication is that it, is too important or secret to be, debated and discussed openly., We see movies in which everything, surrounding ‘national security’ is, shadowy and dangerous. Security, seems to be something that is not, the business of the ordinary, citizen. In a democracy, surely this, cannot be the case. As citizens of, a democracy, we need to know, more about the term security., What exactly is it? And what are, India’s security concerns? This, chapter debates these questions., It introduces two different ways of, looking at security and highlights, the importance of keeping in mind, different contexts or situations, which determine our view of, security., , The concern about human security was reflected in the 1994, UNDP’s Human Development Report, which contends, “the, concept of security has for too long been interpreted, narrowly… It has been more related to nation states than, people… Forgotten were the legitimate concerns of ordinary, people who sought security in their daily lives.” The images, above show various forms of security threats.

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100, , Contemporary World Politics, , WHAT IS SECURITY?, , Who decides about, my security? Some, leaders and experts?, Can’t I decide what, is my security?, , At its most basic, security implies, freedom from threats. Human, existence and the life of a country, are full of threats. Does that mean, that every single threat counts as, a security threat? Every time a, person steps out of his or her, house, there is some degree of, threat to their existence and way, of life. Our world would be, saturated with security issues if, we took such a broad view of what, is threatening., Those who study security,, therefore, generally say that only, , those things that threaten ‘core, values’ should be regarded as being, of interest in discussions of, security. Whose core values, though? The core values of the, country as a whole? The core, values of ordinary women and men, in the street? Do governments, on, behalf of citizens, always have the, same notion of core values as the, ordinary citizen?, Furthermore, when we speak, of threats to core values, how, intense should the threats be?, Surely there are big and small, threats to virtually every value we, hold dear. Can all those threats, be brought into the understanding, of security? Every time another, country does something or fails to, do something, this may damage, the core values of one’s country., Every time a person is robbed in, the streets, the security of, ordinary people as they live their, daily lives is harmed. Yet, we, would be paralysed if we took such, an extensive view of security:, everywhere we looked, the world, would be full of dangers., , © Ares, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , So we are brought to a, conclusion: security relates only, to extremely dangerous threats—, threats that could so endanger, core values that those values, would be damaged beyond repair, if we did not do something to deal, with the situation., , Taming Peace, Have you heard of ‘peacekeeping force’? Do you think this is, paradoxical term?, , Having said that, we must, admit that security remains a, slippery idea. For instance, have, societies always had the same, conception of security? It would, be surprising if they did because

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101, , Security in the Contemporary World, , so many things change in the, world around us. And, at any, given time in world history, do all, societies have the same conception, of security? Again, it would be, amazing if six hundred and fifty, crore people, organised in nearly, 200 countries, had the same, conception of security! Let us begin, by putting the various notions of, security under two groups:, traditional and non-traditional, conceptions of security., , TRADITIONAL NOTIONS:, EXTERNAL, Economy of war, , Most of the time, when we read, and hear about security we are, talking about traditional, national, security conceptions of security., In the traditional conception of, security, the greatest danger to a, country is from military threats., The source of this danger is, another country which by, threatening military action, endangers the core values of, sovereignty, independence and, territorial integrity. Military action, also endangers the lives of, ordinary citizens. It is unlikely that, in a war only soldiers will be hurt, or killed. Quite often, ordinary, men and women are made targets, of war, to break their support of, the war., In responding to the threat of, war, a government has three basic, choices: to surrender; to prevent, the other side from attacking by, promising to raise the costs of war, to an unacceptable level; and to, defend itself when war actually, , © Ares, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , breaks out so as to deny the, attacking country its objectives, and to turn back or defeat the, attacking forces altogether., Gover nments may choose to, surrender when actually confronted, by war, but they will not advertise, this as the policy of the country., Therefore, security policy is, concerned with preventing war,, which is called deterrence, and, with limiting or ending war, which, is called defence., Traditional security policy has, a third component called balance, of power. When countries look, around them, they see that some, countries are bigger and stronger., This is a clue to who might be a, threat in the future. For instance,, a neighbouring country may not, say it is preparing for attack., There may be no obvious reason, for attack. But the fact that this, country is very powerful is a sign, , War is all about, insecurity, destruction, and deaths. How, can a war make, anyone secure?

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102, © Christo Komarnitski, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , Contemporary World Politics, , How do the big powers react when new countries claim nuclear, status? On what basis can we say that some countries can be, trusted with nuclear weapons while others can’t be?, , that at some point in the future it, may choose to be aggressive., Governments are, therefore, very, sensitive to the balance of power, between their country and other, countries. They do work hard to, maintain a favourable balance of, power with other countries,, especially those close by, those, with whom they have differences,, or with those they have had, conflicts in the past. A good part, of maintaining a balance of power, is to build up one’s military power,, although economic and technological power are also important, since they are the basis for, military power., A fourth and related, component of traditional security, policy is alliance building. An, alliance is a coalition of states, that coordinate their actions to, deter or defend against military, attack. Most alliances ar e, , formalised in written treaties and, are based on a fairly clear, identification of who constitutes, the threat. Countries for m, alliances to increase their, effective power relative to another, country or alliance. Alliances are, based on national interests and, can change when national, interests change. For example,, the US backed the Islamic, militants in Afghanistan against, the Soviet Union in the 1980s,, but later attacked them when Al, Qaeda—a gr oup of Islamic, militants led by Osama bin, Laden—launched terr orist, strikes against America on 11, September 2001., In the traditional view of, security, then, most threats to a, country’s security come from, outside its borders. That is, because the international system, is a rather brutal arena in which, there is no central authority, capable of controlling behaviour., Within a country, the threat of, violence is regulated by an, acknowledged central authority —, the government. In world politics,, there is no acknowledged central, authority that stands above, everyone else. It is tempting to, think that the United Nations is, such an authority or could become, such an institution. However, as, presently constituted, the UN is a, creature of its members and has, authority only to the extent that, the membership allows it to have, authority and obeys it. So, in, world politics, each country has to, be responsible for its own security.

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103, , Security in the Contemporary World, , TRADITIONAL NOTIONS:, INTERNAL, By now you will have asked, yourself: doesn’t security depend, on internal peace and order? How, can a society be secure if there is, violence or the threat of violence, inside its borders? And how can, it prepare to face violence from, outside its borders if it is not, secure inside its borders?, Traditional security must also,, therefore, concern itself with, internal security. The reason it is, not given so much importance is, that after the Second World War, it seemed that, for the most, powerful countries on earth,, internal security was more or less, assured. We said earlier that it is, important to pay attention to, contexts and situations. While, internal security was certainly, a part of the concer ns of, governments historically, after the, Second World War there was a, context and situation in which, internal security did not seem to, matter as much as it had in the, past. After 1945, the US and the, Soviet Union appeared to be, united and could expect peace, within their borders. Most of the, European countries, particularly, the powerful Western European, countries, faced no serious threats, from groups or communities living, within those borders. Therefore,, these countries focused primarily, on threats from outside their, borders., What were the external threats, facing these powerful countries?, , Again, we draw attention to, contexts and situations. We know, that the period after the Second, World War was the Cold War in, which the US-led Western alliance, faced the Soviet-led Communist, alliance. Above all, the two, alliances feared a military attack, from each other. Some European, powers, in addition, continued to, worry about violence in their, colonies, from colonised people, who wanted independence. We, have only to remember the French, fighting in Vietnam in the 1950s, or the British fighting in Kenya in, the 1950s and the early 1960s., As the colonies became free, from the late 1940s onwards, their, security concerns were often, similar to that of the European, powers. Some of the newlyindependent countries, like the, European powers, became, members of the Cold War alliances., They, therefore, had to worry about, the Cold War becoming a hot war, and dragging them into hostilities, — against neighbours who might, have joined the other side in the, Cold War, against the leaders of the, alliances (the United States or, Soviet Union), or against any of the, other partners of the US and Soviet, Union. The Cold War between the, two superpowers was responsible, for approximately one-third of all, wars in the post-Second World, War period. Most of these wars, were fought in the Third World., Just as the European colonial, powers feared violence in the, colonies, some colonial people, feared, after independence, that, they might be attacked by their, , Browse through a, week’s newspaper, and list all the, external and, internal conflicts, that are taking, place around the, globe.

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104, , Third World Arms, , Contemporary World Politics, , © Ares, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , former colonial rulers in Europe., They had to prepare, therefore, to, defend themselves against an, imperial war., , Those who fight, against their own, country must be, unhappy about, something. Perhaps it, is their insecurity that, creates insecurity for, the country., , The security challenges facing, the newly-independent countries, of Asia and Africa were different, from the challenges in Europe in, two ways. For one thing, the new, countries faced the prospect of, military conflict with neighbouring, countries. For another, they had, to worry about internal military, conflict. These countries faced, threats not only from outside their, borders, mostly from neighbours,, but also from within. Many newlyindependent countries came to, fear their neighbours even more, than they feared the US or Soviet, Union or the former colonial, powers. They quarrelled over, borders and territories or control, of people and populations or all of, these simultaneously., , Internally, the new states, worried about threats from, separatist movements which, wanted to form independent, countries. Sometimes, the, external and internal threats, merged. A neighbour might help, or instigate an internal separatist, movement leading to tensions, between the two neighbouring, countries. Internal wars now, make up more than 95 per cent of, all armed conflicts fought, anywhere in the world. Between, 1946 and 1991, there was a, twelve-fold rise in the number of, civil wars—the greatest jump in, 200 years. So, for the new states,, external wars with neighbours and, internal wars posed a serious, challenge to their security., , TRADITIONAL SECURITY, COOPERATION, , AND, , In traditional security, there is a, recognition that cooperation in, limiting violence is possible. These, limits relate both to the ends and, the means of war. It is now an, almost universally-accepted view, that countries should only go to, war for the right reasons, primarily, self-defence or to protect other, people from genocide. War must, also be limited in terms of the, means that are used. Armies must, avoid killing or hurting noncombatants as well as unarmed, and surrendering combatants., They should not be excessively, violent. Force must in any case, be used only after all the, alternatives have failed.

