NCERT CLASS 12 POLITY (PART 1 )

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BOOK – 1 – CONTEMPORARY WORLD POLITICS

The Cold War Era-Chapter 1

Cuban Missile Crisis

Cuba was an ally of the Soviet Union and received diplomatic and financial aid from it. In April 1961, leaders of the USSR were worried that the United States of America would invade communist-ruled Cuba and overthrow its President Fidel Castro.
In 1962, the leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, placed nuclear missiles in Cuba for converting it into a Russian base.
Three weeks later, Americans became aware of it. The US President John F. Kennedy and his advisers tried to find a solution to avoid full-scale nuclear war. But they were determined to get Khrushchev to remove the missiles and nuclear weapons from Cuba.
Kennedy ordered American warships to intercept any Soviet ships heading to Cuba as a way of warning the USSR. This clash between the USA and the USSR came to be known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. It made the whole world nervous.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a high point which came to be known as the Cold War. It refers to the competition, the tensions and a series of confrontations between the United States and Soviet Union.

Cold War

The Cold War was the war of ideologies. The US followed the ideology of liberal democracy and capitalism while the USSR backed the ideology of socialism and communism.
The Second World War (1939-1945) came to an end with the defeat of the Axis powers led by Germany, Italy and Japan by the Allied forces led by the US, Soviet Union, Britain and France.
It marked the beginning of the Cold War. The Second 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.
This decision of the US was both criticised and supported. But the consequence of the end of the Second World War was the rise of two new powers on the global stage.
The United States and the Soviet Union became the greatest powers in the world with the ability to influence events anywhere on Earth.
But the Cold War inspite of being an intense form of rivalry between great powers, remained a ‘cold’ and not hot or shooting war. It was due to the ‘logic of deterrence’.
The ‘logic of deterrence’ means when both sides have the capacity to respond against an attack and to cause so much destruction that neither can afford to initiate war.
The two superpowers and their allies were expected to behave as rational and responsible actors.

The Emergence of Two Power Blocs

The two superpowers i.e. the US and USSR wanted to expand their spheres of influence in different parts of the world. Hence, they decided to take help of the smaller countries.
These smaller states got the promise of protection, weapons and economic aid against their local rivals, mostly regional neighbours.
The first division took place in Europe. Most countries of Western Europe sided with the US and thus, came to be known as ‘Western alliance.
The countries of the Eastern Europe joined the Soviet camp and came to be known as ‘Eastern alliance.’
The Western alliance formed itself into an organisation, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). It came into existence in April, 1949 with twelve states.
The NATO declared that armed attack on any one of them in Europe or North America would be regarded as an attack on all of them.
The Eastern alliance, also known as the Warsaw Pact, was led by the Soviet Union. It was established in 1955. Its principle function was to counter NATO’s forces in Europe.
In East and South East Asia and in West Asia (Middle East), the United States built an alliance system called the South-East Asian Treaty Organisation (SEATO) and the Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO).
Many newly independent countries were worried of losing their freedom. Cracks and splits within the alliances were quick to appear.
Communist China quarrelled with the USSR towards the late 1950s. The other important development was the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
The smaller countries were of more help to the superpowers because they were the means to gain
Vital resources such as oil and minerals; locations to spy each other and to launch weapons.

Arenas of the Cold War

The arenas of the Cold War refer to areas where crisis and war occurred or threatened to occur between the alliances systems but did not cross certain limits.
The Cold War was also responsible for several shooting wars.
The two superpowers were poised for direct encounter in Korea (1950-53), Berlin
(1958-62), the Congo (the early 1960s) and in several other places.
Jawaharlal Nehru, one of the key leader of NAM played a key role in mediating between the two Koreas. In the Congo crisis, the UN Secretary General played a key mediatory role.
The US and USSR decided to collaborate in limiting or eliminating certain kinds of nuclear and non-nuclear weapons.
The two sides signed three significant agreements within a decade. These were :
Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT).
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABMT)

Challenge to Bipolarity

Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) offered the newly decolonised countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America a third option i.e. not to join any of the alliances.
NAM was founded by three leaders-Yugoslavia’s Josip Broz Tito, India’s Jawaharlal Nehru and Egypt’s leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. Indonesia’s Sukarno and Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah strongly supported them. The first NAM summit was held in 1961 at Belgrade.
Non-Alignment neither means isolationism nor neutrality. It played a role in mediating between the two rival alliances.

New International Economic Order

The challenge for the newly decolonised countries was to become more developed economically and to lift their people out of poverty. The idea
Of a New International Economic Order (NIEO) originated with this realisation.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) brought out a report in 1972 entitled ‘Towards a New Trade Policy for Development’.
The nature of Non-Alignment changed to give greater importance to economic issues. As a result,
NAM became an economic pressure group.

India and the Cold War

India followed a two way policy regarding the Cold War. It did not join any of the alliances and raised
Voice against the newly decolonised countries becoming part of these alliances.
The policy of India was not ‘fleeing away’ but was in favour of actively intervening in world affairs to soften Cold War rivalries.
The Non-Alignment gave India the power to take international decisions and to balance one superpower against the other.
India’s policy of Non-Alignment was criticised on a number of counts. But still it has become both as an international movement and a core of India’s foreign policy.

FACTS THAT MATTER

Cuban Missile Crisis made whole world nervous by creating clashes between the two superpowers, the US and Soviet Union namely cold War.
Cold War referred to competitions, tensions and series of confrontations between the US and USSR.
In 1945, with the end of Second World War, Cold War began when the US dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in diplomatic manner to warn Soviet Union.
Both the powers became reluctant to initiate war to protect world from large scale destruction as they were a.vare that it will not lead only political aim to them.
The greed of expansion of their spheres of influence divided the world into alliances. The US built NATO, South East Asian Treaty Organisation (SEATO) and Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO).

The Soviet UnrIri created Eastern alliance known as WARSAW PACT.
Smaller states „Maine either the alliance to get the promise of protection, weapons and economic aid against their local rivals.
Superpower required them to gain on access to vital resources, territory to launch weapons and troops, to spy on each other and economic support.
Despite of occurring crisis in Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan, both the superpowers behaved rationally and responsibly.
Both the superpowers maintained ‘arms control’ by signing various treaties as Limited Test Ban Treaty, Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
Countries outside the two blocs known as NAM (Non-Aligned Movement), joined by decolonised countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, played a crucial role in reducing cold war conflicts to maintain peace and stability all over the world.
Five founder members of NAM were Yugoslavia’s Josip Broz Tito, India’s JL Nehru, Egypt’s leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, Indonesia’s Sukarno and Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah.
The majority of NAM members was categorised as Least Developed Countries (LDCs) which initiated economic development under the head of New International Economic Order (NIEO).
The United Nations Conference of Trade and Development (UNCTAD) brought out a report in 1972 to propose to give the LDCs control over their natural resources, to make western market available to them to reduce cost of technology and to provide greater role in international economic institutions.
India responded to growth of Cold War into two fold. First, it stayed away from alliances and secondary, it raised voice against newly decolonised countries becoming part of either the alliance.
NAM served India’s interests also to participate in international decisions and maintained balance between two superpowers.
India’s policy was criticised on grounds of possessing contradictory postures i.e. signed treaty of friendship with the USSR in August 1971 for 20 years and developed good relations with the US during Bangladesh crisis.
It is said that NAM has lost its relevance after disintegration of USSR and end of cold war in 1991.
NAM is based on a resolve to democratise international system to redress existing inequities that poor and very small countries need not to follow any of the big powers instead they can pursue an independent foreign policy also.
These core values make NAM relevant even in today’s scenario as it has stood of adverse circumstances and served an important purpose of protecting the interests of third world countries.

WORDS THAT MATTER

Cold War: Cold war referred to competitions, tensions and a series of confrontations between the US and USSR.
Cuban Missile Crisis: It created tensions between the US and USSR when Soviet Union (USSR) installed missiles in Cuba to make it a Russian base.
Allied Forces: Allied forces were one of the two camps during second world war including the US, Soviet Union, Britain and France.
Axis Power: It was another camp against allied forces led by German” Italy and Japan.
Alliance System: Alliance system was created by the two superpowers to expand their sphere of influence all over the world.
Deterrence: It was a logic followed by both the superpowers to avoid large scale destruction I.e. not to take place hot war between them because both of them had the capacity to retaliate.

Neutrality: Neutrality is a condition not to participate in world affairs or make oneself aloof from world.
Decolonisation: To make colonised states free from the rule of mother country.

TIMELINE

1947 American President Harry Truman’s Doctrine about containment of communism.
1947-52 Marshall Plan: US aid for reconstruction of Western Europe.
1948-49 Berlin blockade by the Soviet Union.
1950-53 Korean War
1954 Defeat of the French by Vietnamese at Dien Bien Phu; Signing of Geneva Accord; Division of Vietnam along the 17th parallel formation of SEATO.
1954-75 American intervention in Vietnam.
1955 Signing of Baghdad Pact, later CENTO.
1956 Soviet intervention in Hungary.
1961 US-sponsored Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba construction of Berlin Wall.
1962 Cuban Missile Crisis
1965 American Intervention in the Dominican Republic
1968 Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia.
1972 US President Richard Nixon’s visit to China
1978-89 Vietnamese intervention in Cambodia
1979-89 Soviet intervention in Afghanistan
1985 Gorbachev becomes the president of the USSR and begins reform process.
1989 Fall of Berlin Wall
1990 Unification of Germany
1991 Disintegration of Soviet Union, End of the Cold War era.

The End of Bipolarity-Chapter 2

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 and the need for an egalitarian society as opposed to capitalism.
After the Second World War, the East European countries that the Soviet army had liberated from the fascist forces came under the control of the USSR.
There was change in the economic and political system of the USSR. Then the Soviet economy became more developed than the rest of the world except the US.
However, the Soviet system became very bureaucratic and authoritarian. It made life very difficult for its citizens.
In the arms race, the Soviet Union managed to match the US from time to time, but at great cost.

Gorbachev and the Disintegration of the USSR

Mikhail Gorbachev, who had become General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985, sought to reform the system. He introduced economic and political reform policies of perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness). But later his policies were criticised.
A coup took place in 1991 that was encouraged by Communist Party hardliners. The people did not want the old-style rule of the Communist Party and wanted freedom.
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, the three major republics of the USSR, declared in December 1991 that the Soviet Union was disintegrated.;
Capitalism and democracy were adopted as the basis for the post Soviet republics.

