NCERT NOTES

FOR POLITY
12th Standard
Contemporary World Politics
CONTENTS
The Cold War Era ........................................................................................................................... 1 - 8

The End of Bipolarity ................................................................................................................... 9 - 16

US Hegemony in World Politics ............................................................................................ 17 - 24

Alternative Centres of Power ................................................................................................ 25 - 34

Contemporary South Asia ...................................................................................................... 35 - 41

International Organisations .................................................................................................... 42 - 50

Security in the Contemporary World .................................................................................. 51 - 57

Environment and Natural Resources ................................................................................... 58 - 65

Globalization ............................................................................................................................... 66 - 69
 THE COLD WAR ERA
1
The Cold War referred to the competition, the tensions and a series of confrontations between the United
States and the Soviet Union, backed by their respective allies.
The Cold War along with power rivalries, military alliances, and balance of power was accompanied by a real
ideological conflict, a difference over the best and the most appropriate way of organizing 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.
The end of the Second World War was a major landmark in contemporary world politics, amongst other
outcomes it set the stage for the beginning of the Cold War.

End of the Second World War:

● 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 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.
● In 1945, the Allied Forces, led by the US, Soviet Union, Britain, and France declared victory over the
Axis Powers led by Germany, Italy and Japan, ending the Second World War (1939- 1945).
● Some opinions say that the US decision to drop atomic bombs was in fact a strategy to show the
Soviet Union that US was the supreme power and stop it from making gains in Asia and elsewhere.
● However, others have argued that supporters have argued that it was necessary to stop further loss of
lives and end the war quickly.

Results after end of the Second World War:

● 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.
● Concept of deterrence: Destruction caused by the use of atom bombs is too costly for any country to
bear. When two rival powers are in possession of nuclear weapons capable of inflicting death and
destruction unacceptable to each other, a full-fledged war is unlikely.
⮚ In this sense, the concept of deterrence was also a reason of a Cold War instead of a full-fledged
war.
⮚ The Cold War - despite 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.

The Emergence of Two Power Blocs:

After the second world war two world power blocs, led by the US and the USSR arose.

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Concept of Power Blocs:
● The two superpowers (US and USSR) were keen on expanding their spheres of influence in different
parts of the world.
● They came out with the alliance system, under which a state was supposed to remain tied to its
protective superpower to limit the influence of the other superpower and its allies in the surrounding
regions.
● The smaller states got the promise of protection, weapons, and economic aid against their local rivals,
mostly regional neighbors with whom they had rivalries.
● The alliance systems led by the two superpowers 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 'western' and the 'eastern' alliances.

Fig. 1.1: Map showing the way Europe was divided into rival alliances during the Cold War

Reasons for establishment of Alliance System:

● Material Reasons: Superpowers could gain access to vital resources, such as oil and minerals, territory
to establish military establishments, economic support, in that many small allies together could help
pay for military expenses.
● Ideological Reasons: The subscription of allies, to a particular ideology of either communism or
capitalism, proved that a particular ideology was superior and hence the superpower was winning.

Impacts:
● Formation of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): The western alliance was formalized into
an organization, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), established in April 1949.

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 ⮚ NATO 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.
● Warsaw Pact: The eastern alliance, came to be known as the Warsaw Pact, established in 1955.
⮚ Its principal function was to counter NATO's forces in Europe.
⮚ Europe became the main arena of conflict between the superpowers.
● In East and Southeast Asia and in West Asia (Middle East), the United States built an alliance system
called, Southeast Asian Treaty Organisation (SEATO) and the Central Treaty Organisation
(CENTO).
● The Soviet Union and communist China responded by having close relations with regional countries
such as North Vietnam, North Korea and Iraq.

Resistance to the Alliance System:

● The Cold War threatened to divide the world into two alliances. Under these circumstances, many of
the newly independent countries, were worried that they would lose their freedom.
● Communist China quarreled with the USSR towards the late 1950s, and, in 1969, they fought a brief
war over a territorial dispute.
● Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) also emerged as a new organization which gave the newly
independent countries a way of staying out of the alliances.

Benefits of smaller states for Superpowers:

The smaller states were helpful for the superpowers in gaining access to:
● Vital resources, such as oil and minerals,
● Territory, from where the superpowers could launch their weapons and troops,
● Locations from where they could spy on each other
● 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:

Arenas refer to the areas where crisis and war occurred or threatened to occur between the alliance
systems but did not cross certain limits. Certain such instances include:
● Confrontations happened in Korea (1950 - 53), Berlin (1958 - 62), the Congo (the early 1960s),
Vietnam and Afghanistan.
● Many lives were lost in these arenas however it did not lead to a full-scale nuclear war.

Impacts of these crises:

● Mutual suspicions led the alliances to arm themselves to constantly prepare for war.
● Huge stocks of arms were considered necessary to prevent wars from taking place.

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 ● The two sides understood that war might occur in spite of restraint.

Efforts at reducing Cold War crises:

● Non-aligned countries played a role in reducing Cold War conflicts and averting some grave crises.
⮚ Jawaharlal Nehru — one of the key 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.
● Most importantly, it was the realization on the part of the superpowers, that maximum restraint should
be followed in International Affairs and war to be avoided as far as possible.

Realization about Arms Control:

● Since the Cold War did not eliminate rivalries between the two alliances, for the time being therefore,
the US and USSR decided to collaborate in limiting or eliminating certain kinds of nuclear and non-
nuclear weapons.
● Thus, a system of 'arms control' was to be established.
● Starting in the 1960s, the two sides signed three significant agreements within a decade. These were:
⮚ Limited Test Ban Treaty
⮚ Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
⮚ Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty

Fig. 1.2: Arms Control Activities

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 ● Thereafter, the superpowers held several rounds of arms limitation talks and signed several more
treaties to limit their arms.

Cuban Missile Crisis:

● In April 1961, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was worried that the United States of
America (USA) would invade communist-ruled Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro, the president of the
nation.
● Cuba was an ally of the Soviet Union.
● Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union, decided to convert Cuba into a Russian base.

● In 1962, Khrushchev placed nuclear missiles in Cuba. The installations could be used to target the US
at their home. The US became aware of it and wanted to counter 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.
● Kennedy ordered American warships to intercept any Soviet ships heading to Cuba as a way of
warning the USSR of his seriousness. This came to be known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The prospects of this clash made the whole world nervous due to the confrontation between two nuclear
armed superpowers and the destructive capabilities with them.

Fig. 1.3 The Cold War Timeline

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Challenge to Bipolarity (NAM):
Bipolarity is a term used to describe the system of world order during Cold War, where Global Influence
was spread between two states of US and USSR.
● Non-Alignment, came as an alternative structure and provided newly decolonized countries an
alternative, of not joining any power bloc.
This, came in the form of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM):
● 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 supported by Indonesia's
Sukarno and Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah.
● These five leaders came to be known as the five founders of NAM.

Evolution of NAM:
● Three major factors contributed to the formation of NAM:
⮚ Cooperation among these five countries.
⮚ Growing Cold War tensions and its widening arenas
⮚ The dramatic entry of many newly decolonized African countries into the international arena.
● The first non-aligned summit was held in Belgrade in 1961, which led to its formal establishment
(attended by 25 member states). Over the years, the membership of NAM has expanded.
● As non-alignment grew into a popular international movement, countries of various different political
systems and interests joined it.
● The latest meeting, the 18th summit, was held in Azerbaijan in 2019. It included 120 member states
and 17 observer countries.

Purpose of NAM:
● Due to the membership of varied political systems, the movement became less homogeneous and it
became more difficult to define that what exactly NAM stood for.
● NAM was easier to define in terms of what it was not. It was not about being a member of an alliance.
● Non-Alignment is not isolationism since isolationism means remaining aloof from world affairs.
⮚ In comparison, the non-aligned countries, including India, played an active role in mediating
between the two rival alliances in the cause of peace and stability.
● Non-alignment is also not neutrality which refers principally to a policy of staying out of war.
⮚ States practicing 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.
● They also worked to prevent war between others and tried to end wars that had broken out.

New International Economic Order:

● A majority of Non-Aligned countries were categorized as the Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
● Economic development was also vital for the independence of the new countries.
● To remain free of influence in true sense, a country needs to be economically developed.

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 ● This realization led to the idea of a New International Economic Order (NIEO).
● Linked to this idea, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) brought
out a report in 1972 entitled Towards a New Trade Policy for Development.
● The report proposed a reform of the global trading system so as to:
⮚ Give the LDCs control over their natural resources exploited by the developed Western countries
⮚ Obtain access to Western markets so that the LDCs could sell their products and, therefore, make
trade more beneficial for the poorer countries.
⮚ Reduce the cost of technology from the Western countries.
⮚ Provide the LDCs with a greater role in international economic institutions.
Gradually, NAM started giving more importance to economic issues and slowly became an economic
pressure group. Although, by 1980s NIEO faded due to opposition from developed countries.

India in NAM during the Cold War:

India's response to Cold War was two-fold:
● Staying away from the two alliances.
● Raising voice against the newly decolonized countries becoming part of these alliances.
Also, as a leader of NAM, India's policy was not that of fleeing away from world affairs but involved active
participation in world affairs to ease out the rivalries. India played an active role, in preventing differences
to rise to a full-scale war. India also tried to involve other international organizations, which were not part
of the alliance system to partner in this pursuit.