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105, , Security in the Contemporary World, , Traditional views of security, do not rule out other forms of, cooperation as well. The most, important of these are disarmament, arms control, and, confidence building. Disarmament, requires all states to give up, certain kinds of weapons. For, example, the 1972 Biological, Weapons Convention (BWC) and, the 1992 Chemical Weapons, Convention (CWC) banned the, production and possession of, these weapons. More than 155, states acceded to the BWC and, 181 states acceded to the CWC., Both conventions included all, the great powers. But the, superpowers — the US and Soviet, Union — did not want to give up, the third type of weapons of mass, destruction, namely, nuclear, weapons, so they pursued arms, control., Arms control regulates the, acquisition or development of, weapons. The Anti-ballistic, Missile (ABM) Treaty in 1972 tried, to stop the United States and, Soviet Union from using ballistic, missiles as a defensive shield, to launch a nuclear attack., While it did allow both countries, , The text says: “Whether Elevated or Under Attack, the Department, of Homeland Security Terror Meter takes the uncertainty out of, staying informed of the level of terror in our nation. Move the Terror, Indicator to the current threat level, which corresponds to how, terrified the Americal people are of the threat of terror attacks., Terror is all around us, and can strike at anytime. Thanks to the, Terror Meter, you will never have to wonder how terrified you should, be. Proceed with caution”., , to deploy a very limited number of, defensive systems, it stopped them, from large-scale production of, those systems., As we noted in Chapter 1, the, US and Soviet Union signed a, number of other arms control, treaties including the Strategic, Arms Limitations Treaty II or, SALT II and the Strategic Arms, Reduction Treaty (START). The, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, (NPT) of 1968 was an arms control, treaty in the sense that it, regulated the acquisition of, nuclear weapons: those countries, that had tested and manufactured, nuclear weapons before 1967 were, allowed to keep their weapons;, and those that had not done so, were to give up the right to acquire, them. The NPT did not abolish, nuclear weapons; rather, it limited, the number of countries that, could have them., , How funny! First they, make deadly and, expensive weapons., Then they make, complicated treaties, to save themselves, from these weapons., They call it security!

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106, , Contemporary World Politics, , Traditional security also, accepts confidence building as a, means of avoiding violence., Confidence building is a process, in which countries share ideas, and information with their rivals., They tell each other about their, military intentions and, up to a, point, their military plans. This, is a way of demonstrating that, they are not planning a surprise, attack. They also tell each other, about the kind of forces they, possess, and they may share, information on where those forces, are deployed. In short, confidence, building is a process designed to, ensure that rivals do not go to war, through misunderstanding or, misperception., Overall, traditional conceptions, of security are principally, concerned with the use, or threat, of use, of military force. In, traditional security, force is both, the principal threat to security, and the principal means of, achieving security., , conception, the referent is the state, with its territory and governing, institutions. In the non-traditional, conceptions, the referent is, expanded. When we ask ‘Security, for who?’ proponents of nontraditional security reply ‘Not just, the state but also individuals or, communities or indeed all of, humankind’. Non-traditional views, of security have been called, ‘human security’ or ‘global, security’., Human security is about the, protection of people more than the, protection of states. Human, security and state security should, be — and often are — the same, thing. But secure states do not, automatically mean secure, peoples. Protecting citizens from, foreign attack may be a necessary, condition for the security of, individuals, but it is certainly not, , Now we are talking!, That is what I call real, security for real, human beings., , Non-traditional notions of security, go beyond military threats to, include a wide range of threats and, dangers affecting the conditions of, human existence. They begin by, questioning the traditional referent, of security. In doing so, they also, question the other three elements, of security — what is being secured,, from what kind of threats and the, approach to security. When we say, referent we mean ‘Security for, who?’ In the traditional security, , © Andy Singer, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , NON-TRADITIONAL NOTIONS, , The cartoon comments on the massive, expenditure on defence and lack of, money for peace-related initiatives in, the US. Is it any different in our country?

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107, , Security in the Contemporary World, , a sufficient one. Indeed, during, the last 100 years, more people, have been killed by their own, governments than by foreign, armies., All proponents of human, security agree that its primary, goal is the protection of, individuals. However, there are, differences about precisely what, threats individuals should be, protected from. Proponents of, the ‘narrow’ concept of human, security focus on violent, threats to individuals or, as former, UN Secretary-General Kofi, Annan puts it, “the protection of, communities and individuals from, internal violence”. Proponents of, the ‘broad’ concept of human, security argue that the threat, agenda, should, include, hunger, disease and natural, disasters because these kill far, more people than war, genocide, and terrorism combined. Human, security policy, they argue,, should protect people from these, threats as well as from violence. In, its broadest formulation, the, human security agenda also, encompasses economic security, and ‘threats to human dignity’., Put differently, the broadest, formulation stresses what has, been called ‘freedom from want’, and ‘freedom from fear’,, respectively., The idea of global security, emerged in the 1990s in response, to the global nature of threats, such as global warming,, international terrorism, and health, epidemics like AIDS and, , bird flu and so on. No country can, resolve these problems alone. And,, in some situations, one country, may have to disproportionately, bear the brunt of a global problem, such, as, environmental, degradation. For example, due to, global warming, a sea level rise of, 1.5–2.0 meters would flood 20, percent of Bangladesh, inundate, most of the Maldives, and threaten, nearly half the population of, Thailand. Since these problems are, global in nature, international, cooperation is vital, even though, it is difficult to achieve., , NEW SOURCES, , OF, , THREATS, , The non-traditional conceptions—, both human security and global, security—focus on the changing, nature of threats to security. We, will discuss some of these threats, in the section below., Terrorism refers to political, violence that targets civilians, deliberately and indiscriminately., International terrorism involves, the citizens or territory of more, than one country. Terrorist, groups seek to change a political, context or condition that they do, not like by force or threat of, force. Civilian targets are, usually chosen to terrorise the, public and to use the, unhappiness of the public as a, weapon against national, governments or other parties in, conflict., The classic cases of terrorism, involve hijacking planes or planting, bombs in trains, cafes, markets

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108, , Contemporary World Politics, , and other crowded places. Since, 11 September 2001 when terrorists, attacked the World Trade Centre in, America, other governments and, public have paid more attention to, terrorism, though terrorism itself is, not new. In the past, most of the, terror attacks have occurred in the, Middle East, Europe, Latin, America and South Asia., , Taking the train, , Why do we always, look outside when, talking about human, rights violations?, Don’t we have, examples from our, own country?, , © Tab, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , He doesn’t exist!, , Human rights have come to, be classified into three types. The, first type is political rights such as, freedom of speech and assembly., The second type is economic and, social rights. The third type is the, rights of colonised people or ethnic, and indigenous minorities. While, there is broad agreement on this, classification, there is no, agreement on which set of rights, should be considered as universal

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109, , Security in the Contemporary World, , human rights, nor what the, international community should, do when rights are being violated., Since the 1990s, developments, such as Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait,, the genocide in Rwanda, and the, Indonesian military’s killing of, people in East Timor have led to, a debate on whether or not the UN, should intervene to stop human, rights abuses. There are those, who argue that the UN Charter, empowers the inter national, community to take up arms in, defence of human rights. Others, argue that the national interests, of the power ful states will, determine which instances of, human rights violations the UN, will act upon., Global poverty is another, sour ce of insecurity. World, population—now at 650 crore—, will reach 700 to 800 crore within, 25 years and may eventually level, out at 900 to 1000 cr ore., Currently, half the world’s, , population growth occurs in just, six countries—India, China,, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. Among the world’s, poorest countries, population is, expected to triple in the next 50, years, whereas many rich, countries will see population, shrinkage in that period. High per, capita income and low population, growth make rich states or rich, social groups get richer, whereas, low incomes and high population, growth reinforce each other to, make poor states and poor, groups get poorer., Globally, this disparity, contributes to the gap between, the Norther n and Souther n, countries of the world. Within the, South, disparities have also, sharpened, as a few countries, have managed to slow down, population growth and raise, incomes while others have failed, to do so. For example, most of the, world’s armed conflicts now take

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110, , Contemporary World Politics, , Take a map, of Africa and, plot various, threats to the, people’s, security on, that map., , Credit: www.unhcr.org, , place in sub-Saharan Africa,, which is also the poorest region, of the world. At the turn of the, 21st century, more people were, being killed in wars in this region, than in the rest of the world, combined., Poverty in the South has also, led to large-scale migration to, seek a better life, especially better, economic opportunities, in the, North. This has created, international political frictions., International law and norms make, a distinction between migrants, (those who voluntarily leave their, home countries) and refugees, (those who flee from war, natural, disaster or political persecution)., States are generally supposed to, accept refugees, but they do not, , have to accept migrants. While, refugees leave their country of, origin, people who have fled their, homes but remain within national, borders are called ‘internally, displaced people’. Kashmiri, Pandits that fled the violence in the, Kashmir Valley in the early 1990s, are an example of an internally, displaced community., The world refugee map tallies, almost perfectly with the world, conflicts map because wars and, armed conflicts in the South have, generated millions of refugees, seeking safe haven. From 1990 to, 1995, 70 states were involved in, 93 wars which killed about 55 lakh, people. As a result, individuals,, and families and, at times, whole, communities have been forced to, migrate because of generalised, fear of violence or due to the, destruction of livelihoods,, identities, and, living, environments. A look at the, correlation between wars, and refugee migration shows, that in the 1990s, all but, three of the 60 refugee flows, coincided with an internal, armed conflict., Health epidemics such, as HIV-AIDS, bird flu, and, severe acute respiratory, syndrome (SARS) have, rapidly spread across, countries through migration,, business, tourism and, military operations. One, country’s success or failure, in limiting the spread of, these diseases af fects, infections in other countries.

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111, , Security in the Contemporary World, , By 2003, an estimated 4 crore, people were infected with HIVAIDS worldwide, two-thirds of, them in Africa and half of the rest, in South Asia. In North America, and other industrialised countries,, new drug therapies dramatically, lowered the death rate from HIVAIDS in the late 1990s. But these, treatments were too expensive to, help poor regions like Africa where, it has proved to be a major factor, in driving the region backward into, deeper poverty., Other new and poorly, understood diseases such as ebola, virus, hantavirus, and hepatitis C, have emerged, while old diseases, like tuberculosis, malaria, dengue, fever and cholera have mutated, into drug resistant forms that are, difficult to treat. Epidemics among, animals have major economic, effects. Since the late 1990s,, Britain has lost billions of dollars, of income during an outbreak of, the mad-cow disease, and bird flu, shut down supplies of poultry, exports from several Asian, countries. Such epidemics, demonstrate the growing interdependence of states making their, borders less meaningful than in, the past and emphasise the need, for international cooperation., Expansion of the concept of, security does not mean that we, can include any kind of disease or, distress in the ambit of security., If we do that, the concept of, security stands to lose its, coherence. Everything could, become a security issue. To qualify, , Keshav, The Hindu, , How should the world address issues shown here?, , as a security problem, therefore, an, issue must share a minimum, common criterion, say, of, threatening the very existence of, the referent (a state or group of, people) though the precise nature, of this threat may be different. For, example, the Maldives may feel, threatened by global warming, because a big part of its territory, may be submerged with the rising, sea level, whereas for countries in, Southern Africa, HIV-AIDS poses, a serious threat as one in six, adults has the disease (one in three, for Botswana, the worst case). In, 1994, the Tutsi tribe in Rwanda, faced a threat to its existence as, nearly five lakh of its people were, killed by the rival Hutu tribe in a, matter of weeks. This shows that, non-traditional conceptions of, security,, like, traditional, conceptions of security, vary, according to local contexts.

