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 optimistCHINMAY DANDEKAR
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