Positive impacts of NAM on India:

● India could take a stand on global issues based on its own interests.
● India could tilt the balance in favor of one superpower if neglected by the other. Hence it could not be
bullied easily.

Criticism of India's NAM Policy:

● India's policy was unprincipled that is in the name of national interest, India did not speak upon some
crucial international issues.
● India's policy was inconsistent, while criticizing others for joining alliances, India itself signed a Treaty
of Friendship in August 1971 with the USSR for 20 years.
⮚ Government of India however holds that India needed diplomatic and possibly military support
during the Bangladesh crisis and hence signed the treaty.
With time and circumstances NAM has lost some of its' earlier relevance, however apart from being a
movement it was based upon the core ideas that small nations could become powerful if united and
democratization of international order to bridge inequalities.

Interesting Points:
A brief about the founding fathers of NAM:

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● Josip Broz Tito (1892-1980): 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,
decolonization, nuclear disarmament; advocated peaceful coexistence for securing world peace.
● Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918-70): Ruled Egypt from 1952 to 1970; espoused the causes of Arab
nationalism, socialism and anti-imperialism; nationalized the Suez Canal, leading to an international
conflict in 1956.
● Sukarno (1901-70): First President of Indonesia (1945- 67); led the freedom struggle; espoused the
causes of socialism and anti-imperialism; organised the Bandung Conference; overthrown in a military
coup
● Kwame Nkrumah (1909-72): First Prime Minister of Ghana (1952- 66); led the freedom movement;
advocated the causes of socialism and African unity; opposed neocolonialism; removed in a military
coup.
● Fat Man' and 'Little Boy': bombs dropped by the US on Hiroshima (the bomb was codenamed 'Little
Boy') and Nagasaki (code-named 'Fat Man'). The yield of Little Boy and Fat Man were 15 and 21
kilotons respectively.
● Division of Countries:

Fig. 1.4: First, second and Third world Countries

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 THE END OF BIPOLARITY
2
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 governments 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 and
resultantly an end to the bipolar world.

The Soviet System:

● 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.
● To do so, the makers of the Soviet system gave primacy to the state and the institution of the party.
● The Soviet political system centered around the communist party, and no other political party or
opposition was allowed.
● The economy was planned and controlled by the state.

Evolution of USSR:
● Eastern European countries which were liberated during the Second World War by USSR, now came
under its control.
● This group of countries came to be known as the Second World or 'Socialist Bloc' (with USSR as the
leader)
● The Warsaw Pact, a military alliance, held them together. The Soviet Union became a great power
after the Second World War.

Strengths of the Soviet System:

● The Soviet economy was then more developed than the rest of the world except for the US.
● Complex communications network, vast energy resources including oil, iron and steel, machinery
THE END OF BIPOLARITY

production, and developed transport sector existed.

● A vast and well diversified consumer goods industry existed.
● The Soviet state ensured a minimum standard of living for all citizens, and the government
subsidized necessities including health, education, childcare and other welfare schemes.
● There was no unemployment.
● Land and productive assets were owned and controlled by the Soviet state.

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Weaknesses of the Soviet System:
● The Soviet system became very bureaucratic and authoritarian.
● Lack of democracy and the absence of freedom of speech.
● 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 did not recognize the urge of diverse people of 15 republics that formed the Soviet Union to
let them manage their own affairs. Under USSR Russia dominated everything, and people from other
regions felt neglected and often suppressed.
● The arms race between US and USSR, costed a lot to the Soviet Economy.
● It lacked behind the West in technology, infrastructure (e.g., transport, power), and most importantly,
in fulfilling the political or economic aspirations of citizens.
● Invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 weakened their system 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.

Disintegration of the Soviet Union:

● Mikhail Gorbachev become General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985
and sought to reform the system.
● He started to normalize relations with the west and democratize the soviet system.
● When people from various Eastern European Countries started to protest against their own
governments, the central government did not intervene.
● Gorbachev, initiated policies of economic and political reforms, rooting for democratization. This led
to internal opposition from party leaders, and ultimately led to a coup in 1991.
● The people had learned about democracy and freedom, hence opposed the coupe and old-style
communist party rule.
● Boris Yeltsin emerged as a National Hero in opposing the coup. His winning of a popular election in his
republic led to the shaking off centralized control.
● Power began to shift from the Soviet centre to the republics, especially in the more Europeanized part
of the Soviet Union, which saw themselves as sovereign states.
● In December 1991, under the leadership of Yeltsin, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, three major republics THE END OF BIPOLARITY
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.
● Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was formed.
● Russia was 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 post-Soviet space and carried out some nuclear disarmament measures with

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 the US.

Reasons of disintegration:
● Internal weaknesses: 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: 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.
● Arms and Space race with USA: 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.
● Awareness about Democratic Ideas: 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 system was better than Western capitalism, the reality of
its backwardness came as a political and psychological shock.
● Administrative and political Nature: 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.
⮚ 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: Gorbachev promised to reform the economy, catch up with the West, and
loosen the administrative system. 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.
THE END OF BIPOLARITY

⮚ Especially members of the Communist Party and those who were served by the system felt that
their power and privileges were eroding, and Gorbachev was moving too quickly.
⮚ 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.
● The rise of nationalism: 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. Gorbachev's reforms speeded up and increased nationalist dissatisfaction to the point that

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 the government and rulers could not control it.

Consequences of Disintegration:
The collapse of the second world of the Soviet Union and the socialist systems in eastern Europe had
profound consequences for world politics.
● It meant the end of Cold War confrontations. The ideological dispute between capitalist and socialist
system was over. Heavy militarization and arms race during the cold war period, disintegration of
Soviet meant a possible new peace and an end to this trend.
● The US became the sole superpower in a unipolar world. The capitalist economy was now the
dominant economic system internationally.
● Institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund became powerful advisors to
erstwhile communist countries since they gave them loans for their transitions to capitalism.
● Politically, the notion of liberal democracy emerged as the best way to organize political life.
● Emergence of many new countries was there, with their independent choices and aspirations.
● The international system saw many new players emerge, each with its own identity, interests, and
economic and political difficulties.

THE END OF BIPOLARITY

Fig. 2.1: Timeline of disintegration of the Soviet Union

Tensions and Conflicts Post Disintegration:

● In Russia, two republics, Chechnya and Dagestan, have had violent secessionist movements.
⮚ Subsequently the Russian Government's response to suppress Chechen rebels involved military

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 bombings and many human right violations.
● Tajikistan witnessed a civil war that went on for ten years till 2001.
● In Azerbaijan's province of Nagorno-Karabakh, some local Armenians want to secede and join
Armenia.
● In Georgia, the demand for independence came from two provinces, resulting in a civil war.
⮚ Countries and provinces are fighting over river waters.
● All this has led to instability, making life difficult for the ordinary citizen.
● Czechoslovakia split peacefully into two, with the Czechs and the Slovaks forming independent
countries.
● Balkan republics of Yugoslavia 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

Fig. 2.2: Map of Central, Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States

Shock-Therapy in Post-Communist Regimes:

THE END OF BIPOLARITY

The collapse of communism was followed in most of these old communist 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 Europe that was influenced by the World Bank
and the IMF came to be known as 'shock therapy'.

Features of Shock Therapy:

● Total shift to a capitalist economy.
● Private ownership was to be the dominant pattern of ownership of property.

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 ● 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.
● Ruled out any alternate or 'third way', other than state-controlled socialism or capitalism.
● Complete switch to free trade.
● The free trade regime and foreign direct investment (FDI) were to be the main engines of change
● Openness to foreign investment, financial opening up or deregulation, and currency convertibility.
● A breakup of the existing trade alliances among the countries of the Soviet bloc.
● Linked directly to the West and not to each other in the region.

Consequences of Shock Therapy:

Economic Consequences:
● In Russia, the large state-controlled industries were put up for sale to the private individuals and
companies at throwaway prices (also termed as the Largest Garage Sale in History).
● Due to market-controlled restructuring of the markets, instead of government policies led to the virtual
disappearance of entire industries.
● The value of the Ruble, the Russian currency, declined dramatically.
● Very high rates on inflation. End of collective farm systems led to the problem of food security in
Russia.
● The old trading structure broke down with no alternative in its place. The real GDP of Russia in 1999
was below what it was in 1989.

Social Consequences:
● System of Social Welfare was destroyed.
● The withdrawal of government subsidies pushed large sections of the people into poverty.
● Middle classes suffered loss of incomes, and the intellectuals migrated outside.
● A mafia emerged in most of these countries and started controlling many economic activities.
● Social and economic disparities between rich and poor emerged.

Political Consequences:
● Building of Democratic Institutions was not given adequate attention.
● Constitutions were drafted in hurry, rendering faulty political systems in some instances. THE END OF BIPOLARITY
● A judicial culture and independence of the judiciary was yet to be established in most of these
countries.
However, most of these economies, especially Russia, started reviving in 2000. 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 cross their territories for which they get rent.
Some amount of manufacturing has restarted.