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112, , Contemporary World Politics, , © Ares, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , COOPERATIVE, SECURITY, , World Blindness, , I feel happy when I, hear that my country, has nuclear, weapons. But I don’t, know how exactly it, makes me and my, family more secure., , We can see that, dealing with many, of these nontraditional threats, to security require, cooperation rather, than, military, confrontation. Military force may, have a role to play in combating, terrorism or in enforcing human, rights (and even here there is a, limit to what force can achieve),, but it is difficult to see what force, would do to help alleviate poverty,, manage migration and refugee, movements,, and, control, epidemics. Indeed, in most cases,, the use of military force would, only make matters worse!, Far more effective is to devise, strategies, that, involve, inter national, cooperation., Cooperation may be bilateral (i.e., between any two countries),, regional, continental, or global. It, would all depend on the nature, of the threat and the willingness, and ability of countries to, respond. Cooperative security, may also involve a variety of other, players, both inter national, and national—inter national, organisations (the UN, the World, Health Organisation, the World, Bank, the IMF etc.), nongovernmental organisations, (Amnesty International, the Red, Cross, private foundations and, charities, churches and religious, organisations, trade unions,, associations,, social, and, , development organisations),, businesses and corporations,, and, great, personalities, (e.g. Mother Teresa, Nelson, Mandela)., Cooperative security may, involve the use of force as a last, resort. The inter national, community may have to sanction, the use of force to deal with, governments that kill their own, people or ignore the misery of, their populations who ar e, devastated by poverty, disease, and catastrophe. It may have to, agree to the use of violence, against international terrorists, and those who harbour them., Non-traditional security is much, better when the use of force, is sanctioned and applied, collectively by the international, community rather than when an, individual country decides to use, force on its own., , INDIA’S SECURITY STRATEGY, India has faced traditional, (military) and non-traditional, threats to its security that have, emerged from within as well as, outside its borders. Its security, strategy has four broad, components, which have been, used in a varying combination, from time to time., The first component was strengthening its military capabilities, because India has been involved, in conflicts with its neighbours —, Pakistan in 1947–48, 1965, 1971, and 1999; and China in 1962., Since it is surrounded by nuclear-

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113, , Security in the Contemporary World, , armed countries in the South, Asian region, India’s decision to, conduct nuclear tests in 1998 was, justified by the Indian government, in terms of safeguarding national, security. India first tested a, nuclear device in 1974., The second component of, India’s security strategy has been, to strengthen international norms, and international institutions to, protect its security interests., India’s first Prime Minister,, Jawaharlal Nehru, supported the, cause of Asian solidarity,, decolonisation, disarmament,, and the UN as a forum in which, international conflicts could be, settled. India also took initiatives, to bring about a universal and, non-discriminatory non-proliferation, regime in which all countries, would have the same rights and, obligations with respect to weapons, of mass destruction (nuclear,, biological, chemical). It argued for, an equitable New International, Economic Order (NIEO). Most, importantly, it used non-alignment, to help carve out an area of peace, outside the bloc politics of the two, superpowers. India joined 160, countries that have signed and, ratified the 1997 Kyoto Protocol,, which provides a roadmap for, reducing the emissions of, greenhouse gases to check global, warming. Indian troops have been, sent abroad on UN peacekeeping, missions in support of cooperative, security initiatives., The third component of Indian, security strategy is geared, towards meeting security, , challenges within the country., Several militant groups from areas, such as the Nagaland, Mizoram,, the Punjab, and Kashmir among, others have, from time to time,, sought to break away from India., India has tried to preserve national, unity by adopting a democratic, political system, which allows, different communities and groups, of people to freely articulate their, grievances and share political, power., Finally, there has been an, attempt in India to develop its, economy in a way that the vast, mass of citizens are lifted out of, poverty and misery and huge, economic inequalities are not, allowed to exist. The attempt has, not quite succeeded; we are still, a very poor and unequal country., Yet democratic politics allows, spaces for articulating the voice, of the poor and the deprived, citizens. There is a pressure on, the democratically elected, gover nments, to, combine, economic growth with human, development. Thus democracy is, not just a political ideal; a, democratic government is also a, way to provide greater security., You will read more about the, successes and failures of Indian, democracy in this respect in the, textbook on politics in India since, independence., , Compare the, expenditure by, the Indian, government on, traditional, security with its, expenditure on, non-traditional, security.

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114, , Contemporary World Politics, , STEPS, ‹ Narrate the following imaginary situation of four villages settled on the banks of, a river., Kotabagh, Gewali, Kandali and Goppa are villages adjoining each other beside a, river. People in Kotabagh were the first settlers on the riverbank. They had an, uninterrupted access to abundant natural resources available in the region., Gradually, people from different regions started coming to this region because of, the abundant natural resources and water. Now there are four villages. With time, the population of these villages expanded. But resources did not expand. Each, village started making claims over natural resources including the boundary of their, respective settlement. Inhabitants of Kotabagh argued for a greater share in natural, resources, as they were the first settlers. Settlers of Kandali and Gewali said that as, they have bigger populations than the others they both need a greater share. The, people of Goppa said as they are used to an extravagant life they need a bigger, share, though their population is smaller in size. All four villages disagreed with each, other’s demands and continued to use the resources as they wished. This led to, frequent clashes among the villagers. Gradually, everybody felt disgusted with the, state of affairs and lost their peace of mind. Now they all wish to live the way they, had lived earlier. But they do not know how to go back to that golden age., , ‹ Make a brief note describing the characteristics of each village — the, description should reflect the actual nature of present-day nations., , ‹ Divide the classroom into four groups. Each group is to represent a village. Hand, over the village notes to the respective groups., , ‹ The teacher is to allot a time (15 minutes) for group discussions on how to go, back to the golden age. Each should develop its own strategy., All groups are to negotiate freely among themselves as village representatives,, to arrive at a solution (within 20 minutes). Each would put forth its arguments, and counter arguments. The result could be: an amicable agreement, accommodating the demands of all, which seldom happens; or, the entire, negotiation/discussion ends without achieving the purpose., Ideas for the Teacher, Link the villages to nations and connect to the problems of security (threat to geographical territory/, access to natural resources/insurgency, and so on)., Talk about the observations made during the negotiation and explain how similarly the nations, behave while negotiating on related issues., The activity could be concluded by making reference to some of the current security issues between, and among nations.

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Security in the Contemporary World, , 1., , 115, , Match the terms with their meaning:, i. Confidence Building Measures (CBMs), Arms Control, , iii., , Alliance, , iv., , Disarmament, , a., , Giving up certain types of weapons, , b., , A process of exchanging information on defence matters, between nations on a regular basis, , c., , A coalition of nations meant to deter or defend against military, attacks, , d., , Regulates the acquisition or development of weapons, , Which among the following would you consider as a traditional, security concern / non-traditional security concern / not a threat?, a., , The spread of chikungunya / dengue fever, , b., , Inflow of workers from a neighbouring nation, , c., , Emergence of a group demanding nationhood for their region, , d., , Emergence of a group demanding autonomy for their region, , e., , A newspaper that is critical of the armed forces in the country, , 3., , What is the difference between traditional and non-traditional, security? Which category would the creation and sustenance of, alliances belong to?, , 4., , What are the differences in the threats that people in the Third World, face and those living in the First World face?, , 5., , Is terrorism a traditional or non-traditional threat to security?, , 6., , What are the choices available to a state when its security is, threatened, according to the traditional security perspective?, , 7., , What is ‘Balance of Power’? How could a state achieve this?, , 8., , What are the objectives of military alliances? Give an example of, a functioning military alliance with its specific objectives., , 9., , Rapid environmental degradation is causing a serious threat to, security. Do you agree with the statement? Substantiate your, arguments., , E x e r c i s e s, , 2., , ii.

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116, , E x e r c i s e s, , Contemporary World Politics, , 10., , Nuclear weapons as deterrence or defence have limited usage, against contemporary security threats to states. Explain the, statement., , 11., , Looking at the Indian scenario, what type of security has been given, priority in India, traditional or non-traditional? What examples could, you site to substantiate the argument?, , 12., , Read the cartoon below and write a short note in favour or against, the connection between war and terrorism depicted in this, cartoon., , © Ares, Cagle Cartoons Inc.

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Chapter 8, , Environment and, Natural Resources, OVERVIEW, This chapter examines the growing, significance of environmental as well, as resource issues in world politics., It analyses in a comparative, perspective some of the important, environmental movements against, the backdrop of the rising profile of, environmentalism from the 1960s, onwards. Notions of common, property resources and the global, commons too are assessed. We also, discuss, in brief, the stand taken by, India in more recent environmental, debates. Next follows a brief account, of the geopolitics of resource, competition. We conclude by taking, note of the indigenous peoples’, voices and concer ns from the, margins of contemporary world, politics., , The 1992 Earth Summit has brought environmental issues to, the centre-stage of global politics. The pictures above show, rainforest and mangroves.