Reasons for the Soviet Union Disintegration

There are several reasons which led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. These were

Internal weaknesses of Soviet political and economic institutions failed to meet the aspirations of the people.
The economy of the Soviet Union became stagnant. The Soviet economy used much of its resources in maintaining a nuclear and military arsenal.
The Soviet Union too became stagnant due to rampant corruption, the unwillingness to allow more openness in government, and the centralisation of authority in a vast land.
A section of the society was not happy with the reforms of Gorbachev. It was believed that the reforms introduced by Gorbachev were at a very slow pace.
Another reason for the collapse of USSR was the rise of nationalism and the desire for sovereignty within various republics including Russia and the Baltic republics.

Consequences of Disintegration

There are many consequences of the disintegration of USSR. They are as follows:

It led to the end of Cold War confrontations. There was no dispute of Socialist ideology and Capitalist ideology.
Power relations in world politics changed and thus it led to change in the relative influence of ideas and institutions.
The US became the sole superpower which also backed the capitalist economy making it the dominant economic system internationally.
The end of the Soviet bloc paved way for the emergence of many new countries. All these countries had their own independent aspirations and choices.
The international system saw many new players’ emerge, each with its own identity, interests and economic and political difficulties

Shock Therapy in Post-Communist Regimes

The model of transition in Russia, Central Asia and East Europe from an authoritarian socialist system to a democratic capitalist system which was influenced by the World Bank and the IMF came to be known as ‘Shock Therapy’.
This process of transition was due to the Collapse of Communism.
There was a need to make a total shift to a capitalist economy which meant rooting out completely any structures evolved during the Soviet period.
Shock therapy also involved a drastic change in the external orientation of these economics.
It also involved a break up of the existing.
Trade alliances among the countries of the Soviet bloc.

Consequences of Shock Therapy

The shock therapy brought ruin to the economies and disaster upon the people of the entire region.
The value of the Russian currency ‘Ruble’ declined dramatically. People lost all their savings due to high rate of inflation.
The government withdrew subsidies which pushed large sections of the people into poverty. The middle classes were pushed to the periphery of society.
The construction of democratic institutions was not given the same attention and priority as the demands of economic transformation.
Most of these economies, especially Russia, started reviving in 2000, 10 years after their independence. The reason for the revival was the export of natural resources like oil, natural gas and minerals.

Tensions and Conflicts in Former Soviet Republics

There were tensions and conflicts in most of the former Soviet republics and many have had civil wars and insurgencies.
In Russia, two republics, Chechnya and Dagestan have had violent secessionist movements.
Tajikistan witnessed a civil war for almost 10 years till 2001. The region had many sectarian conflicts.
Central Asia too become a zone of competition between outside powers and oil companies.
Czechoslovakia was divided into two, the Czechs and the Slovaks thus forming independent countries.
Yugoslavia broke apart with several provinces like Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina declaring independence.

India and Post-Communist Countries

India maintained a cordial relationship with all the post-communist countries. The strongest relation of India is still with Russia.
Indo-Russian relation is an important aspect of India’s foreign policy. Both the countries share a vision of a multipolar world order.
India got benefits from Russia over issues like Kashmir, energy supplies, access to Central Asia, balancing its relations with China.
Russia stands to benefit from this relationship because India is the second largest arms market for Russia. Both the countries have collaborated over many scientific projects.

FACTS THAT MATTER

The Socialist Revolution in Russia in 1917 gave birth to USSR with inspiration of socialism, ensure a minimum standard of living for all its citizens and also the government subsidised basic necessities and productive assets were owned and controlled by the state.
Russia was the only republic among fifteen republics who dominates everything and people in the region.
Soviet Union lagged behind the west in technology, infrastructure and could not fulfil political aspirations of people. Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 also weakened the system furthermore.
Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of Communist Party of Soviet Union in 1985 initiated the policies of economic and political reforms to democratise the system which were opposed by leaders within communist party and contradictory view of people.
The people of republic had been fed up with old style rule of Soviet bloc and in Dec 1991, under the leadership of Boris Yeltsin (an elected leader), Russia, Ukraine and Baltics declared themselves independent.
The formation of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) came as a surprise and the exclusion of these states was resolved by making them founder members of the CIS.
Russia was accepted as successor state of Soviet Union by inheriting a Soviet seat in UN Security Council, who accepted all international treaties and commitments of Soviet Union and carried out some nuclear disarmament measures with the US.
Now Soviet Union had been disintegrated on the grounds to maintain nuclear and military arsenals, awareness of people of their backwardness than western capitalism as well as alienation of ordinary people who were exempted from any kind of privileges.
The rise of nationalism and the desire for sovereignty within republics like Russia, the Baltic Republics (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Ukraine, Georgia and others proved to be the most immediate cause for disintegration of USSR.
Disintegration of USSR resulted into the end of Cold War confrontations, created dominant capitalist system, emerged many new states and the advantage was taken by Central Asian countries of their geographical locations by maintaining relations with Russia, the West, the US, China and others.
The process of transition from an authoritarian socialist system to a democratic capitalist system in Russia, Central Asia and East Europe was influenced by World Bank and IMF came to be known as Shock Therapy.
Shock Therapy involved privatisation of property, private firms emergence, complete switch over to free trade and Foreign Direct Investment, Financial opening up, Currency convertibility as well as break up of existing trade alliances among the countries of Soviet Bloc to maintain relations directly with the West.
Shock Therapy resulted in the largest garage sale in history, declined value of Russian Currency ‘Ruble’, due to inflation, food was imported, destroyed Old Social Welfare System, Migration of educated and intellectual manpower and disparities due to privatisation between rich and poor regions of Russia.
The constitution of newly democratic institutions was drafted in a hurry where strong executives appointed themselves as presidents due to weak Parliament and lack of independent judiciary as in Russia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Russia revived in 2000 due to export of natural resources like oil, natural gas and minerals which were available in abundance in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. And from where these pipelines crossed, were paid on rent.
Most of the former Soviet Republics had civil wars and insurgencies as in Russia, two republics Chechnya and Dagestan had violent secessionist movements, in Central Asia. Civil War took place in Azerbaijan and Georgia. Czechoslovakia was also split into two. Even countries and provinces like Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, and Georgia are fighting over river water leading to instability and making life difficult for ordinary people.
The Central Asian Republics were rich in hydrocarbon resources for economic benefit as Oil Companies and outside powers had a competition to exploit these natural resources. Also, the US approached them to hire bases and territories during wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Russia and India share a vision of multipolar world order, collective security, greater regionalism, negotiated settlements of international conflicts, on independent foreign policy and decision making through UN.
India is benefitted from Russia on issues of Kashmir, energy supplies, sharing information on international terrorism, access to Central Asia and balancing its relations with China. In return, Russia has also been benefitted from India on the ground of second largest arms market for Russia.

WORDS THAT MATTER

Soviet System: Soviet system was introduced after Russian Revolution in 1917 based on the principles of egalitarian society and planned economy controlled by the state.
Socialist Bloc: The east European countries were known as Socialist Bloc because these countries were liberated from the fascist forces and their political and economic systems were based on this bloc only.
Capitalist Economy: In this economy, land and productive assets are owned and controlled by the Capitalists.
Unipolar System: Affairs at international level are dominated by only one superpower.
Multipolar System: Affairs at international level can not be dominated by one superpower only, instead group of countries play an important role.
Egalitarian Society: It believes that all people are equally important and should have the same rights and opportunities in life.
Largest Garage Sale: It was resulted due to Shock Therapy to undervalue the valuable industries of USSR to sell them at throwaway prices.
Shock Therapy: The model of transition from authoritarian socialist system to a democratic capitalist system in Russia, Central Asia and East Europe under the influence of the World Bank and IMF.

TIMELINE

March 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev electced as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union; appoints Boris Yeltsin as the head of the Communist Party in Moscow; initiates a series of reforms in the Soviet Union.
1988 Independence movement begins in Lithuania; later spreads to Estonia and Latvia.
October 1989 Soviet Union declares that the Warsaw Pact members are free to decide their own future; Berlin Wall falls in November.
February 1990 Gorbachev strips the Soviet Communist Party of its 72-year long monopoly on power by calling on the Soviet Parliament (Duma) to permit multiparty politics.
March 1990 Lithuania becomes the first of the 15 Soviet republics to declare its independence.
June 1990 Russian parliament declares its dependence from the Soviet Union.
June 1991 Yeltsin, no longer in the Communist Party, becomes the President of Russia.
August 1991 The Communist Party hardliners stage an abortive coup against Gorbachev.
September 1991 Three Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania becomes UN members (Later join NATO in March 2004).
December 991 Russia, Belarus and Ukraine decided to annul the 1992 Treaty on the creation of the USSR and establish the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS); Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan joined the CIS (Georgia joined later in 1993); Russia took ones the USSR seat in the United Nations.
25 December 1991 Gorbachev resigns as the President of the Soviet Union; the end of the Soviet Union.

US Hegemony in World Politics-Chapter 3

Beginning of the ‘New World Order’ by the US

The disintegration of USSR led to the beginning of the US hegemony in 1991. It remained with all its powers enhanced and intact.
Kuwait was invaded by Iraq in August 1990 and was subsequently annexed. After a series of diplomatic attempts failed at convincing Iraq to quit its aggression, the United Nations mandated the liberation of Kuwait by force. This decision of UN was hailed by the US President George HW Bush as the emergence of a ‘New World Order.’
The First Gulf War took place in which Iraq was defeated by a coalition force of 6, 60,000 troops from 34 countries. It was known as ‘Operation Desert Storm’ or ‘First Gulf War’.
The war was overwhelmingly American. It revealed the vast technological gap that had opened up between the US military capability and other countries.

The Clinton Years

George HW Bush lost the US Presidential elections of 1992 to William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton of the Democratic Party.
During this era, it was believed that the US had withdrawn into its internal affairs and was not fully engaged in world politics.
The government led by Clinton focused on ‘soft issues’ like democracy promotion, climate change and world trade rather than ‘hard politics’.
Still, the US showed its military powers. Firstly, in 1999 in response to Yugoslavian actions against the pre-dominantly Albanian population in the province of Kosovo. Secondly, in response to the bombing of the US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar-es-Salaam.
‘Operation Infinite Reach’, launched by the US, was a series of cruise missile strikes on Al-Qaeda terrorist targets in Sudan and Afghanistan.

