International Politics- A Struggle for Power

Be it a family,an office,a nation or the global arena we associate the word “Politics” in all these spheres.What is politics ? Politics is nothing but the struggle for power. Human nature is power seeking, you have a constant quest to be competitive,to prove yourself, earn money,find respect, be the center of attraction, you want the world to listen to you. Why ? because you have the inherent quality to seek power.But, given the fact that you live in a country which is guided by the “Rule of Law” you cannot exercise that power absolutely and you are subject to certain restrictions.

 

In the context of International relations, there is no overarching authority.It is said that International arena exists in the state of Anarchy, therefore all the nations of the World are guided by the Principle of “MIGHT IS RIGHT”.

The concepts of Morality & Ideology are plastic.Ideology is generally the “mask to hide real intentions”. For e.g ,the ideology of “Democracy” which the United states and the United nations want to impose on every country of the planet, but the UN and other world institutions guided by the US are hardly democratic, they are oligarchies guided by certain nations who have their might well established.All the institutions like the World Bank,IMF,United nations seldom represent a broader interest.

A nation always wishes to be powerful, one which is already powerful goes further to attain the absolute power, it wants to have the “Power to Roar”, it wants to establish itself as a Hegemon, either globally or regionally.Also there is no permanent friend or enemy in International Politics, policies shape up depending on the self interest of a particular nation.For e.g  Japan & US ,the deadliest enemies which lead to the atomic disaster are the strongest allies today, Pakistan & Russia are having a good relation,Iran-US,China-India- all these nations are having good relations today but what persists is the TRUST DEFICIT. Nations never believe the intentions of the other nation ( Nehru believed China & it back stabbed us) this leads them to attain greater relative power with respect to the other nations, this develops a “Arms Race” arising out of the “Security Dilemma“. Nations understand the other the system is a system of “Self Help”- hence they are Power Maximisers.

In the 21st century though you do not see a conventional war taking place, hence they go to maximize their strength on other indicators like Demography,the Power of Knowledge,Economy,Natural Resources, Technology,Sports etc- but the ultimate principle still remains the same Acquiring Greater Relative Power.

In today’s world be it bullying of the US, the Great Economic Leap by China, Rise of the ISIS, Modi’s campaign to spread tentacles of India- asking for permanent UNSC seat, Pakistan making use of its strategic location, Russia bombing the Islamic State to show that it is still relevant- all almost all these examples are guided by the same principle- Acquire POWER; other things will take care of themselves.

India needs to assert itself more dynamically on the International Arena. We need to develop our capabilities in every possible way- be it Military,Economy,Polity,Yoga,Olympics or anything else. But India should also be cautious that our claim should not be hollow meaning we should develop the capabilities from within , we need to develop our people,empower the downtrodden,eliminate poverty, abolish illiteracy and we need to do all this on priority to assert ourselves as a major power in the world & to give better life to our people.

 

always an optimist

CHINMAY DANDEKAR

All feedbacks will be appreciated on

chinmayud@gmail.com

( All rights of the blogs are reserved with the author , duplicity in any form  without the consent of the author will be legally  scrutinized)

 

Kalyan Dombivali shaping South Asia

Politics is nothing but the race and the struggle for Power. According to Machiavelli “Ends Justify The Means” the doctrine which the Politicians in India seem to have adopted over the one which Gandhi was an ardent Supporter of,” The nobility of Ends and Means”; in politics of the present world ,Ideologies are shaped up as the Situation demand.Soon these pseudo ideologies turn into a propaganda to acquire power, to gain the lost grounds, to remain in news, to make your presence felt.

The recent development in Mumbai against the Pakistani  Nationals by the Shiv Sena ranging from the Oil Paint Episode, to music concerts,returning back of  Pakistani Commentators and Umpire, cancellation of BCCI and PCB officials, has brought Embarrassment to Mumbai and India on a whole. Mumbai, the financial Capital of India and by far the most liberal city of India is in news for all the wrong reasons. To understand the reasons of these acts one needs to understand the context of history, current national and international scenario.

After the death of veteran Balasaheb Thackeray, the Shiv sena witnessed a leadership crisis, the vaccum for a strong agenda and issue based politics persisted since a long time. Now, amidst the rift with BJP ; breaking of the alliance and a last moment entry into the Government, was like a wounded Tiger agreeing to Eat vegetables for Survival; once again the point was established there are no permanent friends & foes in Contemporary Politics, establishing the point further that Opposites attract not only in case of magnet, in this case Power which is the larger magnet. The Attempts to gain the lost ground in the State after a humiliating 2nd place in State election, lack of positive agenda,absence of Issues made Shiv Sena to resort to “ShivSena style politics” again, the only thing they are best and comfortable at. The  Prestigious and  21000 crore budgetary Mumbai Municipal Corporation over which Shiv Sena  has managed to maintain its Hegemony are due in 2017, and before which another satellite town Kalyan-Dombivali elections are due where Shiv Sena and BJP have decided to go separately, hence these context and the ongoing Skirmishes with the BJP has lead Sena to resort to tactics it is most comfortable with.