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118, , Contemporary World Politics, , ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS, IN GLOBAL POLITICS, , Politics in forests,, politics in water,, politics in, atmosphere! What is, not political then?, , In this book we have discussed, ‘world politics’ in a fairly limited, sense: wars and treaties, rise and, decline of state power, the, relationship, between, the, governments that represent their, countries in the international, arena and the role of inter governmental organisations. In, Chapter 7, we expanded the scope, of world politics to include issues, like poverty and epidemics. That, may not have been a very difficult, step to take, for we all think that, governments are responsible for, controlling these. In that sense, they fall within the scope of world, politics. Now consider some other, issues. Do you think they fall, within the scope of contemporary, world politics?, , Around the Aral Sea, thousands of people have had to leave their, homes as the toxic waters have totally destroyed the fishing industry., The shipping industry and all related activities have collapsed., Rising concentrations of salt in the soil have caused low crop yields., Numerous studies have been conducted. In fact locals joke that if, everyone who’d come to study the Aral had brought a bucket of, water, the sea would be full by now. Source: www.gobartimes.org, , Throughout the world,, cultivable area is barely, expanding any more, and a, substantial portion of existing, agricultural land is losing, fertility. Grasslands have been, overgrazed and fisheries overharvested. Water bodies have, suffered extensive depletion, and pollution, severely, restricting food production., According to the Human, Development Report 2006 of the, United Nations Development, Programme, 1.2 billion people, in developing countries have no, access to safe water and 2.6, billion have no access to, sanitation, resulting in the, death of more than three, million children every year., Natural forests — which help, stabilise the climate, moderate, water supplies, and harbour, a majority of the planet’s, biodiversity on land—are, being cut down and people are, being displaced. The loss of, biodiversity continues due to, the destruction of habitat in, areas which are rich in, species., A steady decline in the total, amount of ozone in the Earth’s, stratosphere (commonly, referred to as the ozone hole), poses a real danger to, ecosystems and human, health., Coastal pollution too is, increasing globally. Although, the open sea is relatively clean,, the coastal waters are

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119, , Environment and Natural Resources, , becoming increasingly polluted, largely due to land-based, activities. If unchecked,, intensive human settlement of, coastal zones across the globe, will, lead, to, further, deterioration in the quality of, marine environment., You might ask are we not, talking here about ‘natural, phenomena’ that should be studied, in geography rather than in political, science. But think about it again., If the various governments take, steps to check environmental, degradation of the kind mentioned, above, these issues will have, political consequences in that, sense. Most of them are such that, no single government can address, them fully. Therefore they have to, become part of ‘world politics’. Issues, of environment and natural, resources are political in another, deeper sense. Who causes, environmental degradation? Who, pays the price? And who is, responsible for taking corrective, action? Who gets to use how much, of the natural resources of the, Earth? All these raise the issue of, who wields how much power. They, are, therefore, deeply political, questions., Although environmental, concerns have a long history,, awareness of the environmental, consequences of economic growth, acquired an increasingly political, character from the 1960s onwards., The Club of Rome, a global think, tank, published a book in 1972, entitled Limits to Growth,, dramatising the potential depletion, , Global Warming, , © Ares, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , Why do you think the fingers are designed like chimneys and the, world made into a lighter?, , of the Earth’s resources against the, backdrop of rapidly growing world, population. International agencies,, including the United Nations, Environment Programme (UNEP),, began holding international, conferences and promoting, detailed studies to get a more, coordinated and effective response, to environmental problems. Since, then, the environment has, emerged as a significant issue of, global politics., The growing focus on, environmental issues within the, arena of global politics was firmly, consolidated at the United Nations, Conference on Environment and, Development held in Rio de, Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992., This was also called the Earth, Summit. The summit was, , Collect news, clippings on, reports, linking, environment, and politics, in your own, locality.

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120, , Contemporary World Politics, , © Ares, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , countries of the First World,, generally referred to as the ‘global, North’ were pursuing a different, environmental agenda than the, poor and developing countries of, the Third World, called the ‘global, South’. Whereas the Northern, states were concerned with ozone, depletion and global warming, the, Southern states were anxious to, address the relationship between, economic development and, environmental management., , Are there different perspectives from which the rich and the poor, countries agree to protect the Earth?, , attended by 170 states, thousands, of NGOs and many multinational, corporations. Five years earlier,, the 1987 Brundtland Report, Our, Common Future, had warned that, traditional patterns of economic, growth were not sustainable in the, long term, especially in view of the, demands of the South for further, industrial development. What was, obvious at the Rio Summit was, that the rich and developed, , The Rio Summit produced, conventions dealing with climate, change, biodiversity, forestry, and, recommended a list of development, practices called ‘Agenda 21’. But, it left unresolved considerable, differences and difficulties. There, was a consensus on combining, economic growth with ecological, responsibility. This approach to, development is commonly known as, ‘sustainable development’. The, problem however was how exactly, this was to be achieved. Some, critics have pointed out that, Agenda 21 was biased in favour of, economic growth rather than, ensuring ecological conservation., Let us look at some of the, contentious issues in the global, politics of environment., , THE PROTECTION OF GLOBAL, COMMONS, ‘Commons’ are those resources, which are not owned by anyone, but rather shared by a community., This could be a ‘common room’, a, ‘community centre’, a park or a, river. Similarly, there are some

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121, , Environment and Natural Resources, , ANTARCTICA, The Antarctic continental region extends, over 14 million square kilometres and, comprises 26 per cent of the world’s, wilderness area, representing 90 per cent, of all terrestrial ice and 70 per cent of, planetary fresh water. The Antarctic also, extends to a further 36 million square, kilometres of ocean. It has a limited, terrestrial life and a highly productive, marine ecosystem, comprising a few plants, (e.g. microscopic algae, fungi and lichen),, marine mammals, fish and hordes of birds, adapted to harsh conditions, as well as the, krill, which is central to marine food chain, and upon which other animals are, dependent. The Antarctic plays an, important role in maintaining climatic, equilibrium, and deep ice cores provide, an important source of information about, greenhouse gas concentrations and, atmospheric temperatures of hundreds, and thousands of years ago., Who owns this coldest, farthest, and windiest continent on globe? There are two claims about it. Some, countries like the UK, Argentina, Chile, Norway, France, Australia and New Zealand have made legal, claims to sovereign rights over Antarctic territory. Most other states have taken the opposite view that the, Antarctic is a part of the global commons and not subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of any state. These, differences, however, have not prevented the adoption of innovative and potentially far-reaching rules, for the protection of the Antarctic environment and its ecosystem. The Antarctic and the Arctic polar, regions are subjected to special regional rules of environmental protection. Since 1959, activities in the, area have been limited to scientific research, fishing and tourism. Even these limited activities have not, prevented parts of the region from being degraded by waste as a result of oil spills., , areas or regions of the world which, are located outside the sovereign, jurisdiction of any one state, and, therefore require common, governance by the international, community. These are known as, res communis humanitatis or, global commons. They include the, earth’s atmosphere, Antarctica, (see Box), the ocean floor, and, outer space., , Cooperation over the global, commons is not easy. There have, been many path-breaking, agreements such as the 1959, Antarctic T reaty, the 1987, Montreal Protocol, and the 1991, Antarctic Environmental Protocol., A major problem underlying all, ecological issues relates to the, difficulty of achieving consensus, on common environmental, , Very soon we will, have ecological, degradation of the, moon!

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122, , Contemporary World Politics, , One of the biggest catastrophes in Africa in the 1970s, a drought turned the best cropland in five countries into, cracked and barren earth. In fact, the term environmental refugees came into popular vocabulary after this., Many had to flee their homelands as agriculture was no longer possible. Source: www.gobartimes.org, , Find out more, about the, Kyoto Protocol., Which major, countries did, not sign it? And, why?, , agendas on the basis of vague, scientific evidence and time, frames. In that sense the, discovery of the ozone hole over, the Antarctic in the mid-1980s, revealed the opportunity as well, as dangers inherent in tackling, global environmental problems., , ocean floor, the crucial issue here, is technology and industrial, development. This is important, because the benefits of, exploitative activities in outer, space are far from being equal, either for the present or future, generations., , Similarly, the history of outer, space as a global commons shows, that the management of these, areas is thoroughly influenced by, North-South inequalities. As with, the earth’s atmosphere and the, , COMMON BUT DIFFERENTIATED, RESPONSIBILITY, We have noted above a difference, in the approach to environment

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123, , Environment and Natural Resources, , between the countries of the North, and the South. The developed, countries of the North want to, discuss the environmental issue, as it stands now and want, everyone to be equally responsible, for ecological conservation. The, developing countries of the South, feel that much of the ecological, degradation in the world is the, product of industrial development, undertaken by the developed, countries. If they have caused, more degradation, they must also, take more responsibility for, undoing the damage now., Moreover, the developing countries, are in the process of industrialisation, and they must not be subjected, to the same restrictions, which, apply to the developed countries., Thus the special needs of the, developing countries must be, taken into account in the, development, application, and, interpretation of rules of international environmental law. This, argument was accepted in the Rio, Declaration at the Earth Summit, in 1992 and is called the principle, of ‘common but differentiated, responsibilities’., The relevant part of the Rio, Declaration says that “States, shall cooperate in the spirit of, global partnership to conserve,, protect and restore the health, and integrity of the Earth’s, ecosystem. In view of the different, contributions of global environmental, degradation, states have common, but differentiated responsibilities., The, developed, countries, acknowledge the responsibility, , that they bear in the international, pursuit of sustainable development, in view of the pressures their, societies place on the global, environment and of the technological, and financial resources they, command.”, The 1992 United Nations, Framework Convention on, Climate Change (UNFCCC) also, provides that the parties should, act to protect the climate system, “on the basis of equity and in, accordance with their common but, differentiated responsibilities and, respective capabilities.” The, parties to the Convention agreed, that th e l a rg e s t s h a r e o f, historical and current global, emissions of greenhouse gases, h a s o r iginated in developed, countries., It, was, also, acknowledged that per capita, emissions in developing countries, are still relatively low. China,, India, and other developing, countries were, ther efore,, exempted from the requirements, of the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto, Protocol is an inter national, agreement setting targets for, industrialised countries to cut, their greenhouse gas emissions., Certain gases like Carbon, dioxide, Methane, Hydro-fluoro, carbons etc. are considered at, least partly responsible for global, war ming - the rise in global, temperature which may have, catastrophic consequences for, life on Earth. The protocol was, agreed to in 1997 in Kyoto in, Japan, based on principles set, out in UNFCCC., , That’s a cool, principle! A bit like, the reservation, policy in our country,, isn’t it?