9/11 and the ‘Global War on Terror

On 11th September 2001, four American commercial aircrafts were hijacked and flew into important buildings in the US.
The first and second airline crashed into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Centre (New York), the third crashed into the Pentagon building (Arlington, Virginia) and the fourth aircraft came down in a field in Pennsylvania. These attacks came to be known as ‘9/11’.
The US response to 9/11 was swift and ferocious. George W Bush had succeeded Clinton in the US Presidency.
The US launched ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’ as a part of its ‘Global War on Terror’.
The operation was against all those suspected to be behind the 9/11 attack, mainly Al-Qaeda and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
Arrests were made all over the world by the US forces often without the knowledge of the government of the persons being arrested.
These persons were transported across countries and detained in secret prisons.

The Iraq Invasion

Operation Iraqi Freedom’ was launched by the US on 19th March, 2003 and was joined by more than forty other countries.
The purpose of the invasion was to prevent Iraq from developing Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).
As there was no evidence of WMD, it is speculated that the invasion was motivated by other objectives such as controlling Iraqi oilfields, etc.
The US invasion of Iraq was both a military and political failure as around 3000 US military personnel were lost and Iraqi casualities were much higher.

Constraints on American Power

There are three constraints on American power. The institutional architecture of the America is the first constraint.
The second constraint is domestic in nature and stems from the open nature of American society. There is a deep scepticism regarding the purposes and methods of government in American political culture.
The third constraint on American power is the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) which is only organisation in the international system that could possibly moderate the exercise of American power.

India’s Relationship with the US

During the Cold War, India closest friendship was with the Soviet Union.
Over the years, India decided to liberalise its economy and integrate it with the global economy. This made India an attractive economic partner for a number of countries including the US.
Two new factors emerged in Indo-US relations in recent years. They include :
Technological dimension
The role of the Indian-American diaspora.
There are three different strategies to decide what kind of relationship India should have with USA. They are as follows :
Those Indian analysts who see international politics in terms of military power, prefer that India should maintain its distance from US and should focus upon increasing its own national power.
Other analysts see the growing convergence of interests between US and India as a historic opportunity for India.
A third group of analysts advocate that India should take the lead in establishing the coalition of countries from developing world.
Indo-US relations are too difficult to manage by a sole strategy. There should be mixing of foreign policy strategies of deal with the US.

Meaning of Hegemony

The word ‘hegemony’ means the leadership or predominance of one state over others by virtue of its military, economic, political power and cultural superiority.
Politics is all about gaining power. In world politics, countries and groups of countries are engaged in constantly trying to gain and retain power.
It is important to understand the distribution of power among the countries of the world in order to understand world politics.
During the Cold War Era, there were two superpowers, the US and the USSR. But after the disintegration of USSR, only a single power was left i.e. the US.
The international system dominated by a sole superpower or hyper-power is sometimes called a ‘unipolar system’.

Hegemony as Hard Power

Hegemony relates to the relations, patterns and balances of military capability between states.
The base of US power lies in the overwhelming superiority of its military power. It is both absolute and relative.
The military dominance of the US is not just based on higher military spending but on a qualitative gap.
But still, the US invasion of Iraq reveals weakness of American power as it was not able to force the Iraqi people into submitting to the occupation forces of the US-led coalition.

Hegemony as Structural Power

The idea behind this type of hegemony is that an open world economy requires a hegemon or dominant power to support its creation and existence.
In this sense, hegemony is reflected in the role played by the US in providing global public goods. The best examples of global public goods are Sea-Lanes of Communication (SLOCs), Internet, roads, etc.
The economic preponderance of the US is inseparable from its structural power, which is the power to shape the global economy in a particular way.
Another example of the structural power of the US is the academic degree called the Masters in Business Administration (MBA). The idea of teaching skills for business is uniquely American.

Hegemony as Soft Power

In this type of hegemony, it implies class ascendancy in the social, political and particularly ideological spheres.
It suggests that a dominant power not only possess military power but also ideological resources to shape the behaviour of competing and lesser powers.
The US predominance in the world is based not only on its military power and economic powers but on its cultural presence.
During the Cold War, the US scored notable victories in the area of structural power and soft power rather than hard power.

Overcoming the Hegemony

It is important to understand that there is no single power to balance the US military. There are various strategies which can be helpful to overcome the hegemony.
According to the Bandwagon Strategy, it is suggested that instead of engaging in activities opposed to the hegemonic power, it is advisable to extract benefits by operating within the hegemonic system.
Hide Strategy implies staying as far removed from the dominant power as possible. China, Russia and the European Union are many examples of this behaviour.
Another belief is that resistance to American hegemony may come from non-state actors rather than other states. It is believed that challenges to US hegemony will come from a combination of Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), social movements and public opinion.

FACTS THAT MATTER

America refers to the United States of America. It covers two continents—the North and the South America, the US is only one of the countries of the continent which is a symbol of US hegemony.
After the disintegration of USSR in 1991, the first instance of US hegemony came into observation through Operation Desert Storm by the UN during first Gulf War to retreat Iraqi forces from Kuwait. This operation was dominated and won by the US due to vast technological gap between the US military capability and other states.
William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton, the newly elected President of the US in 1992 and againIn 1996, focused on soft issues like democracy promotions, climate change and world trade rather than of military power and security. .

The above mentioned policies of the US were contradicted in response to Yugoslavian action against predominant Albanian population in Kosovo by targeting bombards through Operation Infinite against Al-Qaeda in response to the bombings of US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, Dar-es-Salaam and Tanzania in 1998.
On 11 September 2001, nineteen hijackers hailing from a number of Arab countries took control of four commercial aircrafts shortly after take off and crushed into World Trade Centre in New York, Pentagon building in Arlington. Virginia (US Defence Department) and the capital building of the US Congress in Pennysylvania, came to be known as event of 9/11 in the US.
In response to 9/11, George W. Bush won the elections in the US succeeding Bill Clinton. The US launched Operation Enduring Freedom against all those suspected behind attack in 9/11 mainly Al-Qaeda and Taliban regime.
The US forces made arrests all over the world, transported and detained the persons in secret prisons like Guantanamo Bay, a US navy 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 persons.
On 19 March 2003, the US launched Operation Iraqi Freedom to prevent Iraq from developing Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) in the ostensible purpose to control oil fields and installing a regime in Iraq friendly to US.
Hegemony is an international system with only one centre of power to be gained and retained in the form of military domination, economic political chart and central superiority which was enjoyed only by the US after disintegration of Soviet Union.
Hegemony as hard power is based on military capabilities of a country and the US has proved it. The US today spends more on its military than the next 12 powers and even technologically no other power can match with the US.
Hegemony as structural power must sustain global structure in economic sense. The US has provided global public goods as sea lanes of communications (SLOCs) as well as accounts for 15 percent of world trade if EU is included and 20 per cent in world economy. The US has contributed basic economic structure in the form of Bretton Woods System and Degree in MBA.
Hegemony as soft power implies class ascendency in social, political and ideological spheres which is more effective than coercion to more hand in hand and the US was proved ultimately triumphant in this.
Though the US has been a hegemonic power, still it experiences some constraints in itself as institutional architecture (division of power). Open nature of American Society and the presence of only one organisation in international system to moderate the exercise of American Power i.e. NATO.
After the collapse of Soviet Union, India decided to liberalise its economy and integrate it with global economy. Hence the US also found India an attractive economic partner due to technological dimension and the role of Indian-American diaspora.
India needs an appropriate mix of foreign policy strategies to deal with the US. Either India should maintain aloofness from Washington and comprehend its military power or to establish mutual convergences or to lead a coalition in weaning the hegemony assay from its dominance.
To deal with the hegemony, all the states bear the different strategies either to extract benefits by operating within hegemonic system or to stay away as far as possible from dominant power i.e. Russia, China and European Union have opted this policy. Both the policies are known as Bandwagon Strategy and to hide respectively.

WORDS THAT MATTER

America: It covers two continents of North and South America and the US is only one of the countries of American continent that symbolises US hegemony.
9/11: To denote a series of attacks on the US by hijackers from Arab countries on 11 Sep, 2001. It was the most disastrous attack on the US.
Guantanamo Bay: A naval base in Cuba set up by the US where prisoners are forbidden of the protection of international law or law of their own country or that of the US.
Hegemony: An international system to dominate world by only one superpower.
Qualitative Gap: It signifies US superiority in technology and no other power could dare to challenge the US.
Bandwagon Strategy: To extract benefits by operating within hegemonic system in place of opposing it.
Global Village: It refers to the US as the village headman and all the nations as its members are neighbours.
Manufacturing Consent: It refers to win the consent of countries to the dominating power in a manner favourable to ascendancy of the dominant class.
Bretton Woods System: A basic economic structure of world set up by the US after Second World War.
Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOCs): It is the naval power of hegemony that underwrites the law of the sea and ensures freedom of navigation in international waters. These sea routes commonly waded by merchant ships.

Alternative Centres of Power-Chapter 4

European Union

After the end of the Second World War, there was a dilemma among many European leaders over the status of Europe. The Second World War shattered the structure on which the European states had based their relations.
The Cold War aided the integration of Europe after 1945. The European economy was revived by the extensive financial support by USA under the ‘Marshall Plan’.
The Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) was established in 1948 to channel aid to the West European states. Another step forward in political cooperation was the establishment of the council of Europe in 1949.
The disintegration of USSR led to the formation of European Union in 1992 which laid the foundation for a common foreign and security policy, cooperation on justice and creation of a single currency.
The European Union has evolved over time from an economic union to an increasingly political one.
The European Union has economic, political, diplomatic and military influence.
Economically, the European Union is the world’s biggest economy. It had a GDP of more than $12 trillion in 2005. Its currency Euro, can pose a threat to the dominance of the US dollar.
On the political and diplomatic ground, Britain and France, the two members of EU are permanent members of the UN Security Council.
In the defence field, the European Union’s combined armed forces are the second largest in the world.

Association of South East Asian Nations [ASEAN]

Before and during the Second World War, the South East Asia suffered a lot from repeated colonialism i.e. both European and Japanese.
There were problems of nation-building, ravages of poverty and economic backwardness and a pressure to align with any of the two super blocs.
The South East Asian Countries established the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967 as an alternative to Bandung conference and the Non-Aligned Movement.
On the ASEAN logo, the ten stalks of paddy (Rice) represent the ten South East Asian countries bound together in friendship and solidarity. The circle symbolises the unity of ASEAN.
There were five founding countries-Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
The objectives of ASEAN was to accelerate economic growth, social progress, promote regional peace, stability and cultural development.
The members of the association promoted ASEAN way, a form of interaction that is informal, non-confrontationist and cooperative.
In 2003, an ASEAN community was established comprising three pillars, namely, the ASEAN security community, the ASEAN economic community and the ASEAN socio-cultural community.
The member states promised to uphold peace, neutrality, cooperation, non-interference and respect for national differences and sovereign rights.
The ASEAN economic community aims for a common market and to aid social and economic development in the region.
ASEAN has a vision 2020 which has defined an outward looking role for ASEAN in the international community.