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 India and Post-Communist Countries:
● India has maintained good relations with all the post-communist countries.
● But the strongest relations are still those between Russia and India, forming an important part of
India's Foreign Policy.

Indo-Russian Relations:
● Indo-Russian relations enjoy historical links and deep trust. Even the popular culture has linkages, like
Bollywood enjoys considerable popularity in Russia and other post-soviet nations.
● Russia and India share a vision of a multipolar world order.

Multipolar World Order:

Multipolarity means, 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,
democratized, 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, access to Central Asia, and balancing its relations
with China.
● Oil Resources with Russia have helped India in circumstances of oil crisis within the country.
● Also, energy resources, with the republics of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are being looked forward
to by India.
● 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.

India-USSR Relations During the Cold war:

During the Cold War era, India and the USSR enjoyed a special relationship which led to say that India was
THE END OF BIPOLARITY

part of the Soviet camp. It was a multi-dimensional relationship:

● Economic: The Soviet Union assisted India's public sector companies. 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, like war with Pakistan in 1971. India too
supported Soviet foreign policy in some crucial but indirect ways.

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 ● 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 USSR.

Important Personalities:
● 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.
● 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.
● 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.
● Leonid Brezhnev (1906-82): Leader of the Soviet Union (1964- 82); 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.
● 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.
● Boris Yeltsin (1931-2007): The first elected President of Russia (1991- 1999); 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.
THE END OF BIPOLARITY

16
 US HEGEMONY IN WORLD POLITICS
3
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. US hegemony began in 1991 after Soviet power
disappeared from the international scene.

Beginning of the New World Order:

There are two more observations regarding the start of this new world order, in terms of US hegemony.
● Firstly, some aspects of US hegemony started right after the end of Second World War in 1945.
● Secondly, the clarity about US's hegemonic behavior to the world came much later than 1991.
The major landmark events which, played a role in establishing US hegemony are as follows:

The First Gulf War:

● In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait and annexed it.
● Despite diplomatic efforts, Iraq did not retreat from Kuwait, thus mandating the liberation of Kuwait
through force by the United Nations (UN).
● Then US President George H.W. Bush hailed this the emergence of a 'new world order'.
● A massive coalition force from 34 countries fought against Iraq and defeated it in what came to be
known as the First Gulf War. However, the UN operation, which was called 'Operation Desert
Storm', was overwhelmingly American, as majority of forces were from the US.
● The US used 'smart bombs' in this war which led to many calling this a 'computer war'.
● The war was provided widespread television coverage, which also made it a 'video game war'.
● The First Gulf War revealed the vast technological gap that had opened up between the US military
capability and that of other states.
● It is believed that the US may actually have made a profit from the war. According to many reports, the
US received more money from countries like Germany, Japan and Saudi Arabia than it had spent on
the war.

US Involvement in Kosovo:
● During the presidency of Bill Clinton (1993-2001), the US was generally more engaged in its domestic
US HEGEMONY IN WORLD POLITICS

issues.
● However, 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 government of Slobodan Milosevic and the stationing of a NATO force in
Kosovo.

US actions against Al-Qaeda:

● US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Tanzania were bombed in 1998 by the Al-Qaeda (a terror
organisation influenced by extremist Islamist ideas).

17
 ● Within a few days of this bombing, President Clinton ordered Operation “Infinite Reach”, a series of
cruise missile strikes were done 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.

9/11 and the Global War on Terror:

● On 11 September 2001, nineteen hijackers from Arab countries took control of four American
commercial aircrafts and flew them into important buildings in the US. These attacks have come to be
known as “9/11”. Nearly three thousand persons were killed.
● In terms of loss of life, 9/11 was the most severe attack on US soil since the founding of the country in
1776. The US response to 9/11 was swift and ferocious.
● The US presidency under George W. Bush launched 'Operation Enduring Freedom' under its 'Global
War on Terror' against all those suspected to be behind this attack mainly Al-Qaeda and the Taliban
regime in Afghanistan. The Taliban regime was easily overthrown.
● 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.

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 purpose of the invasion was to prevent Iraq from developing weapons of mass destruction

US HEGEMONY IN WORLD POLITICS

(WMD).
● However, as 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.
● It is now widely recognized that the US invasion of Iraq was, in some crucial respects, both a military
and political failure.

18
 Hegemony:
Politics is about power. This power is in the form of military domination, economic power, political clout
and cultural superiority. Sometimes, the international system dominated by a sole superpower, or hyper-
power, 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'.
● 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.

Hegemony as Hard Power:

● Hard Power relates to the military dominance of a country. Current position and power of the US in
world politics, largely stems out from its formidable military power.
● No other power is even remotely a match for US military capabilities. The US spends more on its
military capability than the next 12 powers combined. They spend a large amount on military research
and development.
● 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.
● However, from the invasion of Iraq, a weakness in US military ecosystem can be observed:
⮚ 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
US HEGEMONY IN WORLD POLITICS

capability to deter and to punish is self-evident.

⮚ Where US military capability has thus far been shown to have serious weaknesses is in policing
an occupied territory.

Commands
● Most armed forces in the world divide their areas of operation into various 'commands' which are
assigned to different commanders.
● US armed forces worked in six Commands.
● commands of the US military are not limited to the area of the United States; it extends to include the
whole world

19
 Fig. 3.1: US Command Structure

Hegemony as Structural Power:

● This notion of hegemony relates to 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 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.
● In the contemporary sense, this role is 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. Various examples include:
⮚ Sea lanes of communication (SLOCs), that is the sea routes commonly used by merchant ships.

US HEGEMONY IN WORLD POLITICS

o Free trade in an open world economy would not be possible without open SLOCs.
o Today the multi-oceanic US Navy is playing this role of ensuring freedom of navigation in the
international waters.
⮚ Another example is the Internet, which is the direct outcome of a US military research project that
began in 1950.
o Even today, the Internet relies on a global network of satellites, most of which are owned by the
US government.
● Also, The US also enjoys a lion's share of the world economy and the world trade.
⮚ There is not a single sector of the world economy in which an American firm does not feature in the
“top three” list.

20
 ⮚ 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 World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Trade
Organisation (WTO) as the products of American hegemony.
● Another example is the academic degree called the Master's in Business Administration (MBA).
⮚ The idea of MBA 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 in the US, outside the US it was established only
in 1950.

Hegemony as Soft Power:

● 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.
● The behaviour of the weaker countries is influenced in ways that favour the interests of the most
powerful country.
● 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.
● 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 20thcentury America.
● America is the most seductive, and in this sense the most powerful, culture on earth.
● 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.
● Hence, soft power goes hand in hand and is often more effective than hard power.
US HEGEMONY IN WORLD POLITICS

Constraints on American Power:

American power and hegemony are not however without any constraints. Some constraints on its powers
include:
● Firstly, in the institutional architecture of the American state, division of powers between the three
branches of government places significant brakes upon the unrestrained and immoderate exercise of
America's military power by the executive branch.
● Secondly, at times the domestic public opinion in the US is also deeply skeptical of political and
military methods of the American government, which in the long run, is a huge constraint on US
military action overseas.
● Thirdly, its allies in the NATO could moderate the global American power.

21
Overcoming Hegemony:
Currently, the US enjoys world hegemony. However, it needs to be seen that how this hegemony can be
overcome.

Strategies to deal with Hegemony:

● Some people argue that it is strategically more prudent to take advantage of the opportunities for
economic growth, trade, investments and technology transfer that hegemony creates. Hence, instead
of opposing the hegemonic power, a nation should stay in it and extract the maximum benefits. 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. China, Russia, the European Union—all of them, in different ways, are seeking to
stay below the radar, to not to antagonize the US.
● However, this strategy is not viable for big states like China, India, and Russia or huge agglomerations
such as the EU being able to hide for any substantial length of time.

Role of Non-State Actors:

Non-State Actors are the organizations, which are not affiliated, directed or funded through governments.
● Some people believe that resistance to American hegemony may not come from other states, but
rather from non-state actors.
● These challenges will emerge in the economic and cultural fields and will come from a combination of
non-governmental organisations (NGOs), social movements, and public opinion.
● These various actors may well form links across national boundaries, including with Americans, to
criticise and resist US policies.

Major Hurdles in Overcoming Hegemony:

● Firstly, there exists no government at the global level, to regulate activities. Thus, international politics
is 'politics without government'.
● Secondly, although there are some rules and norms called the laws of war that restrict, but do not

US HEGEMONY IN WORLD POLITICS

prohibit, war. Also, only a few states will entrust their security to international law alone.
● Thirdly, in the short term no other power is anywhere near balancing the US militarily.
● Fourthly, 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.

India's Relationship with the US:

● During the Cold War years, India's closest friendship was with the Soviet Union.
● After the collapse of the Soviet Union, India suddenly found itself friendless in an increasingly hostile
international environment.
● However, during these years India liberalized its economy and integrated with the global economy.
● This policy and India's impressive economic growth rates in recent years have made the country an

22
 attractive economic partner for a number of countries including the US.
● In the recent years, two new factors have emerged in the Indo-US relations. These factors relate to the
technological dimension and the role of the Indian-American diaspora.
● These two factors are interrelated. Consider the following facts:
⮚ The US absorbs about 65 percent of India's total exports in the software sector.
⮚ 35 percent 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 Indian Americans.