More than the micro level Politics of Maharashtra it is the Politics of entire South Asia which can be shaped up by these disruptive activities.Known the fact that the stability of Entire South Asia rests largely on the relations between India and Pakistan, the animosity of which has made the SAARC almost redundant and ineffective also made the region Unstable, the most volatile after West Asia.

After the recent developments after the Ufa meet between two nation heads and the cancellations of NSA level talks, the phase of Political Slogans is on. It is necessary to understand that “conflict is the fodder for Politics” in South Asia, the existence of most parties in India and Pakistan is due to Anti India and Pakistan issues. The balance of Power theory , the Realist theory of International Politics is shaped up in such a manner that it manufactures facts and makes us believe that we are the arch rivals of each other, whereas on ground level there would be hardly any difference in the structure of lives of people in entire South asia, the artificially created boundaries have manufactured animosity. It is unfortunate that we are shaping up our present and future by the Colonial legacy that we shared.Pakistan is dangerous because it is like the “Mad Child with a Loaded Gun” which can be lethal, it has very less to lose but the stakes of India are high.

India and Pakistan relationship has been shaped up by the Government, the bureaucracy,Army(in case of Pakistan) and the Elites for their vested interests.The insecurity for India with Pakistan raising number of Nuclear warheads,Growing Sino-Pak relationship and Us-Pak nuclear deal is giving sleepless nights to  many in India. The need of the current world is to develop regional cooperation, peaceful neighbourhood is the most important pre requisite for Overall development of the country. The Security Dilemma needs to be overcome.The interactions of Government  to Government relationship has repetitively failed or had a short shelf life, the need is to develop Track Two Diplomacy i.e People- People diplomacy, the trust deficit needs to be overcome, people need to be feel that there is hardly any difference in the way they live, the differences at various level needs to increased for the interests of both the nations. A lesson needs to be learned from The European Union, which has been one of the most successful organizations to promote regional peace over national goals, the region which was the most conflicted region, which had a 30 year long war, ended the war and the concept of Nation emerged by  ”Treaty of Westphalia” and since then, especially after the 2^nd world war they have entered in the Era of peace. The same feeling of homogeneity needs to be promoted in South Asia, if the nation have the ambition to make any progress.

If India aspires to become a Global Leader, if it aims a seat In UNSC, it needs to Understand, “With Authority Comes Responsibility”- if India cannot promote regional peace, if India cannot be Regional leader , the ambition will only remain a Utopia.

The men who lead to the disruptive activities, would only be obeying their party leadership, for them “ The feeling of Vengeance would be over Reason”, what they need to understand is the dynamics of International Relations and the affect of their short sighted, unreasonable disruptive activities for petty political gains would have on the Relations of India-Pakistan and overall politics of South Asia.

If they are really Patriotic and Nationalism is not a propaganda and they are not playing the Patriot versus Pakistan card to score brownie points, they must care about the Image of India on International Forum,

They need to Understand the India has been taking Pride in its diversity,tolerance,multiculturalism and Plurality.Our Right winged Political leadership should realize that they are elected for their agenda of Development, they should not do anything that hinders that Social and Moral fabric of our Nation, lets preserve the values of Our great nation, the core values of Hinduism which has been able to accommodate the diversities since last 5000 years. Let us build a Strong foundation on which the superstructure of our development can be build upon.

-always an optimist

CHINMAY DANDEKAR

All feedbacks will be appreciated on

chinmayud@gmail.com

( All rights of the blogs are reserved with the author , duplicity in any form  without the consent of the author will be legally  scrutinized)

Antipathy, the Ultimate Winner !!!

Antipathy, the Ultimate Winner !!!.

Antipathy, the Ultimate Winner !!!

If one has to give an example of a Live Existing See-Saw between diplomacy and foreign policy anywhere in the world, it has to be the ties between India and Pakistan, the so called “Arch Rivals’, nations having a common origin, common history, similar way of life, virtually having high levels of antipathy & hostility towards each other.The vacillation started well before Mr.Modi took oath as the PM of India.A strong right winged Hindu nationalist individual, having been alleged to be hostile towards Muslims, taking oath as the PM of India raised several Eyebrows in Pakistan, hardly anyone would have hoped of a dialogue being started, but it did !! At least Mr.Modi inviting Mr.Nawaj Sharif along with Other SAARC nation heads excited camps from both the countries, Political Pundits and Foreign Policy analysts rose from a  period of dormancy, Political Debates flourished  with Media houses from both the countries showed off that  News Channel to  News Channel  ties in Indo-Pak being far better than people to people or Government- Government ties.