Rise of the Chinese Economy

China has been growing as an economic power since 1978. It is projected to overtake the US as the world’s largest economy by 2040. In 1949, the economy of the China was based on the Soviet model. It now relied on its own resources.
During 1970’s, China established relations with the USA ending its political and economic isolation.
An ‘Open Door Policy’ was announced by Deng Xiaoping in 1978, which aimed at generating high productivity by investments in capital and technology from abroad.
Special economic zones were set up. State had a centralised role in setting up of China’s economy.
Still the Chinese economy did not benefit everyone in China. The rate of unemployment has risen, working conditions and female employment is bad.
However, regionally and globally, China has been in limelight economic power.

India-China Relations

India and China had a cordial relations since time immemorial. Both have political, economic and cultural relations.
After India gained independence, both the countries shared a peaceful relation. During this period the slogan of ‘Hindi-Chini-Bhai Bhai’ was popular.
Very soon both the countries involved in border dispute. The difference aroused from the Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1950.
India suffered military reverses in the conflict of 1962. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were downgraded until 1976.
It was during the visit paid by Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to China in 1988 December, the relation between the two countries started improving.

FACTS THAT MATTER

After the Second World War, Europe shattered the assumptions and structures on which the European states had based their relations.
To revive European economy, the US introduced ‘Marshall Plan’ to establish organisation for European Economic Cooperation in 1948. Through OEEL, Western European States began to cooperate on trade and economic issues.
European Union established in 1992, was a group of European Capitalist countries with a common foreign and security policy, cooperation on justice and home affairs and creation of single currency and also has its own flag, anthem and founding date.
The European Union has economic, political, diplomatic and military influence as the EU is the world’s biggest economy which gives it influence over its closest neighbours and in Asia and Africa. And it functions as an important bloc in international world economic organisation as the World Trade Organisation.
In political and diplomatic influence, two members of EU, Britain and France hold permanent seat in the UN Security Council as well as non-permanent members in UNSC which enabled to influence the US policies i.e. current position on Iran’s nuclear programme, use of diplomacy, economic investment and in case of a dialogue with China on human rights and environmental degradation.
Militarily, the EU’s combined armed forces are the second largest in the world by spending second after the US and Britain and France also have nuclear arsenal. And it is the most important source of space and communications technology also.
Though EU bears common interests. Still, its member states have their own foreign relations and defence policies that are often at odds with each other i.e. Britain favoured the US’s Iraq invasion which other members of EU Germany and France opposed America’s this policy. All these limit the ability of the EU to act in matters of foreign relations and defence.
Before and during the Second World War South East regions of Asia suffered economic political consequences of repeated colonialism as well as at the end of war it confronted with the problems of nation building which gave birth to Association of South East Asian Nations popularly known as ASEAN for uniform cooperation and interaction.
ASEAN was established in 1967 by five countries of this region-Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand by signing the Bangkok Declaration. Over the years Brunei, Darussalam, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Cambodia made its strength to ten.
ASEAN countries celebrated the ASEAN WAY’, a form of informal interaction, non-confrontation and cooperation standing on three pillars in 2003 i.e. ASEAN Security Committee, ASEAN Economic Committee and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Committee.
ASEAN VISION 2020 encourages negotiations over the conflicts in the region by mediating the end of Cambodian conflict, East Umar Crisis and meets annually to discuss East Asian Cooperation.
In recent years, India has also tried to make agreements with ASEAN by signing Free Trade Areas with two ASEAN members—Singapore and Thailand as well as signed on FTA with ASEAN itself.
China emerged as the fastest growing economy since economic reforms of 1978 to be projected to overtake the US as the world’s largest economy by 2040 with the economic strength of population, land mass, resources, regional location and political influence.
After independence of People’s Republic of China in 1949, Soviet model of economy was adopted under the leadership of Mao by assuring employment, social welfare, education to all and better health as China began to use its own resources and grow Chinese economy at the rate of 5-6 percent.
China ended its political and economic isolation with major policy decisions taken in 1970s. These included China-US relations establishment in 1972, four areas of modernisation (Agriculture, Industry, Science and Technology) in 1973, open door policy in 1978, privatisation of agriculture and industries in 1982 and 1990 and setting up of special Economic Zones.
Regionally and globally China is going to be recognised as an economic power due to contributory factors i.e. integration and interdependency have tempered its issues with Japan, the US, ASEAN, Russia, Taiwan. Even China’s outward-looking investment and aid policies in Latin America and Africa are projecting it as a global player.
Indo-China relations experienced friendly gestures at the moments, but 1950 onwards both the nations were involved in the differences on the issues of Tibet problem, border issues in Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin area of Ladakh, Chinese attack in 1962 and Chinese contribution to Pakistan’s nuclear programme.
Relations between India and China began to improve slowly from the mid-1970, by a series of talks to resolve border issues in 1981 and now these relations have strategic and economic dimensions.
Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to China in 1980, Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s visit in 2003 have accommodated both the countries to maintain peace and tranquillity on the border.

WORDS THAT MATTER

European Union: A group of European Capitalist countries established in 1992 founded for common goals of foreign and security policy, cooperation and home affairs.
OEEC: Organisation for European Economic Cooperation established in 1948 to channel aid to West European states to cooperate on trade and economic issues.
Marshall Plan: It was introduced by America to provide financial help for revival of European economy.
ASEAN: Association of South East Asian Nations to accelerate economic growth through social progress and cultural development.
ASEAN WAY: An interaction that is informal, non-confrontationists and cooperative to promote supernational structures.
ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF): An organisation established in 1994 to promote coordination of security and foreign policy.
Special Economic Zones (SEZs): Foreign investors could set up their own enterprises in these zones.
Open Door Policy: To invite investment of capital and technology from abroad.
Three Pillars of ASEAN Community: ASEAN Security Community, ASEAN Economic Community, ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.

TIMELINE

April 1951: Six West European Countries, France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg sign the Treaty of Paris establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).
March 25, 1957: These six countries sign the treaties of Rome establishing the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM).
January 1973: Denmark, Ireland and United Kingdom join the European Community.
June 1979: First direct elections to the European Parliament.
January 1981: Greece joins the EC.
June 1985: The Schengen Agreement abolishes border controls among the EC numbers.
January 1986: Spain and Portugal join the EC.
October 1990: Unification of Germany.
February 7, 1992: Treaty of Maastricht was signed establishing the European Union.
January 1993: The single market was created.
January 1995: Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU.
January 2002: Euro, the new currency, was introduced in the 12 EU members.
May 2004: Ten new members Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia join the EU.
January 2007: Bulgaria and Romania join the EU. Slovenia adopts the EURO.

Contemporary South Asia-Chapter 5

Pakistan

The first military rule in Pakistan took place under General Yahya Khan. The reason for this was the popular dissatisfaction against the rule of General Ayub Khan.
After this, a government was formed under the leadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from 1971 to 1977.
Bhutto Government was removed by General Zia-ul-Haq but had to face pro-democracy movement from 1982 onwards.
Again in 1988 an elected democratic government was established under Benazir Bhutto but had to face competition from the Pakistan People’s Party and the Muslim League.
Army stepped in again and General Pervez Musharraf removed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. General Musharraf got himself elected as the President in 2001.
There were several factors which led to the failure of Pakistan in building a stable democracy.
At present, again a democratic form of government is ruling the country under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

India-Pakistan Conflicts

After independence, both India and Pakistan got involved in issue related to Kashmir. It led to wars in 1947-48 and 1965 which failed to settle the matter.
Both the countries face conflict over strategic issues like the control of the Siachen glacier and over acquisition of arms.
Both the countries continue to be suspicious of each other over security issue.
Another issue of conflict among the two countries is over the sharing of river waters of Indus river system.
The two countries are not in agreement over the demarcationjine in Sir Creek in the Rann of Kutch.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan from 1947 to 1971. But it started protesting against the domination of Western Pakistan and the imposition of Urdu Language.
A popular struggle against West Pakistani dominance was led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
In 1970 election, the Awani league under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman won all seats but the government dominated by the West Pakistani leadership refused to convene the assembly.
The Pakistani army tried to suppress the movement which led to a large number of migration to India.
The Indian Government supported the demands of people of East Pakistan and helped them. This led to a war with Pakistan in 1971. Bangladesh was formed as an independent country after the end of war.
A Constitution was adopted by Bangladesh declaring faith in secularism, democracy and socialism. But government under Sheikh Mujibur amended the Constitution and formed Presidential form of government.
Sheikh Mujibur was assassinated and a military rule was established under Ziaur Rahman. He was also assassinated and the rule of Lt Gen H.M. Ershad started this continuing the military rule.
A pro-democratic movement was again started which led to election in 1991. Since then representative democracy based on multi-party elections has been working in Bangladesh.

Nepal

Nepal was a Hindu Kingdom in the past but later changed into a constitutional monarchy for many years.
In the wake of a strong pro-democracy movement the king accepted the demand for a new democratic Constitution in 1990.
There was a conflict among the democrats, maoists and monarchist forces which led to the abolition of parliament and dismissal of government in 2002 by the king.
Again in 2006, after a pro-democratic movement, the king was forced to restore the House of Representatives.

Sri Lanka

The democratic set up of Sri Lanka was disturbed by the Ethnic conflict among the Sinhalese and Tamil origin people.
According to the Sinhalese, the region of Ceylon belonged to Sinhala people only and not to the Tamils who migrated from India.
This led to the formation of Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a militant organisation, who demanded a separate country.
The Government of India was pressurised by the Tamil people in India for the protection of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
India signed an accord with Sri Lanka and sent troops to stabilise relations between the Sri Lankan Government and the Tamils.
Eventually, the Indian Army got into a fight with the LTTE. Later on the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was pulled out of Sri Lanka in 1989 without achieving its aims.
Presently, the LTTE has been destroyed by the Sri Lankan Government and the area under LTTE has been recovered.
Inspite of the Ethnic conflict, the economy of Sri Lanka has always been high.