Debate on direction of Indo-US relations in the phase of US global hegemony:

Three major viewpoints have emerged in this regard:
● Under this view International politics is seen through the prism of military power, a certain section
believes that India should maintain its aloofness from the US and focus on increasing its own
comprehensive national power.
● Another view holds convergence of Indo-US interests as an opportunity. It advocates 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, it argues, is a futile strategy that will only hurt India in
the long run.
● A third view advocates 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.
However, India-US relations are 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.

A Historical Perspective about Hegemony and Balance of Power in World Politics:

As opposed to hegemony, the logic of balance of power postulates that 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
US HEGEMONY IN WORLD POLITICS

normally allow a single state to become so powerful as to pose a mortal threat to other states.

This balance of power logic of international politics, as outlined above, is amply supported by history.

● By convention, 1648 is regarded 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.
⮚ Britain with its global maritime empire from 1860 to 1910.

23
● However, 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.

US HEGEMONY IN WORLD POLITICS

24
 ALTERNATIVE CENTRES OF POWER
4
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.

European Union (EU):

The European Union is a political and economic union, of 27 member states located primarily in Europe.

Historical Background to the formation of EU:

● Question of Europe: Towards the end of the Second World War, a dilemma occurred as to how
Europe should be reintegrated after the war, should it go back to old rivalries or be reconstituted on
positive principles of international relations. This came to be known as the Question of Europe.
● 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.
● Post 1945, America extended massive financial help for reviving Europe's economy under what was
called the 'Marshall Plan'.
● Under the Marshall Plan, the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) was
established in 1948 to channel aid to the west European states.
● It became a forum where the western European states began to cooperate on trade and economic
issues.

Formation of the EU:

● The Council of Europe was established in 1949, as another step forward in political cooperation.
ALTERNATIVE CENTRES OF POWER

● The process of economic integration of European capitalist countries proceeded step by step, 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.

25
 ALTERNATIVE CENTRES OF POWER
Fig. 4.1: Timeline of European Integration

Evolution of EU:
· The European Union has evolved over time from 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 members,
especially from the erstwhile Soviet bloc.

26
 Fig. 4.2: European Union Map

(United Kingdom is currently not part of EU)

Problems in the functioning of EU:

● People in many countries are not very enthusiastic in giving the powers to the EU, powers that were
exercised by the government of their country.
● There are reservations about including some new countries within the EU.
ALTERNATIVE CENTRES OF POWER

● In many areas its member states have their own foreign relations and defence policies that are often
at odds with each other.
● There is also a deep-seated 'Euroskepticism' in some parts of Europe about the EU's integrationist
agenda.
● 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.
● Britain's former prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, kept the UK out of the European Market.
(BREXIT)

Scope and Achievements of EU:

● The EU has economic, political and diplomatic, and military influence.

27
 ● The EU is amongst the world's biggest economies.
● Its currency, the euro, can pose a threat to the dominance of the US dollar.
● Its share of world trade is much larger than that of the United States allowing it to be more assertive
in trade disputes with the US and China.
● It also functions as an important bloc in international economic organisations such as the World
Trade Organisation (WTO).
● One current and one previous member of the EU, France and Britain, hold permanent seats on the UN
Security Council.
● The EU also 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 can intervene in economic, political and social areas.

Association of South East Nations (ASEAN):

ASEAN is a regional grouping of ten South-East Asian countries.

Historical Background to the formation of ASEAN:

● Before and during the Second World War, this region of Asia suffered at the hands of European and
Japanese colonialism.
● Problems of nation building, poverty and backwardness along with the problem of selecting a camp

ALTERNATIVE CENTRES OF POWER

during bipolar world, were the challenges faced by the regional nations.
● Efforts at Asian and Third World unity, such as the Bandung Conference and the Non-Aligned
Movement, were ineffective in establishing the conventions for informal cooperation and interaction.

Formation of ASEAN:
● The Bangkok Declaration was signed in 1967 leading to establishment of ASEAN.
● ASEAN was established by five countries of this region — Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore and Thailand.

Objectives of ASEAN:
● Accelerate economic growth and through that 'social progress and cultural development'.

28
 ● Promote regional peace and stability based on the rule of law and the principles of the United Nations
Charter.

Features of ASEAN:
● 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.
● ASEAN was and 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.
● 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.
● ASEAN's strength lies in its policies of interaction and consultation with member states, with
dialogue partners, and with other non-regional organisations.

Evolution of ASEAN:
● Over the years, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar (Burma) and Cambodia joined
ASEAN taking its strength to ten.
● With some of the fastest growing economies in the world, ASEAN broadened its objectives beyond
the economic and social spheres.
● The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was established in 1994, to carry out coordination of security and
foreign policy.
● In 2003, ASEAN agreed to establish an ASEAN Community comprising three pillars, namely:
⮚ The ASEAN Security Community: 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.
ALTERNATIVE CENTRES OF POWER

⮚ The ASEAN Economic Community: 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.
⮚ The ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.
● ASEAN is rapidly growing into a 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

29
 annually to discuss East Asian cooperation.
● 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.

India and ASEAN:

● 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 trade agreements with three ASEAN members, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
● The ASEAN-India FTA came into effect in 2010.

The Rise of Chinese Economy:

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 affairs. 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.

Evolution of Chinese Power:

● 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.
● 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

ALTERNATIVE CENTRES OF POWER

on a scale that did not exist before.
● Employment and social welfare were assured to all citizens. It moved ahead of most developing
countries in educating its citizens and ensuring better health for them.
● The economy grew at a rate of 5-6 percent. An annual growth of 2-3 percent in population meant that
economic growth was insufficient to meet the needs of a growing population.
● 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.

30
 ● 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 by opening it step by step.
● The privatisation of agriculture in 1982 was followed by the privatisation of industry in 1998.
● Trade barriers were eliminated only in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) where foreign investors could
set up enterprises.

Impacts of these Policies:

● Privatisation of agriculture led to a remarkable rise in agricultural production and rural incomes.
● High personal savings in the rural economy led 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.
● 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.
However, certain shortcomings are also observed such as:
● 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.

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,
ALTERNATIVE CENTRES OF POWER

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 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

31
their borders. In both cases this influence was political, economic and cultural.
● There was limited political and cultural interaction between the two in history.
● However, both countries built on a relationship during the mid-20th century.
● For a brief the slogan of 'Hindi-Chini bhaibhai' was popular.

Concerns in the Relation:

● Differences arose 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 had long-term implications for India–China relations.
● Diplomatic relations between the two countries were downgraded until 1976.

Positive evolution:
● Relations between the two countries began to improve slowly. China's policy became more pragmatic
and less ideological.
● A series of talks to resolve the border issue were also initiated in 1981.
● Rajiv Gandhi's visit to China in December 1988 provided the impetus for an improvement in
India–China relations.
● Their relations now have a strategic as well as an economic dimension.
● Both view themselves as rising powers in global politics, and both would like to play a major role in the
Asian economy and politics.
● 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.

ALTERNATIVE CENTRES OF POWER

● At the global level, India and China have adopted similar policies in international economic institutions
like the World Trade Organisation.
● China was seen as contributing to the buildup 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

32
 populous countries of the world.

Alternative Centres of Power:

Japan:
● Japan has very few natural resources and imports most of its raw materials. Even then it progressed
rapidly after the end of the Second World War. Japan is the only nation that suffered the destruction
caused by nuclear bombs.
● Japan became a member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in
1964.
● In 2017, it is the third largest economy in the world. It is the only Asian member of the G-7. It is the
eleventh most populous nation in the world.
● It is the second largest contributor to the regular budget of the UN, contributing almost 10 per cent of
the total.
● Japan has a security alliance with the US since 1951.
⮚ Although Japan's military expenditure is only one per cent of its GDP, it is the seventh largest in the
world.
⮚ 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.”

South Korea:
● The Korean peninsula was divided into South Korea (Republic of Korea) and North Korea
(Democratic People's Republic of Korea) at the end of the Second World War along the 38th Parallel.
● The Korean War during 1950-53 and dynamics of the Cold War era further intensified the rivalries
between the two sides.
● Both the Koreas finally became Members of the UN on 17 September 1991. Meanwhile, South Korea
emerged as a centre of power in Asia.
● Between the 1960s and the 1980s, it rapidly developed into an economic power, which is termed as
ALTERNATIVE CENTRES OF POWER

"Miracle on the Han River". Signaling its all-round development, South Korea became a Member of
the OECD in 1996.
● In 2017, its economy is the eleventh largest in the world and its military expenditure is the tenth
largest.
● According to the Human Development Report 2016, the HDI rank of South Korea is 18.
⮚ The major factors responsible for its high human development include "successful land reforms,
rural development, extensive human resources development and rapid equitable economic
growth."
⮚ Other factors are export orientation, strong redistribution policies, public infrastructure
development, effective institutions and governance.
● The South Korean brands such as Samsung, LG and Hyundai have become renowned in India.