Later Indian Government called off the Foreign Secretary Level talks after the Pakistani Convoy meeting the so called “Separatists”, this was a blow to Indo-Pak ties and it followed by a year long Diplomatic Dormancy, the ice seemed to be broken on the sidelines to Ufa Summit in Russia where in both sides came in with a 207 worded comprehensive Joint Statement which I read to be intelligently drafted with effective use of words from both sides, it stated,” India and Pakistan’s nation heads had a talk in a cordial atmosphere and decided to hold talks based on Terrorism and other outstanding issues”, now these Other Outstanding issues meant Kashmir but without a direct mention of Kashmir,which was seen as an achievement on Indian Side on the other hand Mr.Sharif was critically censured in Pakistan.Nevertheless, the commitment to hold NSA level talks and Mr.Modi visiting Pakistan for SAARC Summit 2016 enthused most “peace loving” individuals throughout the world ,except some Hard-liners from both the countries.

The long anticipated NSA talks were scheduled to be held on 23rd August,and then started the High Level Drama,A child called Pakistan started crippling over its long cherished, unfulfilled ,highly ambitious desire “KASHMIR“,   just before the NSA talks Pakistan Decided that Sartaj Ajiz would meet the Hurriyat leaders in New Delhi, this was the evidence that it is not only Nawaz Sharif who is the sole decision maker in Pakistan and the fact that Pakistan has three Power Centres was reinforced with Military and Religious Groups being the other two along with the Government. Now these forces seldom would wish Peace relations with India, also the absence of Kashmir mention in Ufa was considered as a failure on Pakistan’s part which they wished  to correct, they were behaving notoriously to test India on this as it repeated the same act which had led to the cancellation of talks some months before,Pakistan has to understand it cannot be starting and ending any talks on the sole issue of Kashmir, it should understand that the talks need to get started and it can come up with its demands at least for the sake of debate later on once the atmosphere is conductive.

India played it a little safe this time initially ,but later with the Drama reaching its Climax and The Minister of External Affairs stating that talks will only be held on Terrorism, vacillations on throughout the day , with the Separatist leader detained at Delhi Airport and finally culminating into the Calling off of Talks by Pakistan, an Unfortunate Comma or Perhaps a full stop for quite some time to come.The day which was expected to be a new beginning to Indo-Pak relationship actually took it to a new low.

Now the question arises why did this happen ?  I think more than the issue based differences it is the similarities that the two country have, the way of functioning, the hard line factions, the ego tussles, the attitude to be apathetic to listen to each other and turn a deaf ear, leading to one way traffic, the vociferous Media on both sides, the electoral impact on showing a strong stand against the other to please the public, the pressure groups and of course the people of both Countries having firm belief that if they have one permanent enemy it is on the other side of the border, these are the two countries were people are taught to hate the other from childhood. The prejudice, the stereotypes, the hostility, the antipathy, the hatred, the competition, the arms race has grown to such an extent , that we consider our ego to be our Nationalism and our Patriotism , our emotions over power our Logic and we have probably surpassed the stage of a healthy debate, constructive solutions and genuine attempts to put an end to daily skirmishes.The  allegations that these two countries put on each other  are same, Pakistan and India allege each other on breaking the Cease Fire, (on our borders it is rather the Fire that never Ceases) ,the media hypes the infiltrations in both countries, India blames Pakistan of  any terrorist incidences in its territory and Pakistan blames India of supporting Terrorism in Balochistan and arising tensions through its numerous consulates in Afghanistan. When Pakistani groups talk about Jihad , some Indian factions have started talking about Hindu or Saffron Terrorism, India blames the ISI while Pakistan blames the RAW. All these never ending activities are helping no one but the Media houses and the Political Establishment in both the countries, with number of panel members in Arnab Goswami’s Cabinet and Saffronisation of India being a sure result.

The Concept of Sovereignty came up  In Europe after “the treaty of WestPhalia” putting an End to 30 years of War in Europe, a war torn region for most parts of our history has now converted itself into “ European Union” understanding the desperate need to move ahead together in this “ Era of Interdependence”. South Asia on the other hand has fragmented, in the age of Economic  and Sustainable Development, where in all SAARC countries almost facing the same problems which need to be tackled collectively are actually creating nuisance for each other, Pakistan leading the lot of course. SAARC  has always faced the Side Effects of Indo-Pak hostility. It is important to not run away from the issues of Concern but to sit together and make genuine attempt to find a Constructive Solution.When we knew this is exactly what the groups in Pakistan wanted, we should have atleast have made sure that NSA’s sit together.Now all the homework that Mr.Ajit Doval would have done with to take Pakistan NSA to task and put pressure on him; the issue to 2^nd Kasab, Gurdaspur Attack, Dawood Ebrahim’s presence in Pakistan, Mumbai Terror Trial all going into the drains,we are thus left behind with a Bigger Question who has benefitted, and Where are we heading? Is It absolute impossible to reduce the Strenuous Relations between these two Countries ? Has the Process of Peace met a Dead End ?

-always an optimist

CHINMAY DANDEKAR

All feedbacks will be appreciated on

chinmayud@gmail.com

( All rights of the blogs are reserved with the author , duplicity in any form  without the consent of the author will be legally  scrutinized)