India and its Other Neighbours

Neighbouring countries of India are Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives and Pakistan.
There are certain issues of conflicts between India and Bangladesh. These include sharing of Ganga and Brahmaputra river waters, illegal immigration to India etc.
Still, both India and Bangladesh share a cordial relation with each other. Economic relations between the two have improved considerably.
Nepal and India shares a friendly relation with each other but certain issues like warm relation of Nepal with China, Maoist movement in Nepal etc have disturbed the relation.
Despite differences, trade, scientific co-operation, electricity generation and inter locking water management grids hold the two countries together.
India enjoys a very special relationship with Bhutan too and does not have any major conflict with the Bhutanese government.

Peace and Cooperation

Even though there are certain issues of conflicts among the South Asian countries, they recognise the importance of cooperation and friendly relationship among themselves.
The South Asian countries initiated the establishment of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in 1985 to evolve cooperation among each other.
The SAFTA was signed in 2004 by the South Asian countries to allow free trade across the borders.
SAFTA aims at lowering trade tariffs by 20 percent by 2007.
Although there has been issues between India and Pakistan, measures were being taken to bring cordial changes between the countries.
There is also an outside power which influence the region. China and the United States remain key players in South Asian politics.

FACTS THAT MATTER

South Asia is referred to as a group of seven countries namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka which stand for diversity in every sense and constitutes geopolitical space.
Despite the mixed record of democratic experience, the people in these countries share an aspiration for democracy which can be drawn from the examples of Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives.
Pakistan began Post Cold War period with successive democratic governments but suffered a military coup in 1999. In Nepal successful uprising led to restoration of democracy in 2006. India and Sri Lanka have also operated a democratic system, despite many limitations and even Maldives have strengthened democracy.
In Pakistan, military rule and democracy are two sides of the coin because, during implementation of first constitution, General Ayub Khan took the command by-elections, but thrown away by military due to dissatisfaction of his rule. After 1971, an elected government was formed under the leadership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, removed by General Zia-Ul-Haq in 1977.
Again in 1982, in Pakistan, by a pro-democracy protest, democratic government was established in 1988 under the leadership of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. Later on, the history repeated and General Pervez Musharraf took the command in 1999 and got elected in 2005 to be continued till date.
Bangladesh was formed by migrants from West Pakistan and refused to form government by East Pakistan despite winning all the seats. India intervened and supported the demand of creation of East Pakistan financially and militarily. Consequently, in December 1971, Pakistan surrendered with the formation of an independent country named Bangladesh.
Bangladesh drafted its own constitution declaring faith in secularism, democracy and socialism. In 1975, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman formed presidential setup, but was assassinated in a military uprising. The new military ruler Ziaur Rahman formed his own Bangladesh National Party and won elections in 1979. He was assassinated and another military take over followed under the leadership of Gen. H.M. Ershad. Since 1991, representative democracy has been working in Bangladesh.
Nepal was a Hindu Kingdom and became constitutional monarchy in modern period. The struggle for restoration of democracy began in 1990 and 2007 when king restored house of representatives. Even today Nepal is demanding the formation of constituent assembly.
Ceylon, presently known as Sri Lanka experienced an ethnic conflict between Sinhalese and Tamils for power sharing. LTTE demanded a separate state for Tamil 1983 onwards with the support of Indian government who sent Indian Peace Keeping Forces there which was not liked by Sri Lankans.
Sri Lanka has maintained a democratic political system with a considerable economic growth i.e. one of the first developing countries to control population growth rate, liberalized economy, and bears highest per capita gross Domestic Product despite the ongoing conflicts.
India-Pakistan conflicts in South Asian region is most important to be sorted out. The wars between these countries took place in 1947-48,1965 and 1971 on the issues of Pak Occupied Kashmir (POK) and Line of Control (LOC). Except, other issues of conflicts are control of Siachin glacier, acquisition of arms and sharing of river water.
Both the governments are suspicious to each other on the ground of Pakistani strategy to help Kashmiri militants and ISI to be involved in Anti-India campaign. Pakistan blames India for making trouble in Sindh and Baluchistan.
India and Bangladesh experienced differences over the issues of sharing of Ganga and Brahmaputra river water, illegal immigration to India, support for anti Indian-Islamic fundamentalists, refusal to allow Indian troops and not to export natural gas to India. It is the main link of India’s ‘Look East’ Policy.
India and Nepal also bear differences on the issues of Nepal’s relations with China and inaction against anti-Indian elements i.e. Maoists. But still both the countries signed the treaty of trade and commerce in 2005 and friendship in 2006 to provide financial and technical assistance and to allow citizens to move without visas and passport.
India and Bhutan do not share any major conflict, but attached on the issues to need out the guerrillas and militants from North-eastern India and involvement of India also in big hydroelectric projects in Bhutan is the biggest source of development aid.
India is supportive to Maldives in their economy, tourism and fisheries. In November 1988, India reacted quickly against an attack from Tamil Mercenaries on Maldives.
In spite of the above-mentioned conflicts and differences, states of South Asia recognise cooperation and friendly relations among themselves. Hence, a major regional initiative has been taken in the form of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in 1982. SAARC members signed South Asian Free Trade Agreements (SAFTA) to form free trade zone for the whole South Asia.

WORDS THAT MATTER

Geo-Politics: Geo-politics refers to the Association of countries who are bound with each Other geographically and their interests are also interlinked with each other politically and economically.

Bilateral Talks: Talks involving the two countries without any other mediation.
Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF): It was sent by India in Sri Lanka to support the demand of Tamils to be recognised.
Seven Party Alliance (SPA): An alliance of seven parties in Nepal which also demanded an end to monarch.
SAARC: It stands for South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation having seven members and aims at mutual trust and understanding.
SAFTA: It is South Asia Free Trade Area Agreement to trade free from custom restrictions and duties by its member states.
LTTE: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam in Sri Lanka which demanded a separate state for Tamils.

TIMELINE

1947: India and Pakistan emerge as an independent nation after the end of British rule.
1948: Sri Lanka gains independence. Indo-Pak conflict over Kashmir.
1954-55: Pakistan joins the Cold War military blocs, SEATO and CENTO.
September 1960: India and Pakistan sign Indus Waters Treaty.
1962: Border conflicts between India and China.
1965: Indo-Pak War, UN India-Pakistan Observation Mission.
1966: India and Pakistan sign the Tashkent Agreement: Six-Point proposal of Sheikh Mujib- ur-Rahman for greater autonomy to East Pakistan.
March 1971: Proclamation of independence by leaders of Bangladesh.
August 1971: Indo-Soviet Treaty of friendship signed for 20 years.
December 1971: Indo-Pak war, Liberation of Bangladesh.
July 1972: India and Pakistan sign the Shimla Agreement.
May 1974: India conducts nuclear test.
1976: Pakistan and Bangladesh establish diplomatic relations.
December 1985: South Asian leaders sign the SAARC Charter at the first summit in Dhaka.
1987: Indo-Sri Lanka Accord: Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) operation in Sri Lanka (1987-90).
1988: India sends troops to the Maldives to foil a coup attempt by mercenaries.
India and Pakistan sign the agreement not to attack nuclear installations and facilities of each other.
1988-91: Democracy restoration in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
December 1996: India and Bangladesh sign the Farakka Treaty for sharing of the Ganga waters.
May 1998: India and Pakistan conduct nuclear tests.
December: India and Sri Lanka sign the Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
February 1999: Indian PM Vajpayee undertakes bus journey to Lahore to sign a Peace Declaration.
June-July 1999: Kargil conflict between India and Pakistan.
July 2001: Vajpayee-Musharraf Agra Summit unsuccessful.
January 2004: SAFTA signed at the 12th SAARC Summit in Islamabad.

International Organisations-Chapter 6

The United Nation [UN]

The United Nations was established in 1945 immediately after the Second World War. It was a successor to the League of Nations which was formed after the First World War.
The objective of United Nations is to prevent international conflict and to facilitate cooperation among states.
In the UN Security Council, there are five permanent members (United Kingdom, United State of America, Russia, France and China) and other non-permanent members who are elected after every two years. The most important public figure of the UN is the Secretary General.
There are different structures and agencies of UN. These include World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC), and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) etc.

Reform of the United Nations after the Cold War

Reforms and improvement are necessary for any organisation to perform better. The UN is also not an exception.
There have been demands to bring reforms in the UN. Two demands have been raised i.e. reform of the organisation’s structures and processes and, a review of the issues that fall within the jurisdiction of the organisation.
On the reform of structures and processes, there has been the demand to increase the membership of permanent and non-permanent in UN Security Council.
On the issues within the jurisdiction of the UN, some countries want the organisation to play a greater role in peace and security missions.
While some other countries want the role of UN to be confined to development and humanitarian work.

Reform of Structures and Processes of the UN

A resolution was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1992 over the reforms in the Security Council. The resolution reflected three main complaints.
To look into the complaints over the restructuring of the UN, on 1st January, 1997, the UN Secretary General Kofi Arman initiated an inquiry into how the UN should be reformed.
Criteria for inclusion of a new member was decided. Some of them were that a new member must be a major economic and military power, a substantial contributor to the UN budget etc.
Different governments saw advantages in some criteria and disadvantages in others depending on their interests and aspirations. A demand to abolish the veto power altogether was also raised. Many perceived the veto to be in conflict with the concept of democracy and sovereign equality in the UN.
Permanent members have two privileges i.e. veto power and permanency in the Security Council.
By veto power means that if a permanent member cast a veto in a negative manner then it may state the decision.
Without veto power, there is the danger that the great powers would lose interest in the world body and without their support the body would be ineffective.

Jurisdiction of the UN

A meeting was held in September 2005 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the United Nation and to review the situation.
The leaders in this meeting decided some steps that should be taken to make the UN more relevant in the changing content. .
Steps include establishment of a Human Rights Council, creation of a democracy fund, an agreement to wind up the trusteeship council etc.

India and the UN Reforms

India has always supported the restructuring of the United Nations. It believes that a strengthened and revitalised UN is desirable in a changing world.
The most important demand of India is regarding the restructuring of the security council. It supports an increase in the number of both permanent and non-permanent members.
It also argues that an expanded council, with more representative, will enjoy greater support in the world community.
India itself wishes to be a permanent member in a restructured UN. India is the world’s largest democracy and the second most populous country in the world.
The country’s economic emergence on the world stage is another factor that perhaps justifies India’s claim to a permanent seat in the Security Council.
Despite India’s wish to be a permanent veto holding member of the UN, some countries question its inclusion. They are concerned about Indo-Pak relations, India’s nuclear capabilities etc.