33
Numerous agreements between India and South Korea signify their growing commercial and cultural
ties.

ALTERNATIVE CENTRES OF POWER

34
 CONTEMPORARY SOUTH ASIA
5
Along with the region where India exists, South Asia today has attained worldwide prominence. When
India and Pakistan joined the club of nuclear powers, this region suddenly became the focus of global
attention. The focus was 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.

Defining South Asia:

● South Asia usually includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal,
Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
● Geographical features like the Himalayas, Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal provide a
natural insulation to this region.
● This insulation has caused the development of 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.
● South Asia stands for diversity in every sense and yet constitutes one geo-political space.

Differences in the region's political systems:

● Sri Lanka and India have successfully operated a democratic system since their independence from
the British.
● Bangladesh remained a democracy in the post-Cold War period.
● Pakistan has been run by a civilian government again since 2008.
● In 2008, Nepal emerged as a democratic republic.
● Bhutan became a constitutional monarchy in 2008.
● In June 2005, the parliament of the Maldives voted unanimously to introduce a multiparty system.

South Asia and Democracy:

CONTEMPORARY SOUTH ASIA

● Despite the mixed record of the democratic experience, the people in all these countries share the
aspiration for democracy.
● Originally it was believed that democracy could only flourish in prosperous countries of the world.
● However, the experience in South Asia and the success of democracy here, has widened the meaning
of democracy on the world stage.

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. However, he had to leave office due to popular disaffection.

35
 ● General Yahya Khan took over the office under military rule. During his rule, East Pakistan broke away
from Pakistan in 1971 and emerged as independent Bangladesh.
● After this, an elected government under the leadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto came to power in
Pakistan from 1971 to 1977.
● The Bhutto government was removed by General Zia-ul-Haq in 1977 in a takeover. However, he
faced protests and an elected democratic government was established once again in 1988 under the
leadership of Benazir Bhutto.
● In 1999 the army again stepped in under General Pervez Musharraf. In 2001, General Musharraf got
himself elected as the President.
● Pakistan continued to be ruled by the army, though the army rulers have held some elections to give
their rule a democratic image.
● However, since 2008, democratically elected leaders have been ruling Pakistan.

Causes of unstable democracy in Pakistan:

● 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.
● The lack of genuine international support for democratic rule in Pakistan. The United States and other
Western countries have encouraged the military's authoritarian rule in the past, for their own reasons.
● As they fear what they call 'global Islamic terrorism' and that the Pakistani nuclear arsenal may fall in
wrong hands, the military regimes in Pakistan are seen as protectors of Western Interests.

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.
Democracy was attained in Bangladesh from the following process:
● Soon after the partition of India and Pakistan, 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 demanding regional autonomy. CONTEMPORARY SOUTH ASIA
● 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.
● However, the Government dominated by west Pakistan arrested him and refused to convene the
assembly. This was followed by suppression of people by the Pakistani army, leading them to
migrate into India. Thus, creating a huge refugee problem for India.
● The Indian government supported their demand for Independence both militarily and financially,
leasing to a war between India and Pakistan in 1971.
⮚ The war ended with surrender of the Pakistani forces and the formation of an independent

36
 Bangladesh.
● Bangladesh drafted its constitution declaring faith in secularism, democracy and socialism.
● 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 common people wanted a better form of
government. But the king with the help of army kept control on the affairs, and resisted democracy.

· Due to popular protest, however a democratic constitution was laid down in 1990.
● Subsequently, in the following years Maoists gained influence in Nepal, leading to a violent conflict
between the Maoist guerrillas and the armed forces of the king.
● In 2002, the king abolished the parliament and dismissed the government, thus ending even the
limited democracy that existed in Nepal.
● This was followed by mass pro-democracy protests, forcing the king to restore the House of
Representatives in 2002. The largely non-violent movement was led by the Seven Party Alliance
(SPA), the Maoists and social activists.
● However today, Nepal's transition to democracy is almost complete. In 2008, Nepal became a
democratic republic after abolishing the monarchy. In 2015, it adopted a new constitution.
CONTEMPORARY SOUTH ASIA

Ethnic Conflict and Democracy in Sri Lanka:

After its independence, politics in Sri Lanka (it was then known as Ceylon) was dominated by the
interests of the majority Sinhala community. They were hostile to the Tamils, who had migrated to Sri
Lanka from India. As for them Sri Lanka belonged to the Sinhalese only.
● This gave rise to militant Tamil nationalism. From 1983 onwards, a militant organisation, called
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (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.
● There was also a considerable pressure from Indian Tamils, to protect the interests of the Sri Lankan

37
 Tamils.
● 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, leading the Indian Army into a fight with the LTTE. However, Indian Army's presence was
not liked by Sri Lankan people. 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 continued to be violent. However, international actors, particularly the
Scandinavian countries such as Norway and Iceland tried to bring the warring groups back to
negotiations.
● Finally, LTTE was vanquished in 2009, bringing end to this violence.
● In spite of the conflict, Sri Lanka has registered good economic growth and 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:
● Soon after the partition, India and Pakistan got into a conflict on the issue of Kashmir, with both sides
claiming it.
● The war in 1947-48 resulted in the division of the province into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the
Indian province of Jammu and Kashmir divided by the Line of Control.
● In 1971 war, India won against Pakistan but the Kashmir issue remained unsettled.

Other issues of Conflict:

● Both nations have a conflict over the control of Siachen Glacier, and acquisition of Arms.
● Both nations have also now acquired nuclear weapons and delivery systems to deploy such arms
against each other.
● The Indian government blames the Pakistan government for inciting low-key violence by helping the
Kashmiri militants with arms, training, money and protection to carry out terrorist strikes against India. CONTEMPORARY SOUTH ASIA
● The Indian government also believes that Pakistan had aided the pro Khalistani militants with arms
and ammunition during the period 1985-1995.
● Pakistan is also alleged to be involved in various anti-India campaigns in India's northeast.
● The government of Pakistan, in turn, 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.
⮚ In 1960, with the help of the World Bank, India and Pakistan signed the Indus Waters Treaty with
regards to sharing of water of Indus basin rivers.

38
 ⮚ 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.
● India and Pakistan are holding negotiations on all these issues.

India and its other Neighbours

India-Bangladesh Relations:
Various dimensions to assess this relationship are as follows:

Disputes:
● Various disputes from the perspective of India include, sharing of Ganga and Brahmaputra river
waters, illegal immigration to India, support for anti-Indian Islamic fundamentalist groups, 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.
● From the perspective of Bangladesh, they 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.

Cooperation:
● The two countries could not resolve their boundary dispute for a long while. In 2015, they exchanged
certain enclaves.
● Despite their differences, India and Bangladesh do cooperate on many issues.
● Economic relations have improved considerably in the last 20 years.
● Bangladesh is a part of India's Look East (Act East since 2014) 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.

India-Nepal Relations:
CONTEMPORARY SOUTH ASIA

● 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 passports.
● However, concerns against Nepal-China relationship, the Nepal Government's inaction against anti
Indian elements and the Maoist influence in Nepal remain from India's perspective.
● From the perspective of Nepal, their allegations of India's interference in their internal affairs and
preventing it from accessing the sea through Indian territory remain points of concern.
However, despite these concerns, it remains a stable and peaceful relationship. Trade, scientific
cooperation, common natural resources, electricity generation and interlocking water management

39
 grids hold the two countries together.

India-Sri Lanka Relations:

● The concerns in this relation are primarily based upon the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. Leaders of India
have been particularly concerned about the fate of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
● However, after the 1987 intervention, the Indian Government has followed a policy of disengagement
on Sri Lanka's internal matters. Although, the signing of a free trade agreement, and India's aid for
post tsunami reconstruction have brought the two countries closer.

India-Bhutan Relations:
● India and Bhutan enjoy a warm relation, free of major conflicts. India's involvement in big hydroelectric
projects in Bhutan from the nations' biggest source of development aid and Bhutan's efforts to weed
out guerrillas and militants from Northeastern India, have proven to be mutually beneficial.

India-Maldives Relations:
● 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, also apart from that India has contributed towards the
island's economic development, tourism and fisheries.

Other Aspects of Regional Relations:

● The smaller states in the region are suspicious of India's intentions and see it as a regionally-dominant
power, given its size and power but at the same time India also doesn't like political instability in
these nations, as it believes this can help some outside power gain influence in the region.
● However, other regional states have also had conflicts amongst themselves. 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.
● The major conflicts and differences, although, remain 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.
CONTEMPORARY SOUTH ASIA
Peace and Cooperation:
Despite various conflicts, nations of the South Asian region recognize the importance of cooperation and
friendly relationships. Various measures have been undertaken to maintain such relations:

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC):

● It began in 1985, as a regional initiative to evolve cooperation through multilateral means.
● Unfortunately, due to persisting political differences, SAARC has not had much success.

40
 South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA):
● The Agreement was signed in 2004 and came into effect on 1 January 2006.
● SAFTA aims at lowering trade tariffs.
● 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.
Even outside powers like China and USA play a role in this region. India-China relations have improved by
the China's strategic partnership with Pakistan remains a major irritant. Similarly, after Globalization
due to economic linkages and the presence of huge South Asian diaspora in USA, even it has become a
stakeholder in regional peace here.