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124, , Contemporary World Politics, , COMMON PROPERTY, RESOURCES, , I heard about some, rivers being sold in, Latin America. How, can common, property be sold?, , Common property represents, common property for the group., The underlying norm here is that, members of the group have both, rights and duties with respect to, the nature, levels of use, and the, maintenance of a given resource., Through mutual understanding, and centuries of practice, many, village communities in India, for, example, have defined members’, rights and responsibilities. A, combination of factors, including, privatisation, agricultural intensification, population growth and, ecosystem degradation have, caused common property to, dwindle in size, quality, and, , availability to the poor in much of, the world. The institutional, arrangement for the actual, management of the sacred groves, on state-owned forest land, appropriately fits the description, of a common property regime., Along the forest belt of South, India, sacred groves have been, traditionally managed by village, communities., , INDIA’S STAND ON, ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES, India signed and ratified the 1997, Kyoto Protocol in August 2002., India, China and other developing, countries were exempt from the, requirements of the Kyoto Protocol, because their contribution to the, , SACRED GROVES IN INDIA, Protecting nature for religious reasons is an ancient practice in many traditional societies. Sacred, groves in India (parcels of uncut forest vegetation in the name of certain deities or natural or, ancestral spirits) exemplify such practice. As a model of community-based resource management,, groves have lately gained attention in conservation literature. The sacred groves can be seen as a, system that informally forces traditional communities to harvest natural resources in an ecologically, sustained fashion. Some researchers believe that sacred groves hold the potential for preserving, not only biodiversity and ecological functions, but also cultural diversity., Sacred groves embody a rich set of forest preservation practices and they share characteristics, with common property resource systems. Their size ranges from clumps of a few trees to several, hundred acres. Traditionally, sacred groves have been valued for their embodied spiritual and, cultural attributes. Hindus commonly worshipped natural objects, including trees and groves. Many, temples have originated from sacred groves. Deep religious reverence for nature, rather than, resource scarcity, seems to be the basis for the long-standing commitment to preserving these, forests. In recent years, however, expansion and human settlement have slowly encroached on, sacred forests., In many places, the institutional identity of these traditional forests is fading with the advent of new, national forest policies. A real problem in managing sacred groves arises when legal ownership, and operational control are held by different entities. The two entities in question, the state and the, community, vary in their policy norms and underlying motives for using the sacred grove.

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125, , Environment and Natural Resources, , emission of greenhouse gases, during the industrialisation period, (that is believed to be causing, today’s global warming and climate, change) was not significant., However, the critics of the Kyoto, Protocol point out that sooner or, later, both India and China, along, with other developing countries,, will be among the leading, countributors to greenhouse gas, emission. At the G-8 meeting in, June 2005, India pointed out that, the per capita emission rates of the, developing countries are a tiny, fraction of those in the developed, world. Following the principle of, common but dif ferentiated, responsibility, India is of the view, , that the major responsibility of, curbing emission rests with the, developed countries, which have, accumulated emissions over a long, period of time., India’s international negotiating, position relies heavily on, principles, of, historical, responsibility, as enshrined in, UNFCCC. This acknowledges that, developed countries are responsible, for most historical and current, greenhouse emissions, and, emphasizes that ‘economic and, social development are the first, and overriding priorities of the, developing country parties’. So, India is wary of recent discussions, , I get it! First they, destroyed the earth,, now it is our turn to, do the same! Is that, our stand?

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126, , Contemporary World Politics, , within UNFCCC about introducing, binding commitments on rapidly, industrialising countries (such as, Brazil, China and India) to reduce, their greenhouse gas emissions., India feels this contravenes the, very spirit of UNFCCC. Neither, does it seem fair to impose, restrictions on India when the, country’s rise in per capita carbon, emissions by 2030 is likely to still, represent less than half the world, average of 3.8 tonnes in 2000., Indian emissions are predicted to, rise from 0.9 tonnes per capita in, 2000 to 1.6 tonnes per capita in, 2030., The Indian government is, already participating in global, ef forts through a number of, programmes. For example, India’s, National Auto-fuel Policy, mandates cleaner fuels for, vehicles. The Energy Conservation, Act, passed in 2001, outlines, initiatives to improve energy, efficiency. Similarly, the Electricity, Act of 2003 encourages the use of, renewable energy. Recent trends, in importing natural gas and, encouraging the adoption of clean, coal technologies show that India, has been making real efforts. The, government is also keen to launch, a National Mission on Biodiesel,, using about 11 million hectares, of land to produce biodiesel by, 2011–2012. And India has one of, the largest renewable energy, programmes in the world., A review of the implementation, of the agreements at the Earth, Summit in Rio was undertaken by, India in 1997. One of the key, , conclusions was that there had, been no meaningful progress with, respect to transfer of new and, additional financial resources and, environmentally-sound technology, on concessional ter ms to, developing nations. India finds it, necessary that developed, countries take immediate, measures to provide developing, countries with financial resources, and clean technologies to enable, them to meet their existing, commitments under UNFCCC., India is also of the view that the, SAARC countries should adopt a, common position on major global, environment issues, so that the, region’s voice carries greater, weight., , ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENTS:, ONE OR MANY?, We have, so far, looked at the way, governments have reacted at the, international level to the challenge, of environmental degradation. But, some of the most significant, responses to this challenge have, come not from the governments, but rather from groups of environmentally conscious volunteers, working in different parts of the, world. Some of them work at the, international level, but most of, them work at the local level. These, environmental movements are, amongst the most vibrant,, diverse, and power ful social, movements across the globe, today. It is within social movements, that new forms of political action, are born or reinvented. These

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127, , Environment and Natural Resources, , movements raise new ideas and, long-term visions of what we, should do and what we should not, do in our individual and collective, lives. Here are just a few, examples to show that diversity, is an important trait of, contemporary environmental, movements., , examples) are faced with enormous, pressures. Forest clearing in the, Third World continues at an, alarming rate, despite three, decades of environmental activism., The destruction of the world’s last, remaining grand forests has, actually increased in the last, decade., , The forest movements of the, South, in Mexico, Chile, Brazil,, Malaysia, Indonesia, continental, Africa and India (just to list a few, , The minerals industry is one, of the most powerful forms of, industry on the planet. A large, number of economies of the South, , Let’s find, out about, ‘Chipko, Movement’., , What distinguishes the forest movements of the South from, those of the North is that the forests of the former are still, peopled, whilst the forests of the latter are more or less, devoid of human habitat or, at least, are perceived as thus., This explains to some extent the prevailing notion of, wilderness in the North as a ‘wild place’ where people do, not live. In this perspective, humans are not seen as part of, nature. In other words, ‘environment’ is perceived as, ‘somewhere out there’, as something that should be, protected from humans through the creation of parks and, reserves. On the other hand, most environmental issues in, the South are based on the assumption that people live in, the forests., Wilderness-oriented perspectives have been predominant, in Australia, Scandinavia, North America and New Zealand., In these regions, there are still large tracts of relatively, ‘underdeveloped wilderness’, unlike in most European, countries. This is not to say that wilderness campaigns are, entirely missing in the South. In the Philippines, green, organisations fight to protect eagles and other birds of prey, Do you agree with the efforts, from extinction. In India, a battle goes on to protect the, made by ecologists? Do you, alarmingly low number of Bengal tigers. In Africa, a long, agree with the way ecologists are, campaign has been waged against the ivory trade and, portrayed here?, the savage slaughter of elephants. Some of the most famous, wilderness struggles have been fought in the forests of Brazil, and Indonesia. All of these campaigns focus on individual species as well as the conservation of the, wilderness habitats, which support them. Many of the wilderness issues have been renamed biodiversity, issues in recent times, as the concept of wilderness has been proved difficult to sell in the South. Many, of these campaigns have been initiated and funded by NGOs such as the Worldwide Wildlife Fund, (WWF), in association with local people., , © Ares, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , ARE FORESTS “WILDERNESS”?

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128, , An entire, community erupted, in protests against a, proposed opencast coal mine, project in Phulbari, town, in the NorthWest district of, Dinajpur,, Bangladesh. Here, several dozen, women, one with, her infant child, are, chanting slogans, against the, proposed coal mine, project in 2006., , Contemporary World Politics, , are now being re-opened, to MNCs through the, liberalisation of the, global economy. The, mineral industry’s, extraction of earth, its, use of chemicals, its, pollution of waterways, and land, its clearance, of native vegetation, its, displacement of communities,, amongst other factors, continue, to invite criticism and resistance, in various parts of the globe. One, good example is that of the, Philippines, where a vast network, of groups and organisations, campaigned against the Western, Mining Corporation (WMC), an, Australia-based multinational, company. Much opposition to the, company in its own country,, Australia, is based on anti-nuclear, sentiments and advocacy for the, basic rights of Australian, indigenous peoples., Another group of movements, are those involved in struggles, against mega-dams. In every, country where a mega-dam is, being built, one is likely to find, an environmental movement, opposing it. Increasingly anti-dam, movements, are, pro-river, movements for more sustainable, and equitable management of river, systems and valleys. The early, 1980s saw the first anti-dam, movement launched in the North,, namely, the campaign to save the, Franklin River and its surrounding, forests in Australia. This was a, wilderness and forest campaign as, well as anti-dam campaign. At, , present, there has been a spurt in, mega-dam building in the South,, from Turkey to Thailand to South, Africa, from Indonesia to China., India has had some of the leading, anti-dam, pro-river movements., Narmada Bachao Andolan is one, of the best known of these, movements. It is significant to note, that, in anti-dam and other, environmental movements in, India, the most important shared, idea is non-violence., , RESOURCE GEOPOLITICS, Resource geopolitics is all about, who gets what, when, where and, how. Resources have provided, some of the key means and motives, of global European power, expansion. They have also been the, focus of inter-state rivalry. Western, geopolitical thinking about, resources has been dominated by, the relationship of trade, war and, power, at the core of which were, overseas resources and maritime, navigation. Since sea power itself, rested on access to timber, naval, timber supply became a key, priority for major European powers, from the 17th century onwards., The critical importance of ensuring, uninterrupted supply of strategic, resources, in particular oil, was, well established both during the, First World War and the Second, World War., Throughout the Cold War the, industrialised countries of the, North adopted a number of, methods to ensure a steady flow, of resources. These included the

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129, , deployment of military forces near, exploitation sites and along sealanes of communication, the, stockpiling of strategic resources,, ef forts to prop up friendly, gover nments in pr oducing, countries, as well as support to, multinational companies and, favourable, international, agreements. Traditional Western, strategic thinking remained, concerned with access to, supplies, which might be, threatened by the Soviet Union. A, particular concern was Western, control of oil in the Gulf and, strategic minerals in Southern, and Central Africa. After the end, of the Cold War and the, disintegration of the Soviet Union,, the security of supply continues, to worry government and, business decisions with regard to, several minerals, in particular, radioactive materials. However,, oil continues to be the most, important resource in global strategy., The global economy relied on, oil for much of the 20th century, as a portable and indispensable, fuel. The immense wealth, associated with oil generates, political struggles to control it,, and the history of petroleum is, also the history of war and, struggle. Nowhere is this more, obviously the case than in West, Asia and Central Asia. West Asia,, specifically the Gulf region,, accounts for about 30 per cent of, global oil production. But it has, about 64 percent of the planet’s, known reserves, and is therefore, the only region able to satisfy any, , © Andy Singer, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , Environment and Natural Resources, , substantial rise in oil demand., Saudi Arabia has a quarter of the, world’s total reserves and is the, single largest producer. Iraq’s, known reserves are second only, to Saudi Arabia’s. And, since, substantial portions of Iraqi, territory are yet to be fully, explored, there is a fair chance, that actual reserves might be far, larger. The United States, Europe,, Japan, and increasingly India and, China, which consume this, petroleum, are located at a, considerable distance from the, region., Water is another crucial, resource that is relevant to global