The UN in a Unipolar World

It is believed by many countries that the reform and restructuring of the UN could help the UN cope better with a unipolar world in which the US was the most powerful country.
The US stands as the only superpower after the disintegration of USSR hence US power cannot be easily checked.
Within the UN, the influence of the US is considerable. As the single largest contributor to the UN, the US has unmatched financial power.
The UN is not therefore a great balance to the US. Nevertheless, in a unipolar world in which the US is dominant, the UN can and has served to bring the US and the rest of the world into discussions over various issues.
The UN is an imperfect body, but without it the world would be worse off.
It is important for people to use and support the UN and other international organisations in ways that are consistent with their own interests.

Other International Organisations

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organisation that looks upon international financial institutions and regulations. It has 188 member countries. The G-8 members (the US, Japan, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Canada, Russia), China and Saudi Arabia have more than 52 per cent votes in IMF.
World Bank is an important international organisation created during Second World War in 1944. It provides loans and grants to the member countries; especially developing countries.
World Trade Organisation (WTO) is an international organisation set up in 1995 as the successor to the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT). It sets the rules for global trade. It has 157 member countries.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an international organisation established in 1957. It seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to prevent its use for military purpose.
Amnesty International is an international Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) which campaigns for the protection of human rights all over the world.
Human Rights Watch is an international NGO which is involved in research and advocacy on human rights.

FACTS THAT MATTER

International organisations help countries to cooperate to create better living conditions all over the world and provide common platform to discuss contentious issues and find peaceful solutions, by a mechanism, rules and bureaucracy.
The United Nations was founded as a successor to ‘League of Nations’ immediately after the Second World Charter by 51 states on 20th October 1945 with the headquarter at New York.
The UN has 192 member states to prevent international conflicts to facilitate co-operation. The UN’s main organs are the General Assembly and Security Council. The UNSC consists of five permanent members i.e. the US, Russia, France, China and the UK, who enjoy Veto Power. The UN’s representative head is Secretary General.
The UN consists of many specialised agencies to deal with social and economic issues like WHO, UNDP, UNHRG, UNHCR, UNICEF, and UNESCO to work in an efficient manner and to bring world together.
After the Cold War, some of the changes occurred which affected the functioning of the UN
collapse of Soviet Union, emergence of China and India as rising powers, entry of new members, and confrontations with the challenges like genocide, civil war, ethnic conflict, terrorism, nuclear proliferation etc.
They faced two kinds of reforms over the time i.e. organisations structure and processes and a review of the issues that fall within jurisdiction of UN as why veto powers to permanent members only, dominance of powerful countries and to play more effective role in peace and security missions etc.
In 1992, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution over the reform of UN complaining no longer representation by contemporary powers, dominance of few countries based on western values etc. Following these in January 1997, Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General initiated on “How the UN should be reformed
Since 1997 onwards, a new member to be added to the UN should fulfil the parameters of being a major economic and military power, contributor to UN Budget, a populous one, should respect democracy and human rights and to make council more representative.
In September 2005, the heads of all member states of the UN took the steps to make the UN more relevant by creating peace building commissions, human rights council, agreement to achieve Millennium Development Goals, condemnation of terrorism, creation of democracy fund and an agreement to wind up Trusteeship Council.
India is a big supporter of restructuring of the UN to promote development and cooperation among states, to composition of Security Council arid to include more representation in council for its political support.
Being a citizen of India, we would firmly support India’s candidature for the permanent membership of UN Security Council on the grounds to be second most populous country, largest democracy, and initiations in the UN, economic emergence and regular financial contributor to the UN.
Some countries question India’s inclusion as permanent members in the Security Council on the basis of its troubled relationship with Pakistan, nuclear weapon capabilities, and if India included, some emerging powers (Brazil, Germany, Japan, South Africa) will also be accommodated. France and the USA advocate that Africa and South America must be represented for they do not have any representation in the present structure.
The UN can not serve as a balance against US dominance because the US is the only Superpower after 1991 and may ignore any international organisation economically and’ militarily, its veto power also can stop any move damaging its interests as well as enjoys a considerable say in the choice of Secretary General of the UN.
Despite the above mentioned strong activities of the US, the UN serves a purpose in bringing the world together in dealing with conflicts and social and economic issues. The UN provides a space within which arguments against specific US attitude and policies are heard and compromised.

UN’S SIGNIFICANT AGENCIES

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

(a) At the international level, overseas financial institutions and regulations.

(b) It consists of 180 members. Out of them, G-8 members enjoy more powers i.e. the US, Japan, Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Canada and Russia except China and Saudi Arabia.

World Bank

(a) It was created in 1944.

(b) It works for human development, agriculture and rural development, environmental protection, infrastructure and governance and provides loans and grants to developing countries.

(c) It is criticised for setting the economic agenda of poorer nations, attaching stringent conditions to its loans and forcing free market reforms.

WTO-World Trade Organisation

(a) An international organisation to set the rules for global trade which was set up in 1995 as a successor to General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) and has 157 members, (as on 1 September 2012)

(b) 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.

IAEA-International Atomic Energy Agency

(a) It was established in 1957 to implement US president Dwight Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” proposal.

(b) It seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to prevent its use for military purpose.

(c) IAEA teams regularly inspect nuclear facilities all over the world to ensure that civilian reactors are not being used for military purposes.

Amnesty International

(a) An NGO to campaign for the protection of human rights all over the world.

(b) It prepares and publishes reports on human rights to research and advocate human rights.

(c) Governments are not always happy with these reports since a major focus of Amnesty is the misconduct of government authorities.

Human Rights Watch

(a) Another international NGO involved in research and advocacy of human rights.

(b) The largest international human rights organisation in the US.

(d) It helped in building international coalitions like the campaigns to ban landmines, to stop the use of child-soldier and to establish the international criminal court.

WORDS THAT MATTER

UN Charter: A constitution of the UN to deal with objectives of the UN.
Veto: It is a negative vote to be enjoyed by five permanent members of Security Council to stop a decision.
Secretary General: A representative head of the UN to prepare an annual record of the UN activities.
WHO: World Health Organisation to deal with matters related to health.
UNICEF: United Nation’s Children Fund to deal with child welfare.
UNESCO: United Nation’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation to deal with promotion of education, science and culture.
Peace Keeping Operation: A mechanism for restoring peace and security by sending UN controlled troops in the affected area.

TIMELINE

August 1941: Signing of the Atlantic Charter by the US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British PM Winston S. Churchill.
January 1942: 26 Allied nations fighting against the Axis Powers meet in Washington D.C., to support the Atlantic Charter and sign the ‘Declaration by United Nations’.
December 1943: Tehran Conference Declaration of the three powers (US, Britain and Soviet Union)
February 1945: Yalta Conference of the ‘Big Three’ (Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin) decides to organise a United Nations conference on the proposed world organisation.
April-May 1945: The 2-month long United Nations Conference on International Organisation at San Francisco.
June 26, 1945: Signing of the UN Charter by 50 nations (Poland signed on October 15; so the UN has 51 original founding members)
October 24, 1945: The UN was founded (hence October 24 is celebrated as UN Day).
October 30, 1945: India joins the UN.

UN SECRETARIES-GENERAL

Trygve Lie (1946-1952) Norway: Lawyer and foreign minister, worked for ceasefire between India and Pakistan on Kashmir; criticised for his failure to quickly end the Korean war, Soviet Union opposed second term for him; resigned from the post.
Dag Hammarskjold (1953-1961) Sweden: Economist and lawyer, worked for resolving the Suez Canal dispute and the decolonisation of Africa; awarded Nobel Peace Prize posthumously in 1961 for his efforts to settle the Congo Crisis, Soviet Union and France criticised his role in Africa.
U Thant (1961-1971) Burma (Myanmar): Teacher and diplomat worked for resolving the Cuban Missile crisis and ending the Congo Crisis; established the UN Peacekeeping force in Cyprus; criticised the US during the Vietnam War.
Kurt Waldheim (1972-1981) Austria: Diplomat and foreign minister; made efforts to Resolve the problems of Namibia and Lebanon; oversaw the relief operation in Bangladesh, China blocked his bid for a third term.

Javier Perez de Cuellar (1982-1991) Peru: Lawyer and diplomat, worked for peace in Cyprus, Afghanistan and El Salvador; mediated between Britain and Argentina after the Falklands war; negotiated for the independence of Namibia.
Boutros Boutros-Ghali (1992-1996) Egypt: Diplomat, jurist, foreign minister; issued a report, ‘An Agenda for Peace’; conducted a successful UN operation in Mozambique; blamed for the UN failures in Bosnia, Somalia and Rwanda; due to serious disagreements, the US blocked a second term for him.
Kofi A. Annan (1997-2006) Ghana: UN official, created the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; declared the US-led invasion of Iraq as an illegal act; established the Peacebuilding Commission and the Human Rights Council in 2005; awarded the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.

Security in the Contemporary World-Chapter 7

Traditional Notions of External Security

The greatest danger to a country is from military threats. The root of this danger is the other country which by threatening military action endangers the core values of sovereignty and independence.
There are three choices with the government in response to the threat of war. These choices are to surrender, to prevent the other side from attack and to defend itself during the war and four components of traditional security i.e. deterrence, defence, balance of power and alliance building.
Deterrence means prevention of war; defence means limiting or ending war; balance of power means there should be balance between bigger and smaller countries and alliance building means coalition of states.
A good part of maintaining a balance of power is to build up one’s military power that coordinate their actions to deter or defend against military attack.
According to the traditional view of security, most threats to a country’s security come from outside its borders.
Within a country, the threat of violence is regulated by an acknowledged central authority i.e. the government.
But in world politics, each country has to be responsible for its own security.

Traditional Notions of Internal Security

Traditional security must concern itself with internal security which has not been given so much importance due to various reasons.
After the Second World War, internal security was more or less assured to the powerful countries on the Earth.
Most of the European countries faced no serious threats from groups or communities living within those borders. Hence these countries gave importance to external security.
The main concern for the external security was the era of Cold War. Both the superpowers were afraid of attacks from each other.
The colonies which became independent were under fear of conversion of Cold War into a Hot War.
The newly independent African and Asian countries were more worried about the prospect of military conflict with neighbouring countries.
They were worried about internal threats from separatist movements which wanted to form independent countries.