Interesting Facts:
CONTEMPORARY SOUTH ASIA

Fig. 5.1: Timeline of South Asia since 1947

41
 INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
6
The collapse of the Soviet Union, put up new challenges for the world like rise of US power etc. This brought
to the picture the role of International Organisations in such a scenario. The potential reform of the United
Nations Security Council is an interesting case of the reform process and its difficulties.

The Need of International Organisations:

● 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. Dag Hammarskjold rightly described UN 'The United Nations was not
created to take humanity to heaven, but to save it from hell.'
● International organisations help with matters of war and peace. They also help countries cooperate to
make better living conditions for us all.
● 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.
● 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 will be fairly divided, and that once a member joins an
agreement it will honour the terms and conditions of the agreement.

Formation and Evolution of the UN:

● After the First World War, the League of Nations was created, as an origanisation which could prevent
another such war. However, despite its initial success, it could not prevent the Second World War
(1939-45).
● The UN was founded in 1945 immediately after the Second World War, by 51 states who signed the
UN charter, it was a successor to the League of Nations.
● The UN's objective is to prevent international conflict and to facilitate cooperation among states.
● Furthermore, the UN was intended to bring countries together to improve the prospects of social and
economic development all over the world.

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

42
 Fig. 6.1: Founding of the United Nations

· By 2011, the UN had 193 member states. These included 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 (as they constituted the victors and the most powerful nations
after the Second World War).
● The UN's most visible public figure, and the representative head, is the Secretary-General.
● The present Secretary-General is António Guterres. He is the ninth Secretary-General of the UN.
● 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
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), among others.

43
 INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

Fig. 6.2: UN System

Reforms of the UN After the Cold War:

To serve the needs of changing environment, an organization like the UN needs reform and improvement.
Post-cold war, the world has changed. The US now is the strongest power, Nations like China and other

44
 economies of Asia are fast growing and catching up and new issues like terrorism, climate change etc.
have emerged on the global scene amongst several other changes

Two basic kinds of reforms face the UN:

● Reform of the organisation's structures and processes.
● Review of the issues that fall within the jurisdiction of the organisation.

Reform of Structures and Processes:

● The major focus under this area is the reform of UN Security Council.
● On several occasions the attention has been brought upon the issue of UN Security Council reforms:

Instances bringing attention on the issue:

● In 1992, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution. Reflecting 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 the years since then, the following are just some of the criteria that have been proposed for new
permanent and non-permanent 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
⮚ A nation that respects democracy and human rights
⮚ A country that would make the Council more representative of the world's diversity in terms of
geography, economic systems, and culture
⮚ On 1 January 1997, the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan initiated an inquiry into how the UN
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

should be reformed.
● 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.

Structure of Security Council:

● In the Security Council, there are five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. The
Charter gave the permanent members a privileged position to bring about stability in the world after
the Second World War.

45
 ● The main privileges of the five permanent 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-
permanent members are elected in a manner so that they represent all continents of the world.
● The non-permanent members do not have the veto power.

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.

Fig. 6.3 Use of Veto Power by Permanent members (up to 1st June 2018)

Reforms in the Jurisdiction of the UN:

The heads of all the member-states of the UN met in September 2005 in a meeting. They decided that the
following steps should be taken to make the UN more relevant in the changing context:
● Creation of a Peacebuilding Commission.
● Acceptance of the responsibility of the international community in case of failures of national

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
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 (MDGs).
● Condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
● Creation of a Democracy Fund.
● An agreement to wind up the Trusteeship Council.
In the present world, these reforms become contingent as to supplement the UN's ability to intervene and
resolve conflicts happening throughout the world causing suffering to humanity and to realistically
achiever goals like the Sustainable Development Goals etc.

46
 Fig. 6.4: United Nations Peacekeeping Operations

India and the UN Reforms:

India has been deeply connected with the issue of UN Reforms.
● India has supported the restructuring of the UN.
● 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.
● Enhanced Membership of the UN Security Council will enjoy greater support in the world community.

Major Concerns of India with the UN:

The major concern for India has been the composition of the Security Council:
● Membership of the UN Security Council was expanded from 11 to 15 in 1965, however no change in
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

the number of permanent members happened.

● The size of council has remained stationery since then, while the UN General Assembly (UNGA)
membership has expanded considerably.
● India considers that this has harmed the representative character of the Security Council.
● As the majority of members of the UNGA are developing counties, they should be provided more say in
the Security Council.
● India supports an increase in the number of both permanent and non-permanent members.

India's Desire to Become a Permanent Member:

India itself also wishes to be a permanent member in a restructured UN. The following reasons support
India's case of becoming so:

47
 ● India is the second most populous country in the world comprising almost one-fifth of the world
population.
● India is also the world's largest democracy.
● India has participated in virtually all of the initiatives of the UN, especially in its peacekeeping efforts.
● India's economic emergence on the world stage.
● India has also made regular financial contributions to the UN and never faltered on its payments.
The permanent membership also has a symbolic importance of projecting a country's growing
importance on the world stage.

Objections to India becoming a permanent member:

● Pakistan is reluctant to see India become a permanent veto member of the Security Council.
● Some countries are also concerned about India's nuclear weapons capabilities.
● 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.
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:

● With US being the world's greatest power, a question arises that whether UN can balance US
dominance in the world. The US with its' unmatched economic and military power can afford to
easily ignore the UN and also itself enjoys considerable financial and bureaucratic influence in the UN.
● UN is itself located in the US, with US being the single largest contributor to it, can in effect stop any
policy that US deems against its interests. Hence UN is not a great balance to the US power.
● However, UN has provided a forum and has brought together the world to talk about contentious
issues and on several occasions against the conduct of the US, in this sense the UN provides an arena
in which it is possible to modify US attitudes and policies.
The UN may not be a prefect body but has definitely played a great positive role for the world, with
increasing interlinkages in the world in this age of globalization, the importance of UN is bound to increase
in the future. Nations need to find ways to support UN and other international organization in ways that
are consistent with their own interests.

World Trade Organisation (WTO): INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

● It is an international organisation which sets the rules for global trade.
● It 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 164 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.

48
 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA):
● It was established in 1957, 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.

Amnesty International:
● It 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.

Human Rights Watch:

● It is an 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.

World Bank:
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

● The World Bank was created during the Second World War in 1944.
● 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 criticized for setting the economic agenda of the poorer nations, attaching stringent
conditions to its loans and forcing free market reforms.

49
International Monetary Fund (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 189 member countries (as
on 12 April 2016) but they do not enjoy an equal say.
● The G-7 members US (16.52%), Japan (6.15%), Germany (5.32%), France (4.03%), UK (4.03%),
Italy (3.02%) and Canada (2.22%) have 41.29% of the votes. China (6.09%), India (2.64%), Russia
(2.59%) Brazil (2.22%) and Saudi Arabia (2.02%) are the other major members.

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

50
 SECURITY IN THE
7 CONTEMPORARY WORLD
Security as a phenomenon can assume various meanings like internal, external, human security etc. Many
factors in the contemporary world constitute threats to human/national security. At its most basic, security
implies freedom from threats. Human existence and the life of a country are full of threats.
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.

External Security:
In the traditional conception of security, the greatest danger to a country is from military threats (wars),
originating from other countries.
It endangers the core values of sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity while endangering the
lives of ordinary citizens, along with soldiers.

In responding to the threat of war, a government has three basic choices:

● Surrender to the attacking nation. However, it is never promoted as a stated national policy.
● Prevent the other side from attacking by promising to raise the costs of war to an unacceptable level
(Preventing war).
● Defend itself when war actually breaks out so as to deny the attacking country its objectives and to
turn back or defeat the attacking forces altogether (Limiting/ending the war).

Components of Traditional Security Policy:

The various components consisting of a nation's traditional security policy include:
● Deterrence: This is the notion of preventing war.
● Defence: This is the notion of Limiting/ending the war.
● Balance of Power: It refers to the phenomenon whereby, a bigger and stronger country in the region
may choose to be aggressive with another nation in the future, pointing towards a disturbed balance
SECURITY IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

of power in the region.

⮚ Governments are 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.
● Alliance Building: An alliance is a coalition of states that coordinate their actions to deter or defend
against military attack.
⮚ Most alliances are formalised in written treaties based on a fairly clear identification of who
constitutes the threat.
⮚ Alliances are undertaken by a nation to increase their relative power, in relation of another country
or an alliance.

51
 ⮚ Alliances however are co-terminus to national interest, and often change when the interests of the
nations' change.
In the traditional view of security, most threats to a nation's security originate from outside its borders, as in
the international system there is no central authority to regulate or control the behavior of nations, hence
leaving each country responsible for its own security.

Internal Security:
● After the Second World war, globally not much attention was paid to internal security of a nation, as
victors of the war assumed themselves to be stable systems and hence concentrated solely on their
external security.
● However, for the newly independent nations the scene was different, they faced threats not only from
outside their borders, mostly from neighbours, but also from within.
● 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 and Cooperation:

● Traditional Security, recogonizes the effective role of cooperation in limiting violence. e. These limits
relate both to the ends and the means of war.

SECURITY IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

● As universally accepted, today war should only be conducted for right reasons, primarily self-defence
or to protect others from genocide, also it should be limited in terms of violence and only be resorted
to as a last measure, when all other methods have failed.
● Apart, from these principles of war various other methods of cooperation are also talked about under
the traditional view, namely Disarmament, Arms Control and Confidence Building Measures.