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130, , Contemporary World Politics, , EVERYONE IS PLAYING CRUDE!, "The list of petroleum based products in our lives is endless. Toothbrush, pacemaker,, paints, inks, ....Oil provides the energy for 95 per cent of the world's transportation needs., The whole industrialised world survives on petroleum. We cannot imagine living without it., There are billions of barrels of it under the earth for us to use. Yet there are disputes, between countries. Why here is one of the problems", I belong to the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Black Gold. I am, what they call filthy rich. Ever since black gold was found in my, Kingdom things have never been the same again. Mr. Bigoil and, his government came prospecting one day. We struck oil...and a, deal. They armed me to the teeth till it hurt. So when I grin my, subjects look at me with awe. In return Bigoil and sons get to buy, all my oil and loyalty. I am happy and rich and so are they. I turn my, blind eye to their military in this holy land., I value precious things. Bigoil says his President values, freedom and democracy. So I keep both safely under lock and, key in my land., , Mr. Bigoil, CEO of Bigoil and sons, , Sheikh Petrodollah, King of the land of Black Gold, , As advised, I did ask myself what can I do for my country. My country has, an enormous appetite for oil. So ...provide it with oil of course! I believe in, the free market system. Free to dig up oil in far away countries, free to, create pliable tin-pot dictators to keep local populations at bay and free to, destroy ecology., We play no politics but pay them at election campaigns and get them, to invest in our company. That way we don't have to embarrass ourselves, by foolishly waving and smiling at TV cameras., , Leading the good life, A new beauty is parked outside our garage. Awesome! Isn't it?..., sleek chrome finish, power steering, automatic gears. Excellent, pick up and great mileage too. It is low on emissions too...gentle, on the atmosphere, you know. Global warming and all that stuff., Now we really are in hurry to zoom off and lead the good life...God, Save Everyone!...vvrrroooommmmm, , Mr & Mrs Gobbledoo, , Toppleton defends freedom and democracy. That's why he is so generous with guns, and missiles. Like the ones he gave us to fight the invading Ruffians. He even, trained us. We did not realise that it was the oil they were after. Bigoil is always trying, to woo us. But we are too busy playing war games. Now we have rules of our own., Toppleton's govt. kept changing its rules. Not fair we said. Some of us now hate, Toppleton, his government and his people. Of course their bullets and missiles, come in handy when we have to beat them at their game., , Errorists, Loose cannonballs, , Make no mistake, we are Errorists., , Adapted from http://www.gobartimes.org/gt_covfeature2.htm

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131, , Environment and Natural Resources, , (lower riparian) state’s objection, to pollution, excessive irrigation,, or the construction of dams by an, upstream (upper riparian) state,, which might decrease or degrade, the quality of water available to, the downstream state. States, have used force to protect or, seize freshwater resources., Examples of violence include, those between Israel, Syria, and, Jordan in the 1950s and 1960s, over attempts by each side to, divert water from the Jordan and, Yarmuk Rivers, and more recent, threats between Turkey, Syria,, and Iraq over the construction of, dams on the Euphrates River. A, number of studies show that, countries that share rivers — and, many countries do share rivers —, are involved in military conflicts, with each other., © Ares, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , The larger part of the Earth is water than, the land and yet the cartoonist decides, to show larger image of the land than, water. How does the image show the, scarcity of water?, , politics. Regional variations and, the increasing scarcity of, freshwater in some parts of the, world point to the possibility of, disagreements over shared water, resources as a leading source of, conflicts in the 21st century., Some commentators on world, politics have referred to ‘water, wars’ to describe the possibility, of violent conflict over this lifesustaining resource. Countries that, share rivers can disagree over, many things. For instance, a typical, disagreement is a downstream, , THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, AND THEIR RIGHTS, The question of indigenous, people brings the issues of, environment, resources and, politics together. The UN defines, indigenous populations as, comprising the descendants of, peoples who inhabited the, present territory of a country at, the time when persons of a, different culture or ethnic origin, arrived there from other parts of, the world and overcame them., Indigenous people today live more, in conformity with their particular, social, economic, and cultural, customs and traditions than the, institutions of the country of, which they now form a part., , How are these, conflicts different, from the many water, conflicts within our, own country?

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132, , Contemporary World Politics, , Why don’t we hear, much about the, indigenous people, and their, movements? Is the, media biased, against them?, , The indigenous voices in world, politics call for the admission of, indigenous people to the world, community as equals. Indigenous, people occupy areas in Central, and South America, Africa, India, (where they are known as Tribals), and Southeast Asia. Many of the, , © Ares, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , In the context of world politics,, what are the common interests of, approximately, 30, crore, indigenous peoples spread, throughout the world including, India? There are 20 lakh, indigenous people of the, Cordillera region of the, Philippines, 10 lakh Mapuche, people of Chile, six lakh tribal, people of the Chittagong Hill, Tracts in Bangladesh, 35 lakh, North American natives, 50,000, Kuna living east of Panama Canal, and 10 lakh Small Peoples of the, Soviet North. Like other social, movements, indigenous people, speak of their struggles, their, agenda and their rights., , present day island states in the, Oceania region (including, Australia and New Zealand),, were inhabited by the Polynesian,, Melanesian and Micronesian, people over the course of, thousands of years. They appeal, to governments to come to terms, with the continuing existence of, indigenous nations as enduring, communities with an identity of, their, own., ‘Since, times, immemorial’ is the phrase used by, indigenous people all over the, world to refer to their continued, occupancy of the lands from, which they originate. The, worldviews of indigenous, societies, irrespective of their, geographical location, are, strikingly similar with respect to, land and the variety of life systems, supported by it. The loss of land,, which also means the loss of an, economic resource base, is the, , Spoonful of Ecology, Do you agree with this perspective, where a man from an urban, (developed!) area becomes greedy for, nature?

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133, , Environment and Natural Resources, , most obvious threat to the, survival of indigenous people., Can political autonomy be enjoyed, without its attachment to the, means of physical survival?, In India, the description, ‘indigenous people’ is usually, applied to the Scheduled Tribes, who constitute nearly eight per, cent of the population of the, country. With the exception of, small communities of hunters and, gatherers, most indigenous, populations in India depend for, their subsistence primarily on the, cultivation of land. For centuries,, if not millennia, they had free, access to as much land as they, could cultivate. It was only after, the establishment of the British, colonial rule that areas, which had, previously been inhabited by the, Scheduled Tribe communities,, were subjected to outside forces., Although, they, enjoy, a, constitutional protection in, political representation, they have, not got much of the benefits of, development in the country. In, fact they have paid a huge cost, for development since they are the, single largest group among the, people displaced by various, developmental projects since, independence., Issues related to the rights of, the indigenous communities have, been neglected in domestic and, international politics for very long., During the 1970s, growing, international contacts among, indigenous leaders from around, the world aroused a sense of, common concern and shared, , experiences. The World Council of Indigenous, Peoples was formed in 1975. The Council, became subsequently the first of 11 indigenous, NGOs to receive consultative status in the UN., Many of the movements against globalisation,, discussed in Chapter 9, have focussed on the, rights of the indigenous people., , STEPS, ‹ Each student is asked to list any ten items they, consume/use every day., (The list could include — pen/paper/eraser/, computer/water etc.), , ‹ Ask students to calculate the amount of natural, resources being used to make these items. (For, finished products like pen/pencil/computer, etc., students will calculate the amount of, resources and for items like water they could, calculate the amount of electricity used for, purifying and pumping along with gallons of, water). Each would calculate and arrive at an, approximate figure., Ideas for the Teacher, Collect the approximate figures from each student and, sum up all to arrive at total resources consumed by the, students of that particular class. (Teacher is to act as a, facilitator and allow students to do the calculations.), Project this figure to other classes of the same school, then, to schools across the country. The country figure could be, used to measure the amount of resources being used by, schools in other countries too. (The teacher is to have, background information about the resources being used, by students in a few select countries. While selecting, countries, teacher should ensure that the selected countries, belong to the developed / developing countries category)., Ask students to imagine the amount of resources we are, consuming and also to estimate future consumption.

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134, , Contemporary World Politics, , E x e r c i s e s, , 1., , 2., , 3., , Which among the following best explains the reason for growing, concerns about the environment?, a., , The developed countries are concerned about protecting nature., , b., , Protection of the environment is vital for indigenous people and, natural habitats., , c., , The environmental degradation caused by human activities has, become pervasive and has reached a dangerous level., , d., , None of the above., , Mark correct or wrong against each of the following statements below, that describe the Earth Summit:, a., , It was attended by 170 countries, thousands of NGOs and many, MNCs., , b., , The summit was held under the aegis of the UN., , c., , For the first time, global environmental issues were firmly, consolidated at the political level., , d., , It was a summit meeting., , Which among the following are TRUE about the global commons?, a., , The Earth’s atmosphere, Antarctica, ocean floor and outer space, are considered as part of the global commons., , b., , The global commons are outside sovereign jurisdiction., , c., , The question of managing the global commons has reflected the, North-South divide., , d., , The countries of the North are more concerned about the, protection of the global commons than the countries of the South., , 4., , What were the outcomes of the Rio Summit?, , 5., , What is meant by the global commons? How are they exploited and, polluted?, , 6., , What is meant by ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’? How, could we implement the idea?, , 7., , Why have issues related to global environmental protection become, the priority concern of states since the 1990s?, , 8., , Compromise and accommodation are the two essential policies, required by states to save planet Earth. Substantiate the statement in, the light of the ongoing negotiations between the North and South, on environmental issues., , 9., , The most serious challenge before the states is pursuing economic, development without causing further damage to the global, environment. How could we achieve this? Explain with a few examples.