Traditional Security and Cooperation

It is universally accepted that war can takes place for the right reasons, primarily self-defence or to protect other people from genocide.
Traditional views of security also gives importance to other forms of cooperation like disarmament, arms control and confidence building.
Disarmament requires all states to give up certain kinds of weapons.
Arms control regulates the acquisition or development of weapons, e.g. United States and Soviet Union signed a number of other arms control treaties.
Confidence building means a process in which countries share ideas and information with their rivals.
Force is both the principle threat to security and the principle means of achieving security in traditional security.

Non-Traditional Notions

The non-traditional notions of security go beyond military threats to include a wide range of threats and dangers affecting the condition of human existence.
Non-traditional views of security have been called ‘human security’ or ‘global security’.
By human security we mean the protection of people more than the protection of states.
Proponents (supporters) of the ‘narrow concept’ of human security focus on violent threats to individuals.
On the other hand, proponents of the ‘broad concept’ of human security argue that the threat agenda should include hunger, disease and natural disaster.
The idea of global security emerged in the 1990s in response to the global nature of threats such as global warming, AIDS and so on.

New Sources of Threats

Some new sources of threats have emerged about which the world is concerned to a large extent. These includes terrorism, human rights, and global poverty, migration and health epidemics.
Terrorism refers to political violence that targets civilians deliberately and indiscriminately.
There are three types of human rights. The first is political rights, second is economic and social rights and the third type is the rights of colonised people.
Another type of insecurity is global poverty. Rich states are becoming richer whereas poor states are getting poorer.
Poverty in the South has also led to large scale migration to seek a better life, especially better economic opportunities, in the North.
Health epidemics such as H1V-AIDS, bird flu and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) have been increasing across countries through migration.
It is important to understand that the expansion of the concept of security does not mean to include everything.
To qualify as a security problem, an issue must share a minimum common criterion.

Cooperative Security

Dealing with certain issues of security require cooperation rather than military confrontation. Military help can be taken to deal with terrorism but it will be of no use in dealing with issues like poverty, migration and so on.
It becomes important to devise strategies that involve international cooperation which can be bilateral, regional, continental or global.
Cooperative security may also involve a variety of other players, both international and national.
But cooperative security may also involve the use of force as a last resort. The international community may have to sanction the use of force to deal with dictatorship.

India’s Security Strategy

Indian’s security strategy depends upon four broad components
Strengthening the military capabilities is the first component of India’s security strategy because India has been involved in conflicts with its neighbours.
The second component of India’s security strategy has been to strengthen international norms and international institutions to protect its security interests.
The third important component of India’s security strategy is geared towards meeting security challenges within the country.
The fourth component is to develop its economy in a way that the vast mass of citizens are lifted out of poverty and misery.

FACTS THAT MATTER

‘Security’ is freedom from ‘threats’, security protects core values from threatening by preventing, limiting and ending the war.
The notions of security can be grouped into two i.e. Traditional concept and Non-traditional concept. Traditional notion includes both external and internal threats. External threats experience military war, balance of power and alliance building threats whereas internal includes internal peace and order.
The means of traditional security limit the violence upto maximum extent through disarmament, arms-control and confidence building. Disarmament bounds states to give up certain kinds of weapons. Arms control regulates acquisition of weapons and confidence building share ideas and information with rival countries
Non-traditional security focuses on human and global security by covering all of human kinds. Human security in a narrow sense protects individuals from internal violence only whereas broadly it protects from hunger, diseases and natural disasters. Global security responds to threats like global warming, international terrorism, and health epidemics like AIDS, bird flue and so on.
New sources of threats include terrorism, human rights, global poverty, migration, and health epidemics. Terrorism refers to political violence targeting civilians deliberately and indiscriminately. Human rights threats involve political rights, economic and social rights as well as rights of colonised people and indigenous minorities.
Global poverty suffers from low per capita income and economic growth and high population migration creates international political friction as states pursue different rules for migrants and refugees. Health epidemics cover HIV-AIDS, bird flu, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) through migration business, tourism and military operations.
Cooperative security is required to alleviate poverty, manage migration, refugee movements and control epidemics. Cooperation may be bilateral, regional, continental or global depending on the nature of threat and willingness and ability of countries to respond either nationally or internationally.
India has faced both traditional and non-traditional threats to its security. India’s security strategy has four broad components i.e. strengthening military capabilities, to strength international norms and institutions, to meet security challenges inside the border and to develop to lift citizens out of poverty, missing and economic inequalities.

WORDS THAT MATTER

Security: An essence for existence of human life to protect from threats either external or internal.
Arms Control: It regulates acquisition of weapon.
Disarmament: It bounds states to give up certain kinds of weapons to avoid mass destruction.
Confidence building: A process in which different countries share ideas and information with rival countries by intimating each other about their military plans.
Global Poverty: It refers to a country to be suffered from low incomes and less economic growth to be categorised as least developed or developing countries.
Migration: It is the movement of human resources from one state to another due to some particular reasons.

IMPORTANT ABBREVIATIONS

BWC: Biological Weapons Convention
CWC: Chemical Weapons Convention
ABM: Anti-Ballistic Missile
START: Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty
NPT: Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
SALT: Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty
SARS: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
CBMS: Confidence Building Measures
NIEO: New International Economic Order
IMF: International Monetary Fund

Environment and Natural Resources-Chapter 8

Environmental Concerns in Global Politics

There have been many environmental issues that are concerns of the global politics.
There is a decline in the availability of cultivable land and a substantial portion of existing agricultural land is losing fertility.
Around 1.2 billion people in developing countries have no access to safe water and 2.6 billion have no access to sanitation according to the Human Development Report, 2006.
The loss of biodiversity continues due to destruction of habitat in areas which are rich in species. The act of deforestation takes place for personal gains, removing the natural inhabitants.
Another danger to ecosystems and human health is a steady decline in the total amount of ozone in the Earth’s stratosphere. Even the coastal waters are becoming increasingly polluted due to land-based activities.
The environmental consequences of economic growth acquired an increasingly political character from the 1960s onwards.
International agencies like the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), started holding international conferences to deal with environment issues.
Earth summit or Rio summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 1992 which produced conventions dealing with climate change, biodiversity, and forestry and recommended a list of development practices called ‘Agenda 21’.

The Protection of Global ‘Commons’

Commons’ are the resources shared by the community as a whole not individually.
In the world, there are some areas which are located outside the sovereign jurisdiction of any one state and hence require common governance by the international community. This is known as Global Commons. They include Earth’s atmosphere, Antarctica, the ocean floor, and outer space.
A number of agreements were signed which includes the Antarctic Treaty (1959), the Montreal Protocol (1987) and the Antarctic Environmental Protocol (1991).
The history of outer space as a global commons shows that the management of these areas is thoroughly influenced by North-South inequalities.

Common but Differentiated Responsibilities

There were differences between the countries of the North and the South over environment issues.
The Northern countries want everyone to be equaliy responsible for ecological conservation.
The developing countries of the South believes that the ecological degradation is the product of industrial development undertaken by the developed countries.
In the Rio summit, 1992, it was accepted that special needs of the developing countries must be taken into account in the development and interpretation of rules of international environmental law.
The 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) also provides that the parties should act on the basis of equity.
It was accepted that a large amount of greenhouse gas emission has originated in developed countries and per capita emissions in developing countries are relatively low.
Developing countries like India and China were exempted from the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol.
The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement setting targets for industrialised countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions.

Commons Property Resources

It represents common property for the group but with a rule that members of the group have both rights and duties with respect to the nature, levels of use of a given resource.
But issues like privatisation, agricultural intensification, population growth and ecosystem degradation have caused common property to dwindle in size.

India’s Stand on Environmental Issues

India has signed and ratified Kyoto Protocol (1997) in August 2002. Developing countries like India and China were exempt from the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol.
At the G-8 meeting in June 2005, India pointed out that the per capita emission rates of the developing countries are a tiny fraction of those in the developed world.
The Indian Government is already participating in global efforts through a number of programmes like Energy Conservation Act (2011), Electricity Act of 2003 and so on.
In 1997, a review of the implementation of the agreements at the Earth summit in Rio was undertaken by India.
India suggested that the developing countries must get financial resources and clean technologies from the developed countries in order to meet UNFCCC commitments.

Environmental Movements

Some of the most significant responses to the challenge of environmental degradation has come from groups of environmentally conscious volunteers working in different parts of the world.
The forest movements of the South, in Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia, Continental Africa and India are faced with enormous pressures regarding forest clearing.
Another example is of the group which is working against mineral extraction company as it leads to displacement of communities etc.
Another groups of movements are those involved in struggles against mega-dams. In India, Narmada Bachao Aandolan is one of the best known of these movements.

Resource Geopolitics

Resource geopolitics means who gets what, when, where and how.
Throughout the cold war the industrialised countries of the North adopted a number of methods to ensure a steady flow of resources.
Oil countries to be the most important resource in global strategy. The immense wealth associated with oil generates political struggles to control it.
West Asia, specifically the Gulf region, accounts for about 30 per cent of global oil production.
Another important resource relevant to global politics is water. Regional variations and scarcity of freshwater in some parts of the world is a leading source of conflicts in the 21st century.
A number of studies show that countries that Share Rivers and many countries do share rivers are involved in military conflicts with each other.

The Indigenous People and their Rights

As per the United Nations, indigenous population comprises the descendants of peoples who inhabited the present territory of a country at the time
When persons of a different culture arrived there from other parts of the world.
Indigenous people voices in world politics to treat them equally with other communities.
The areas occupied by indigenous people include Central and South America, Africa, India and South-East Asia.
The indigenous people appeal to governments to come to terms with the continuing existence of indigenous nations as enduring communities with an identity of their own.
In India, indigenous people applies to the scheduled tribes who constitute nearly 8 per cent of the population of the country.
Issues related to the rights of the indigenous communities have been neglected in domestic and international politics for very long.

FACTS THAT MATTER

Environmental concerns in Global politics cover losing fertility of agricultural land, and grazing, depletion of water resources as well as loss of bio-diversity, real danger to eco-system and coastal pollution, deteriorating of marine environment,
Environmental consequences of economic growth acquired a political shape from 1960s onwards, following a book published in 1972 namely Limits To Growth and Initiatives taken by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to promote co-ordination and effective response on environment at global level.
The Earth Summit held in Rio-de-Janerio, Brazil in 1992 revealed different views i.e. global north (the first world countries) and global south (the third world countries). Global North was concerned with the issues of ozone depletion and global warming and global south focused on economic development and environment management by Agenda 21.
Global commons refer to the areas or regions which require common governance by international community on major problems of ecological issues i.e. discovery of ozone hole over Antarctic, earth’s atmosphere and ocean floor associated with technology and industrial development.
The Rio Declaration at the Earth Summit in 1992 adopted the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities ‘refering special needs of developing countries in the fields as development, application and interpretation of rules of international environmental law to protect environment by both developing nations in a responsible manner.
The 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) also emphasised to protect the climate system on the basis of equity and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and capabilities.