● Disarmament:
⮚ It 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.
⮚ However, US and Soviet Union did not want to give up another type of weapons of mass
destruction, namely, nuclear weapons. So, they pursued arms control.
Arms control:
● It regulates the acquisition or development of weapons. Various examples include

52
 ⮚ 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, stopping them from
large-scale production of such systems.
⮚ 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:
⮚ It was an arms control treaty in the sense that it regulated the acquisition of nuclear weapons.
⮚ The 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.

Confidence Building Measures:

● It is a process in which countries share military ideas and information with their rivals.
● This is a way of demonstrating that they are not planning a surprise attack.
● This whole process is 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.

Non-Traditional Notions:
These notions of security go beyond military threats to include a wide range of threats and dangers affecting
the conditions of human existence.
These notions have also been called 'human security' or 'global security', as it goes beyond the security of
the nation or communities it encompasses the security of all Humankind.
SECURITY IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

Human Security:
● This concept talks about the protection of people more than the protection of states as secure states
do not automatically mean secure people.
● Protecting citizens from foreign attacks is although a necessary condition to protect them, but not
sufficient.
● As, during the last 100 years, more people have been killed by their own governments than by
foreign armies.
● However, the notions of Human Security can also be divided into two broad concepts:
⮚ Narrow Concept of Human Security: Its focus is on violent threats to individuals. As former UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan puts it, “the protection of communities and individuals from
internal violence”.
⮚ Broad Concept of Human Security: The threat agenda should include hunger, disease and natural
disasters because these kills far more people than war, genocide and terrorism combined.

53
 o It 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.

Global Security:
● This 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.
● Since these problems are global in nature and cannot be dealt by one country alone, at times they may
also disproportionately impact a particular nation, international cooperation is vital, even though it
is difficult to achieve.

New Sources of Threats:

The non-traditional notions of security throw light upon the changing nature of threats in the world.
Some neo/emerging threats are as follows:

Terrorism:
● It refers to political violence that targets civilians deliberately and indiscriminately.
● International terrorism as a concept involves the citizens or territory of more than one country.
● The various methods employed by terrorists, involve hijacking planes or planting bombs etc.
● 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.

Human Rights:

SECURITY IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethinicty,
language, religion, or any other status. They have come to be classified into three types:
● Political Rights such as freedom of speech and assembly.
● Economic and social rights.
● Rights of colonised people or ethnic and indigenous minorities.
Despite a consensus on this classification, there is still no consensus on which human rights to be considered
as universal.
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 many making a case for UN intervention to
protect human rights, UN Charter empowers the international community to take up arms in defence of
human rights, however others argue that the national interests of the powerful states will determine which
instances of human rights violations the UN will act upon.

54
 Global Poverty:
● 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.
● Globally, this disparity contributes to the gap between the Northern and Southern 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 place in sub-Saharan Africa, which is
also the poorest region of the world.

Migration:
● Poverty in the South has also led to large-scale migration to seek a better life 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'.
● 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.
SECURITY IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

● Kashmiri Pandits that fled the violence in the Kashmir Valley in the early 1990s are an example of an
internally displaced community.

Health Epidemics:
● 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 affects infections in other countries.
● By 2003, an estimated 4 crore people were infected with HIV AIDS worldwide, two-thirds of them in
Africa and half of the rest in South Asia.
● Greater integration of nations make borders less meaningful when epidemics as a security threat are
considered.
● However, for an issue to be classified a security threat 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.

55
 ● In 1994, the Tutsi tribe in Rwanda faced a threat to its existence as nearly five lakhs 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.

Cooperative Security:
● Dealing with many non-traditional threats such as, poverty alleviation, migration management,
tackling epidemics etc. requires a cooperative effort from diverse stakeholders instead of military
confrontation.
● Cooperation may be bilateral (i.e. between any two countries), regional, continental, or global.
● Cooperative security may also involve a variety of other players, both international and
national—international organisations (the UN, the World Health Organisation, the World Bank, the
IMF etc.), non-governmental 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 international 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 are 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:

SECURITY IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

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.

Strengthening Military Capabilities:

India needs to strengthen its military capabilities as:
● India has been involved in conflicts with its neighbours - Pakistan in 1947–48, 1965, 1971 and 1999;
and China in 1962.
● It is also surrounded by nuclear armed countries in the South Asian region.
● Thus, India first tested a nuclear device in 1974.
● India's decision to conduct another nuclear test in 1998 was justified by the Indian government in
terms of safeguarding national security.

56
 Strengthening International Norms and International Institutions:
India's aim has been to strengthen international norms and international institutions to protect its security
interests.
● 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,
with respect to weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, biological, chemical).
● India has argued, for an equitable New International Economic Order (NIEO).
● It has used non-alignment to maintain peace in the era of alliances (cold war).
● India has also 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.

Meeting Security Challenges Within the Country:

● Several militant groups from areas such as the Nagaland, Mizoram, the Punjab, and Kashmir etc. have
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.

Developing the Economy:

India has aimed to develop its economy, in a way that poverty, misery and economic inequalities do not exist.
● The attempt has not quite succeeded; we are still a very poor and unequal country.
● However, Democracy in our country has given the poor and relatively underprivileged a voice to speak
SECURITY IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

out their issues, for resolution at bigger levels.

57
 ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL
8 RESOURCES
Today environment and resources are assuming greater significance in world politics. The 1992 Earth
Summit has brought environmental issues to the centre-stage of global politics. The sustainable
management of the environment and natural resources is vital for economic growth and human wellbeing.

Environmental Concerns in Global Politics:

Various environmental concerns in global politics are as follows:
● Constrained availability of cultivable area along with pollution of water bodies severely restricting food
production capacities.
● As per Human Development Report 2016 of the United Nations Development Programme, 663
million people in developing countries have no access to safe water and 2.4 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 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.
These issues require collective efforts from various governments and other stake holders. They can not be
resolved by one national government alone. Also, fixing responsibility for the causation and fixation of these
concerns are questions that have made these issues a part of 'global politics.'

History of environmental concerns:

ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

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 of the Earth's resources against the backdrop of rapidly growing
world population.
● International agencies, including the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), began
organising meetings and commencing studies in such issues.
● In 1987 Brundtland Report, Our Common Future, had warned that traditional patterns of economic
growth were not sustainable in the long term.
● United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit):
⮚ It was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992.
⮚ It aimed to cater to the growing focus on environmental issues within the arena of global politics.

58
 Conclusions of the Earth Summit:
● The rich and developed countries of the First World (referred as 'global North') were concerned with
ozone depletion and global warming.
● Poor and developing countries of the Third World (referred as 'global South') were anxious to
address the relationship between economic development and environmental management.
● The Rio Summit produced conventions dealing with climate change, biodiversity, forestry, and
recommended a list of development practices called 'Agenda 21'.
● There was a consensus on combining economic growth with ecological responsibility. This approach
to development is commonly known as 'sustainable development'
However, along with laying these objectives the Earth Summit did not devise effective ways of achieving
them. Also, some critics say the Agenda 21 was more tilted in the favour of economic growth instead of
ecological conservation.

The Protection of Global Commons:

These are the 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. For example: Earth's atmosphere, Antarctica, the ocean floor,
and outer space.
● In order to regulate them, there have been many path-breaking agreements such as the 1959
Antarctic Treaty, the 1987 Montreal Protocol, and the 1991 Antarctic Environmental Protocol.
● However, a major problem underlying all ecological issues relates to the difficulty of achieving
consensus on common environmental agendas on the basis of vague scientific evidence and time
frames.
● Also, the management of these areas is heavily influenced from North-South divide as the benefits
ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

attained from these commons is far from being equal e.g. Outer Space exploration.

Common but Differentiated Responsibilities:

The North-South divide in perceiving environmental issues is very prominent. The developed nations of
North want everyone to be equally responsible for ecological conservation. However, the developing
nations of the South want that the historical reasons for ecological degradation is because of the industrial
development undertaken by the developed nations and hence they should assume more responsibility.
● Moreover, these developing nations, are also in the process of industrialization to develop and must not
be subjected to the same restrictions as the developed nations. 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.

59
 ● 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.”
● Similarly, 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 following points were agreed upon in this convention:

● Largest share of historical and current global emissions of greenhouse gases originated 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, therefore, exempted from the requirements of the
Kyoto Protocol.

The Kyoto Protocol:

● It is an international 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 warming - the rise in global temperature which may have

ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

catastrophic consequences for life on Earth.
The protocol was agreed to in 1997 in Kyoto in Japan, based on principles set out in UNFCCC.

Common Property Resources:

● These are the property resources for a group, that is the 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.

60
 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.
● 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.
● 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.
● Some countries like the UK, Argentina etc. have made legal claims to sovereign rights over
Antarctic territory.
● Most other states however view that the Antarctic is a part of the global commons and not
subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of any state.
● 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.