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OVERVIEW, In this final chapter of the book we, look at globalisation, something, that has been referred to in many, chapters of this book and textbooks, of many other subjects. We begin, by analysing the concept of, globalisation and then examine its, causes. We then discuss at length, the political, economic and cultural, consequences of globalisation. Our, interest is also in studying the, impact of globalisation on India as, well as how India is affecting, globalisation. We finally draw, attention to resistance to, globalisation and how social, movements in India also form part, of this resistance., , Chapter 9, , Globalisation

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136, , Contemporary World Politics, , THE CONCEPT OF, GLOBALISATION, , So many Nepalese, workers come to, India to work. Is that, globalisation?, , Go through, newspapers, for a week, and collect, clippings on, anything, related to, globalisation., , Janardhan works in a call centre., He leaves late in the evening for, work, becomes John when he, enters his office, acquires a new, accent and speaks a different, language (than he does when he is, at home) to communicate with his, clients who are living thousands, of miles away. He works all night,, which is actually day time for his, overseas customers. Janardhan is, rendering a service to somebody, who in all probability he is never, likely to meet physically. This is his, daily routine. His holidays also do, not correspond to the Indian, calendar but to those of his clients, who happen to be from the US., Ramdhari has gone shopping, to buy a birthday gift for his, nine-year old daughter. He has, promised her a small cycle and, decides to search the market for, something he finds affordable as, well as of reasonable quality. He, finally does buy a cycle, which, is actually manufactured in, China but is being marketed in, India. It meets his requirements, of quality as well as affordability,, and Ramdhari decides to go, ahead with his purchase. Last, year, Ramdhari on his daughter’s, insistence had bought her a, Barbie doll, which was originally, manufactured in the US but was, being sold in India., Sarika is a first generation, learner who has done remarkably, well throughout her school and, college life by working very hard., , She now has an opportunity to, take on a job and begin an, independent career, which the, women of her family had never, dreamt of earlier. While some of, her relatives are opposed, she, finally decides to go ahead, because of the new opportunities, that have been made available to, her generation., All three examples illustrate an, aspect each of what we call, globalisation. In the first instance, Janardhan was participating in the, globalisation, of, services., Ramdhari’s birthday purchases tell, us something about the movement, of commodities from one part of, the world to another. Sarika is, faced with a conflict of values, partly originating from a new, opportunity that earlier was not, available to the women in her, family but today is part of a reality, that, has, gained, wider, acceptability., If we look for examples of the, use of the term ‘globalisation’ in, real life, we will realise that it is, used in various contexts. Let us, look at some examples, different, from the ones that we have looked, above:, Some far mers committed, suicide because their crops, failed. They had bought very, expensive seeds supplied by a, multinational, company, (MNC)., An Indian company bought a, major rival company based in, Europe, despite protests by, some of the current owners.

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Globalisation, , Many retail shopkeepers fear, that they would lose their, livelihoods if some major, international companies open, retail chains in the country., A film producer in Mumbai, was accused of lifting the story, of his film from another film, made in Hollywood., , 137, This chapter has, a series of images, about, political,, economic, and, cultural aspects of, globalisation, taken, from different parts, of the world., , A militant group issued a, statement threatening college, girls who wear wester n, clothes., These examples show us that, globalisation need not always be, positive; it can have negative, consequences for the people., Indeed, there are many who, believe that globalisation has, more negative consequences than, positive. These examples also, show us that globalisation need, not be only about the economic, issues, nor is the direction of, influence always from the rich to, the poor countries., Since much of the usage tends, to be imprecise, it becomes, important to clarify what we mean, by globalisation. Globalisation as, a concept fundamentally deals, with flows. These flows could be of, various kinds — ideas moving from, one part of the world to another,, capital shunted between two or, more places, commodities being, traded across borders, and people, moving in search of better, livelihoods to different parts of the, world. The crucial element is the, ‘worldwide interconnectedness’, that is created and sustained as a, consequence of these constant, flows., , Much of the Chinese, stuff that comes to, India is smuggled., Does globalisation, lead to smuggling?

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138, , Isn’t globalisation a, new name for, imperialism? Why do, we need a new, name?, , Contemporary World Politics, , Globalisation is a multidimensional concept. It has, political, economic and cultural, manifestations, and these must be, adequately distinguished. It is, wrong, to, assume, that, globalisation has purely economic, dimensions, just as it would also, be mistaken to assume that it is a, purely cultural phenomenon. The, impact of globalisation is vastly, uneven — it affects some societies, more than others and some parts, of some societies more than others, — and it is important to avoid, drawing general conclusions, about the impact of globalisation, without paying sufficient attention, to specific contexts., , © Ares, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , CAUSES OF GLOBALISATION, , Digital Economy, , What accounts for globalisation?, If globalisation is about the flows, of ideas, capital, commodities, and, people, it is perhaps logical to ask, if there is anything novel, about this phenomenon., Globalisation in terms of, these four flows along has, taken place through much, of human history. However,, those who argue that there, is something distinct about, contemporary globalisation, point out that it is the scale, and speed of these flows, that account for the, uniqueness of globalisation, in the contemporary era., Globalisation has a strong, historical basis, and it is, important to view contemporary flows against this, backdrop., , While globalisation is not, caused by any single factor,, technology remains a critical, element. There is no doubt that, the invention of the telegraph,, the telephone, and the microchip, in more recent times has, revolutionised communication, between actors in different parts, of the world. When printing, initially came into being it laid, the basis for the creation of, nationalism. So also today we, should expect that technology, will affect the way we think of, our personal but also our, collective lives., The ability of ideas, capital,, commodities and people to move, more easily from one part of the, world to another has been made, possible largely by technological, advances. The pace of these flows, may vary. For instance, the, movement of capital and, commodities will most likely be, quicker and wider than the, movement of peoples across, different parts of the world., Globalisation, however, does, not emerge merely because of, the availability of improved, communications. What is, important is for people in, different parts of the world to, recognise these interconnections, with the rest of the world., Currently, we are aware of the, fact that events taking place in, one part of the world could have, an impact on another part of the, world. The Bird flu or tsunami, is not confined to any particular, nation. It does not respect, national boundaries. Similarly,

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Globalisation, , when major economic events, take place, their impact is felt, outside their immediate local,, national or regional environment, at the global level., , POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES, One of the debates that has been, generated as a consequence of, contemporary processes of, globalisation relates to its ongoing, political impact. How does, globalisation affect traditional, conceptions of state sovereignty?, There are at least three aspects, that we need to consider when, answering this question., At the most simple level,, globalisation results in an erosion, of state capacity, that is, the, ability of government to do what, they do. All over the world, the old, ‘welfare state’ is now giving way, to a more minimalist state that, performs certain core functions, such as the maintenance of law, and order and the security of its, citizens. However, it withdraws, from many of its earlier welfare, functions directed at economic, and social well-being. In place of, the welfare state, it is the market, that becomes the prime, determinant of economic and, social priorities. The entry and the, increased role of multinational, companies all over the world leads, to a reduction in the capacity of, governments to take decisions on, their own., At the same time, globalisation, does not always reduce state, capacity. The primacy of the state, , 139

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140, , Contemporary World Politics, , continues to be the unchallenged, basis of political community. The, old jealousies and rivalries, between countries have not ceased, to matter in world politics. The, state continues to discharge its, essential functions (law and order,, national security) and consciously, withdraws from certain domains, from which it wishes to. States, continue to be important., , © Milt Priggee, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , Indeed, in some respects state, capacity has received a boost as a, consequence of globalisation, with, enhanced technologies available, at the disposal of the state to, collect infor mation about its, citizens. With this information, the, state is better able to rule, not less, able. Thus, states become more, powerful than they were earlier as, an outcome of the new technology., , ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES, While everything may not be, known about the economic facets, of globalisation, this particular, dimension shapes a large part of, the content and direction of, contemporary debates surrounding, globalisation., A part of the problem has to, do with defining economic, globalisation itself. The mention of, economic globalisation draws our, attention immediately to the role, of international institutions like, the IMF and the WTO and the role, they play in determining economic, policies across the world. Yet,, globalisation must not be viewed, in such narrow terms. Economic, globalisation involves many actors, other than these international, institutions. A much broader way, of understanding of economic, globalisation requires us to look at, the distribution of economic gains,, i.e. who gets the most from, globalisation and who gets less,, indeed who loses from it., What is often called economic, globalisation usually involves, greater economic flows among, different countries of the world., Some of this is voluntary and, some forced by international, institutions and power ful, countries. As we saw in the, examples at the beginning of this, chapter, this flow or exchange can, take various forms: commodities,, capital, people and ideas., Globalisation has involved greater, trade in commodities across the, globe; the restrictions imposed by

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Globalisation, , 141, , different countries on allowing the, imports of other countries have, been reduced. Similarly, the, restrictions on movement of, capital across countries have also, been reduced. In operational, terms, it means that investors in, the rich countries can invest their, money in countries other than, their own, including developing, countries, where they might get, better returns. Globalisation has, also led to the flow of ideas across, national boundaries. The spread of, internet and computer related, services is an example of that. But, globalisation has not led to the, same degree of increase in the, movement of people across the, globe. Developed countries have, carefully guarded their borders, with visa policies to ensure that, citizens of other countries cannot, take away the jobs of their own, citizens., In thinking about the, consequences of globalisation, it, is necessary to keep in mind that, the same set of policies do not lead, to the same results everywhere., While globalisation has led to, similar economic policies adopted, by governments in different parts, of the world, this has generated, vastly dif ferent outcomes in, different parts of the world. It is, again crucial to pay attention to, specific context rather than make, simple generalisations in this, connection., Economic globalisation has, created an intense division of, opinion all over the world. Those, who are concerned about social, , When we talk about, ‘safety net’ it means, that we expect some, people to fall down, because of, globalisation. Isn’t, that right?

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142, , Contemporary World Politics, , Advocates of economic, globalisation argue that it, generates greater economic, growth and well-being for larger, sections of the population when, there is de-regulation. Greater, trade among countries allows each, economy to do what it does best., This would benefit the whole, world. They also argue that, economic globalisation is inevitable, and it is not wise to resist the, march of history. More moderate, supporters of globalisation say that, globalisation provides a challenge, that can be responded to, intelligently without accepting it, uncritically. What, however, cannot, , be denied is the increased, momentum towards inter dependence and integration, between governments, businesses,, and ordinary people in different, parts of the world as a result of, globalisation., , CULTURAL CONSEQUENCES, The consequences of globalisation, are not confined only to the sphere, of politics and economy., Globalisation affects us in our, home, in what we eat, drink, wear, and indeed in what we think. It, shapes what we think are our, preferences. The cultural effect of, globalisation leads to the fear that, this process poses a threat to, cultures in the world. It does so,, because globalisation leads to the, rise of a uniform culture or what, is called cultural homogenisation., The rise of a uniform culture is, not the emergence of a global, culture. What we have in the name, , Invading new markets, , © Andy Singer, Cagle Cartoons Inc., , Make a list of, products of, multinational, companies, (MNCs) that, are used by, you or your, family., , justice are worried about the, extent of state withdrawal caused, by processes of economic, globalisation. They point out that, it is likely to benefit only a small, section of the population while, impoverishing those who were, dependent on the government for, jobs and welfare (education,, health, sanitation, etc.). They have, emphasised the need to ensure, institutional safeguards or, creating ‘social safety nets’ to, minimise the negative effects of, globalisation on those who are, economically weak. Many, movements all over the world feel, that safety nets are insufficient or, unworkable. They have called for, a halt to forced economic, globalisation, for its results would, lead to economic ruin for the, weaker countries, especially for, the poor within these countries., Some economists have described, economic globalisation as recolonisation of the world.