Example-Largest and current global emissions of greenhouse gases originated in developed nations, hence low emissioned developing countries like India and China have been exempted from Kyoto Protocol held in Japan in 1997.

Common property resources refer to a group who have both rights and duties with respect to nature, levels of use and the maintenance of a given resource with mutual understanding and practices i.e. management of sacred groves on state owned forest land.
India plays a dominating role on the environmental issues as it signed and ratified 1997 Kyoto Protocol in August 2002 to follow common but differentiated responsibilities and India is a wary of recent discussions with UNFCCC about introducing binding commitments. India participated in global efforts by introducing National Autofuel Policy, Electricity Act, 2003 and National Mission on Biodiesel. Besides, India supports to adopt a common position by SAARC countries on major environmental issue to have a greater say regionwise.
Environmental movements are the movements of groups which are environmentally conscious to challenge environmental degradation at national or international level aiming at raising new ideas and long term vision i.e. in Mexico, Chille, Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India faced enormous pressure.
Environmental movements are categorised as forest movements, movements against mining and mineral industry for creating Water Pollution and Anti Dam Movement.
‘Resources Geopolitics’ is all about who gets what, when, where and how? The practices of neo-colonialism spread on a large scale and throughout a cold war, industrialised countries adopted methods to ensure a steady flow of resources by deployment of military forces near exploitation sites and sea-lanes of communications, the stock pilling of strategic resources and efforts to prop up friendly governments.
The global economy relied on oil as a portable and essential fuel. The history of petroleum is the history of war and struggle. Water is another important resource relevant to global politics. Regional variations and increasing scaring of fresh water may also lead to conflicts in the world to play politics.
Indigenous people bring the issues of environment, resources and politics together. Indigenous people live with their social, economic, cultural customs in particular areas who speak of their struggle, agenda, and rights to have equal status i.e. Island states in ocean region, Central and South America, Africa, India and South East Asia.
The issues related to rights of indigenous communities have been neglected in domestic and international politics for long. The World Council of Indigenous People was formed in 1975 which became first of 11 indigenous NGOs to receive consultative status in the UN.

WORDS THAT MATTER

Earth Summit: A conference held in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in June 1992 on Environment and Development to deal with various environmental problems.
Agenda 21: The Earth Summit recommended a list of practices in reference of development to attain sustainability, called Agenda 21.
Kyoto Protocol: An international agreement setting targets for industrialised countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions was agreed to in 1997 in Kyoto in Japan, based on principles set out in UNFCCC.
UNFCCC: The 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change provided that parties should act to protect the climate system with common but differentiated responsibilities.
Indigenous People: Indigenous people comprise the descendants of peoples who inhabited the present territory of a country at the time when persons of different culture arrived there from different parts of the world.

Globalisation-Chapter 9

Concept of Globalisation

Globalisation means the flows of ideas, capital, commodities and people across different parts of the world. It is a multidimensional concept. It has political, economic and cultural manifestations and these must be adequately distinguished.
Globalisation need not always be positive. It can have negative consequences for the people.
As a concept, globalisation fundamentally deals with flows. These flows can be ideas moving from one part of the world to another, commodities being traded across borders and so on.
The crucial element is the worldwide inter connectedness which is created and sustained as a consequence of these constant flows.

Causes of Globalisation

One important aspect of globalisation is that even though it is not caused by any single factor, technology remains a critical element.
The ability of ideas, capital, commodities and people to move more easily from one part of the world to another has been made possible by technological advances.
Interconnections is also an important aspect of globalisation. Any event taking place in one part of the world could have an impact on another part of the world.

Consequences of Globalisation

Political Consequences

Globalisation results in an erosion of state capacity i.e. by reducing the ability of government to do what they want to do.
It gives way to a more minimalist state that performs certain core functions such as the maintenance of law and order, and the security of its citizens.
In place of the state the market becomes the prime determinant of economic and social priorities.
Globalisation does not always reduce state capacity. The primacy of the state continues to be unchallenged basis of political community.
State capacity has received boost as a consequence of globalisation, with enhanced technologies available at the disnosal of the state to collect information about its citizens.

Economic Consequences

In order to understand economic consequences of globalisation it is important to know that in economic globalisation involves many actors other than IMF, WTO.
It involves greater economic flows among different countries of the world. Some of this is voluntary and some forced by international institutions and powerful countries.
Globalisation has involved greater trade in commodities across the globe as it has reduced the imposing of restrictions on the imports of one country on another.
Economic globalisation has created an intense division of opinion all over the world.
According to some, economic globalisation is likely to benefit only a small section of the population.
On the other hand advocates of economic globlisation argue that it generates greater economic growth and well-being for larger sections of the population.

Cultural Consequences

The consequences of globalisation can also be seen on our culture too and thus it is not confirmed only to the sphere of politics and economy.
The process cultural globalisation poses a threat because it leads to the rise of a uniform culture or what is called cultural homogenisation.
Cultural globalisation has both positive as well as negative effect on the world.
While cultural homogenisation is an aspect of globalisation, the same process also generates precisely the opposite effect.

India and Globalisation

Flows pertaining to the movement of capital, commodities, ideas and people go back several centuries in Indian History.
During the British rule, India became an exporter of primary goods and raw materials and a consumer (importer) of finished goods.
After independence, India decided to be a self-sufficient country rather than being dependent on others.
In 1991, India embarked on a programme of economic reforms that has sought increasingly to de-regulate various sectors including trade and foreign investment.

Resistance to Globalisation

Globlalisation has invited strong criticism all over the globe. For some globalisation represents a particular phase of global capitalism that makes the rich richer and the poor poorer.
Culturally, they are worried that traditional culture will be harmed and people will lose their age-old values and ways.
It is important to note here that anti-globalisation movements too participate in global networks, allying with those who feel like them in other countries.
The World Social Forum (WSF) is a global platform bringing together human rights activists, environmentalists, labour, youth and women activists opposed to neo-liberal globalistion.

India and Resistance to Globalisation

Resistance to globalisation in India has come from different quarters.
There have been left wing protests to economic liberalisation voiced through political parties as well as through some forums.
Resistance to globalisation has also come form the political right. This has taken the forum of objecting particularly to various cultural influences.

FACTS THAT MATTER

Globalisation is the integration of economy of a country in the process of free flow of trade and capital. It may also include ‘Brain drain’ across borders.
Globalisation increases the volume of trade in goods and services, inflows private foreign capital, increases foreign direct investment, creates new jobs, strengthens domestic economies, improves productive efficiency and healthy competition.
Globalisation may have negative impacts also as it failed to generate sufficient employment, modern methods of cultivation are not acquainted to less educated persons, it creates income inequality and exploits natural resources and labour force.
The globalisation is the result of historical factors, technological innovations, liberalisation of foreign trade and investment policies, and opening of multinational companies.
Globalisation consequences may be political, economical and cultural, politically stunts’ capacity has received a boost with enhanced technologies to collect information about its citizens.
Economic flows in various forums, like commodity, capital, people and ideas prompts rich countries to invest their money in countries other than their own. It also draws attention towards the role of JMF and WTO in determining economic policies across the world.
Cultural globalisation emerges and enlarges our choices and modify our culture without overwhelming the traditional norms i.e. burger can not be a substitute for masala dosa. Hence, it broadens our cultural outlook and promotes cultural homogenisation.
Globalisation has been criticised on political, economic and cultural grounds i.e. politically it weakens the state by reducing its sovereignty. Economically it has made the rich richer and the poor poorer creating disparities. Culturally there has been harmed traditions and lost age old values and ways. The World Social Forum (WSF) has also opposed neo-liberal globalisation.
In India, Globalisation has led to setting up of foreign companies as India realised the need for relating the Indian economy with the world by responding to 1991 financial crisis.
Globalisation process includes the thrust to liberalisation or privatisation. Liberalisation proclaims freedom of trade and investment, controls allocation of resources in domestic economy, rapid technological progress whereas privatisation allows private sector and other foreign companies to produce goods and services.
Resistance to globalisation in India has come from different quarters i.e. left wing protests to economic liberalisation, trade unions of industrial workforce organised protest against multinationals, the patents, resistance from political right i.e. objecting to various cultural influences of foreign T.V. channels, celebration of Valentine’s Day and Westernisation of dress of girls students in schools and colleges.
Environmental movements are the movements of groups which are environmentally conscious to challenge environmental degradation at national or international level aiming at raising new ideas and long term vision i.e. in Mexico, Chille, Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia, India faced enormous pressure.
Environmental movements are categorised as forest movements, movements against mining and mineral industry for creating Water Pollution and Anti Dam Movement.
‘Resources Geopolitics’ is all about who gets what, when, where and how. The practices of neo-colonialism spread on a large scale and throughout a cold war, industrialised countries adopted methods to ensure a steady flow of resources by deployment of military forces near exploitation sites and sea-lanes of communications, the stock pilling of strategic resources and efforts to prop up friendly governments.
The global economy relied on oil as a portable and essential fuel. The history of petroleum is the history of war and struggle. Water is another important resource relevant to global politics. Regional variations and increasing scaring of freshwater may also lead to conflicts in the world to play politics.
Indigenous people bring the issues of environment, resources and politics together. Indigenous people live with their social, economic, cultural customs in particular areas who speak of their struggle, agenda, and rights to have equal status i.e. Island states in Oceanic region, Central and South America, Africa, India and South East Asia.
The issues related to rights of indigenous communities have been neglected in domestic and international politics for long. The World Council of Indigenous People was formed in 1975 which became first of 11 indigenous NGOs to receive consultative status in the UN.

WORDS THAT MATTER

Globalisation: It signifies integration of an economy with the economies of other countries under the process of free flow of trade and capital.
World Social Forum: A global platform to bring together a wide coalition of human rights activists, environmentalists and women activists.
Privatisation: It allows private sector companies to produce goods and services in a country.
Liberalisation: It signifies relaxation of government rules and regulations relating to activities in sendee and industrial sector.
Cultural hetrogenisation: It signifies cultural differences and distinctive nature of cultures to be generated by globalisation.

ByULF TEAM

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