India's Stand on Environmental Issues:

ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

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
emission of greenhouse gases during the industrialisation period (that is believed to be causing today's
global warming and climate change) was not significant.
Per capita carbon emissions of India 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.
● 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.
● This position relies heavily on principles of historical responsibility, as enshrined in UNFCCC.
● Which acknowledges that developed countries are responsible for most historical and current
greenhouse gas emissions and emphasizes that 'economic and social development are the first and
overriding priorities of the developing country parties.

61
 ● India is wary of recent discussions within UNFCCC focusing on binding commitments on rapidly
industrialising countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, as it feels that this contravenes
the very spirit of UNFCCC.
● No meaningful progress with respect to transfer of new and additional financial resources and
environmentally-sound technology on concessional terms to developing nations has taken place.
● Developed countries should take immediate measures to provide developing countries with financial
resources and clean technologies to enable them to meet their existing commitments under UNFCCC.
● SAARC countries should adopt a common position on major global environment issues, so that the
region's voice carries greater weight.

Also, India has taken many progressive steps on the issue of Environmental Conservation:
● India's National Auto-fuel Policy mandates cleaner fuels for vehicles.
● The Energy Conservation Act, 2001 outlines initiatives to improve energy efficiency.
● Electricity Act of 2003 encourages the use of renewable energy.
● Efforts at importing natural gas and encouraging the adoption of clean coal technologies have been
made.
● National Mission on Biodiesel has been launched.
● Paris Climate Agreement has been ratified.
● India has one of the largest renewable energy programmes in the world.

Environmental Movements:
A very significant response to environmental challenges has come from groups of environmentally
conscious volunteers working in different parts of the world. Today these ground level movements from such
volunteers and activists represent the most vibrant, diverse, and powerful social movements across the

ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

globe today.
The forest movements of the South, in Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia, continental Africa and
India ( just to list a few 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.

Various Factors leading to the development of such movements:

● Forest clearing is happening at an alarming rate. Liberalisation of the global economy, has opened
countries to large MNCs in the business of mineral extraction, leading to widespread extraction of
earth, use of chemicals, pollution of waterways and land, clearance of native vegetation,
displacement of communities etc.
● Mega-dams are again inviting pro-river reactions from communities for more sustainable and

62
 equitable management of river systems and valleys. India has had some of the leading anti-dam, pro-
river movements. Narmada Bachao Andolan is one of the best known of these movements.

● Today anti-dam and other environmental movements in India, form the most important shared idea of
non-violence. These movements form the bedrock of action, as it is within social movements that
new forms of political action are born or reinvented.

Resource Geopolitics:
It is a phenomenon describing the distribution of resources amongst nations. Resources have played a key
role in several nations emerging as great powers and thus their distribution have also been the subject of
inter-state rivalries.
Various resources that warrant geopolitical issues include:

Oil:
● 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, thus filling the
history of petroleum with war and struggle.
● Regions like West Asia and Central Asia have been the theatres of this struggle.
● 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 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.
ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Water:
● It is another crucial resource important for the world.
● However, the lower riparian states have objected to pollution, excessive irrigation, or the
construction of dams by an upper riparian state, which might decrease or degrade the quality of
water available to the downstream state.
● States have also used force to protect or seize freshwater resources.
● A number of studies show that countries that share rivers — and many countries do share rivers — are
involved in military conflicts with each other.
● 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.

63
 Fig. 8.1: Troubled waters, Trapped people

The Indigenous People and their Rights:

● The UN defines indigenous populations as comprising the descendants of peoples who inhabited the

ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

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.
● They live in conformity with their social, economic, and cultural customs and traditions than the
institutions of the country of which they now form a part.
● Today there are approximately 30 crore indigenous peoples spread throughout the world including
India. They have time and again spoke of their struggles, their agenda and their rights. They call for
equal representation in world politics.
● They appeal to governments to come to terms with the continuing existence of indigenous nations as
enduring communities with an identity of their own. Today loss of land, which has supported many
life systems since times immemorable, has become a major concern for these indigenous people.

India's Indigenous People:

● In India, indigenous people usually describe the Scheduled Tribes constituting nearly eight per cent of
the population of the country.

64
 ● Most indigenous populations in India depend for their subsistence primarily on the cultivation of land.
● For centuries they had free access to as much land as they could cultivate.
● However, after the establishment of the British colonial rule these areas 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.

Sacred Groves in India:

● 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
ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

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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 GLOBALIZATION
9
It is a complex phenomenon aiming to transform the world into greater interdependence and integration,
by creating networks and activities transcending economic, social and geographical boundaries thus
creating a borderless world.
Globalisation need not be only about the economic issues, nor is the direction of influence always from the
rich to the poor countries.

The Concept of Globalization:

● Globalization as a concept dealing with flows of various kinds; ideas, capital, commodities, people
etc. within different parts of the world.
● These constant flows give rise to and sustain 'worldwide interconnectedness'.
● Globalization is a multidimensional concept having political, economic and cultural manifestations.

Causes of Globalization:
● Technology remains a critical element in enabling globalization. Inventions of telephone, internet etc,
have revolutionized communication and enabled linkages. 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 recognition by the people that the world is interlinked and happening at one place impacts the
other politically separate spaces as well.

Consequences of Globalization:
Political Consequences:
● Globalization results in an erosion of the ability of government to do what they do (that is erosion of
state capacity).
● Welfare states are now being transformed to minimalist states which is more focused on the core
functions such as maintaining law and order etc. instead of welfare directed measures of economic and
social well-being.
● Economic and social priorities are being determined based on the market instead of welfare goals.
● The entry and the increased role of multinational companies has reduced the capacity of
governments to take decisions on their own.
However, this is not always true as globalization has not necessarily eroded state capacity and in ways has
also given it a boost.
● The primacy of the state continues to be the unchallenged basis of political community.
● The old jealousies and rivalries between countries have not ceased to matter in world politics.
GLOBALIZATION

● The state continues to discharge its essential functions and consciously withdraws from certain
domains from which it wishes to.
● With enhanced technologies available at the disposal of the state to collect information about its
citizens.
● With this information, the state is better able to rule, not less able.

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 ● Thus, states become more powerful than they were earlier as an outcome of the new technology.

Economic Consequences:
Economic consequences of globalization are largely about the distribution of economic gains, i.e., who gets
the most from globalization and who gets less, indeed who loses from it.

Positive consequences:
● Globalization has involved greater trade in commodities across the globe; the restrictions imposed by
different countries on allowing the imports of other countries have been reduced.
● Restrictions on movement of capital across countries have also been reduced.
● Led to the flow of ideas across national boundaries.
● Globalization 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.
● Globalization is inevitable and it is not wise to resist the march of history.

Concerns:
● Globalization 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.
● State withdrawal has been caused by processes of economic globalization.
● 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.).

Way Forward:
● Need to ensure institutional safeguards or creating 'social safety nets' to minimise the negative effects
of globalization on those who are economically weak is there.
● Alternatively, a halt to forced economic globalization can be there, else it may lead to economic ruin
for the weaker countries, especially for the poor within these countries.
More moderate supporters of globalization say that globalization 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,
GLOBALIZATION

and ordinary people in different parts of the world as a result of globalization.

Cultural Consequences:
Globalization has impacts on our culture and shaping our cultural preferences.

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Negative Impacts:
● Globalization affects us in our home, it shapes what we think are our preferences. The cultural effect of
globalization leads to the fear of rise of a uniform culture or what is called cultural homogenisation.
● The rise of a uniform culture is not the emergence of a new global culture but the imposition of the
western culture.

● McDonaldisation': 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.
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.
● 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.

Positive Impacts:
● All cultures accept outside influences all the time.
● Adding new features from other cultures to our own widens our choices.
● Globalization also makes a culture more different and distinctive by adding newer attributes to it, for
example: wearing a kurta with a blue jean. This phenomenon is called cultural heterogenization.

India and Globalization:

● 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, India decided to be self-reliant instead of importing. 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.
● 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.

Resistance to Globalization:
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Globalization has received criticism from various sections across the globe.

The arguments made against globalization are as follows:

● It represents a particular phase of global capitalism that makes the rich richer (and fewer) and the
poor poorer.

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 ● Weakening of the state leads to a reduction in the capacity of the state to protect the interest of its
poor.
● In political terms, the fear the weakening of the state is there.
● Economically, self-reliance and protectionism, are needed at least in certain areas of the economy.
● Culturally, traditional culture is harmed, and people lose their age-old values and ways.
However, many anti-globalization movements are not opposed to the idea of globalization per se as much as
they are opposed to a specific program of globalization, which they see as a form of imperialism.

● In 1999, at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Meeting there were widespread
protests at Seattle alleging unfair trading practices by the economically powerful states.
● 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 globalization.
Ø The first WSF meeting was organised in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2001. The fourth WSF meeting
was held in Mumbai in 2004. The latest WSF meeting was held in Brazil in March 2018.

India's Resistance to Globalization:

● Resistance to globalization in India has come from different quarters.
● There have been left wing protests to economic liberalization 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 firms has also generated
considerable opposition.
● Resistance to globalization has also come from the political right. This has taken the form 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 westernization of the dress tastes of
girl students in schools and colleges.
Globalization has had mixed impacts on the world as well as India. Instead of assuming a negative
connotation of the entire process, it is largely certain specific impacts of globalization that have become a
major cause of concern.
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