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Globalisation, , of a global culture is the, imposition of Western culture on, the rest of the world. We have, already studied this phenomenon, as the soft power of US hegemony, in Chapter 3. The popularity of a, burger or blue jeans, some argue,, has a lot to do with the powerful, influence of the American way of, life. Thus, the culture of the, politically and economically, dominant society leaves its, imprint on a less powerful society,, and the world begins to look more, like the dominant power wishes, it to be. Those who make this, argument often draw attention to, the ‘McDonaldisation’ of the, world, with cultures seeking to, buy into the dominant American, dream. This is dangerous not only, for the poor countries but for the, whole of humanity, for it leads to, the shrinking of the rich cultural, heritage of the entire globe., At the same time, it would be, a mistake to assume that cultural, consequences of globalisation are, only negative. Cultures are not, static things. All cultures accept, outside influences all the time., Some external influences are, negative because they reduce our, choices. But sometimes external, influences simply enlarge our, choices, and sometimes they, modify our culture without, overwhelming the traditional. The, burger is no substitute for a, masala dosa and, therefore, does, not pose any real challenge. It is, simply added on to our food, choices. Blue jeans, on the other, hand, can go well with a, homespun khadi kurta. Here the, , 143, , Why are we scared, of Western culture?, Are we not confident, of our own culture?, , Make a list of all, the known, ‘dialects’ of, your language., Consult people, of your, grandparents’, generation, about this. How, many people, speak those, dialects today?

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144, , Contemporary World Politics, , outcome of outside influence is a, new combination that is unique —, a khadi kurta worn over jeans., Interestingly, this clothing, combination has been exported, back to the country that gave us, blue jeans so that it is possible to, see young Americans wearing a, kurta and jeans!, , INDIA AND GLOBALISATION, , While cultural homogenisation, is an aspect of globalisation, the, same process also generates, precisely the opposite effect. It, leads to each culture becoming, more different and distinctive. This, phenomenon is called cultural, heterogenisation. This is not to, deny that there remain differences, in power when cultures interact, but instead more fundamentally to, suggest that cultural exchange is, rarely one way., , During the colonial period, as, a consequence of Britain’s, imperial ambitions, India became, an exporter of primary goods and, raw materials and a consumer of, finished goods. After independence,, because of this experience with, the British, we decided to make, things ourselves rather than, relying on others. We also decided, not to allow others to export to us, so that our own producers could, lear n to make things. This, ‘protectionism’ generated its own, problems. While some advances, were made in certain arenas,, critical sectors such as health,, housing and primary education, did not receive the attention they, deserved. India had a fairly, sluggish rate of economic growth., , ‘Gosh, an Indian again!’, , An insider’s view of a call centre job, Working in a call centre, in fact, can be enlightening in its, own way. As you handle calls from Americans, you get an, insight into the true American culture. An average American, comes out as more lively and honest than we imagine…, However, not all calls and conversations are pleasant. You, can also receive irate and abusive callers. Sometimes the, hatred that they exhibit in their tone on knowing that their, call has been routed to India is very stressful. Americans tend, to perceive every Indian as one who has denied them their, rightful job..., One can receive a call, beginning on the lines of “I spoke, to a South African a few minutes ago and now I’m speaking, to an Indian!” or “Oh gosh, an Indian again! Connect me to, an American please...”. It’s difficult to find the right response, in situations of this kind., Source: Report by Ranjeetha Urs in The Hindu, 10 January 2005., , We said earlier that globalisation, has occurred in earlier periods in, history in different parts of the, world. Flows pertaining to the, movement of capital, commodities,, ideas and people go back several, centuries in Indian history., , In 1991, responding to a, financial crisis and to the desire, for higher rates of economic, growth, India embarked on a, programme of economic reforms, that has sought increasingly to, de-regulate various sectors including, trade and foreign investment., While it may be too early to say, how good this has been for India,, the ultimate test is not high growth, rates as making sure that the, benefits of growth are shared so, that everyone is better off.

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Globalisation, , 145, , RESISTANCE TO, GLOBALISATION, We have already noted that, globalisation is a very contentious, subject and has invited strong, criticism all over the globe. Critics, of globalisation make a variety of, arguments. Those on the left argue, that contemporary globalisation, represents a particular phase of, global capitalism that makes the, rich richer (and fewer) and the poor, poorer. Weakening of the state, leads to a reduction in the capacity, of the state to protect the interest, of its poor. Critics of globalisation, from the political right express, anxiety over the political, economic, and cultural effects. In political, terms, they also fear the weakening, of the state. Economically, they, want a return to self-reliance and, protectionism, at least in certain, areas of the economy. Culturally,, they are worried that traditional, culture will be harmed and people, will lose their age-old values and, ways., It is important to note here, that anti-globalisation movements, too participate in global networks,, allying with those who feel like, them in other countries. Many, anti-globalisation movements are, not opposed to the idea of, globalisation per se as much as, they are opposed to a specific, programme of globalisation,, which they see as a for m of, imperialism., In 1999, at the World Trade, Organisation (WTO) Ministerial, Meeting there were widespread, , It is true sometimes, I like the new songs., Didn’t we all like to, dance a bit? Does it, really matter if it is, influenced by, western music?

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146, , Contemporary World Politics, , The activity enables students to understand how, globalisation has penetrated our lives and the, impact the all-inclusive nature of globalisation has, on an individual, a community and a nation as a, whole., , STEPS, ‹ Students are to list the names of products — food, products, white goods, and luxuries, they are, familiar with., , ‹ Students are to write down their favourite TV, programmes., , ‹ The teacher is to collect the list and consolidate., ‹ Divide the classroom (into convenient groups) and, assign each group a number of items (depends, on how exhaustive the list is) and TV programmes., , ‹ Let students find out who are the manufacturers of, the products they use everyday and the makers/, sponsors of their favourite TV programmes., , ‹ The teacher is to (by involving students) classify the, names of manufacturers and makers/sponsors, collected by students into three categories:, exclusive foreign companies; exclusive Indian, companies; and companies working in, collaboration., Ideas for the Teacher, The teacher is to debrief the students focussing on:, How globalisation has been impacting our lives., Drawing the attention of the students to different faces of, globalisation. As we use more foreign goods, our own small-scale, industries have been losing their customers and are closing down., The activity could be concluded by introducing students to the, ongoing debates about the impact of globalisation on the, developing and developed countries.

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147, , Globalisation, , protests at Seattle alleging unfair, trading practices by the, economically powerful states. It, was argued that the interests of, the developing world were not, given sufficient importance in the, evolving global economic system., The World Social Forum (WSF), is another global platform, which, brings together a wide coalition, composed of human rights, activists, environmentalists,, labour, youth and women activists, opposed to neo-liberal globalisation., The first WSF meeting was, organised in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2001. The fourth WSF meeting, was held in Mumbai in 2004. The, seventh WSF meeting was held in, Nairobi, Kenya in January 2007., , INDIA AND RESISTANCE, GLOBALISATION, , TO, , 1., , 2., , Resistance to globalisation has, also come from the political right., This has taken the for m of, objecting particularly to various, cultural influences — ranging from, the availability of foreign T.V., channels provided by cable, networks, celebration of Valentine’s, Day, and westernisation of the, dress tastes of girl students in, schools and colleges., , Which of the statements are TRUE about globalisation?, a., , Globalisation is purely an economic phenomenon., , b., , Globalisation began in 1991., , c., , Globalisation is the same thing as westernisation., , d., , Globalisation is a multi-dimensional phenomenon., , Which of the statements are TRUE about the impact of globalisation?, a., , Globalisation has been uneven in its impact on states and, societies., , b., , Globalisation has had a uniform impact on all states and, societies., , Exercises, , What has been India’s experience, in resisting globalisation? Social, movements play a role in helping, people make sense of the world, , around them and finding ways to, deal with matters that trouble, them. Resistance to globalisation, in India has come from different, quarters. There have been left, wing protests to economic, liberalisation voiced through, political parties as well as through, forums like the Indian Social, Forum. Trade unions of industrial, workforce as well as those, representing farmer interests have, organised protests against the, entry of multinationals. The, patenting of certain plants like, Neem by American and European, fir ms has also generated, considerable opposition.

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148, , Contemporary World Politics, , 3., , Exercises, , 4., , 5., , c., , The impact of globalisation has been confined to the political, sphere., , d., , Globalisation inevitably results in cultural homogeneity., , Which of the statements are TRUE about the causes of globalisation?, a., , Technology is an important cause of globalisation., , b., , Globalisation is caused by a particular community of people., , c., , Globalisation originated in the US., , d., , Economic interdependence alone causes globalisation., , Which of the statements are TRUE about globalisation?, a., , Globalisation is only about movement of commodities, , b., , Globalisation does not involve a conflict of values., , c., , Services are an insignificant part of globalisation., , d., , Globalisation is about worldwide interconnectedness., , Which of the statements are FALSE about globalisation?, a., , Advocates of globalisation argue that it will result in greater, economic growth., , b., , Critics of globalisation argue that it will result in greater, economic disparity., , c., , Advocates of globalisation argue that it will result in cultural, homogenisation., , d., , Critics of globalisation argue that it will result in cultural, homogenisation., , 6., , What is worldwide interconnectedness? What are its components?, , 7., , How has technology contributed to globalisation?, , 8., , Critically evaluate the impact of the changing role of the state in, the developing countries in the light of globalisation., , 9., , What are the economic implications of globalisation? How has, globalisation impacted on India with regard to this particular, dimension?, , 10., , Do you agree with the argument that globalisation leads to cultural, heterogeneity?, , 11., , How has globalisation impacted on India and how is India in turn, impacting on globalisation?

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150, , Contemporary World Politics, , Cartographers follow a convention, that puts North on the top and the, South at the bottom. This symbolic, representation of the ‘upside-down, map’ of South Asia invites us to, change our mental maps of the, region. It changes neither the present, day boundaries nor the locations of, places and peoples within South Asia, but provides new meanings to both., What strikes you about South Asia, when you look at this map? Does this, map say something about the, significance of the Indian Ocean to, the South Asia region?, , Credit: Himal Southasian, The Southasia Trust, Nepal, , That is exciting! What if we, did this not just to South, Asia but to the map of the, whole world?