India could be an initiator of a new charter based on current world realities, and expected future trajectories.
New Delhi
In July 1941, a few months prior to the United States’ entry into the Second World War, President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill convened their inaugural meeting in Newfoundland, Canada. The purpose of this meeting was to deliberate on matters that would eventually give rise to what we now know as the Atlantic Charter. While the Soviet Union was not a signatory to the charter, it did share some common goals with its principles. The overarching aim was to create a post war world free of “want and fear”.
Roosevelt passed away while still in office a few months before the end of the war. The charter itself was non-binding. Roosevelt’s successor, Harry Truman carried forward the ideals and concepts enshrined in the Atlantic Charter and paved the way for the United Nations. Even if we saw plenty of localized and territorial armed conflicts during the last seventy-five years, the United Nations deserves credit for ensuring that the most powerful of nations never went to war, and the dreaded nuclear conflict was avoided.
The International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank were also established at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference held in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in July 1944, to assist the rebuilding of war torn Europe, and to aid the economic upliftment of the developing and the underdeveloped world, all under the watchful guidance of the United States. Countries including South Korea, Japan, and even China would not have had their economic ascendancy without the support of these institutions. When the Soviet Union disintegrated in the early 1990s, a unipolar world order led by an increasingly hegemonic United States, with western liberal democracy set to be the last standing form of governance, seemed like the inevitable finale.
Three decades since, we couldn’t have been more wrong. China has risen as a formidable economic and military force, drawing closer to the United States. As the global centres of economic activity and state power rapidly shift from the Atlantic towards the East, countries with varying degrees of influence are ascending in regions across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Aside from the United States, which aims to uphold its global hegemony, and China, which seeks to establish itself as the central power and shape world affairs, almost all the other major and middle countries envision a multipolar world, where inclusive multilateralism is the norm, and where there is collective peace, security and prosperity.
Amidst these sentiments, our world is also again transforming into the age of blocs, similar to the cold war era, with one led by Washington and Brussels, and another by Beijing and Moscow where other countries are increasingly pressured to choose sides. The previously established détente between the US and China is now unravelling. Their relationship is undergoing a significant transformation, evolving into a state of pronounced hostility. This is evident in the mutual imposition of sanctions, fresh tariff barriers, and deliberate efforts to restrict each other’s access to crucial technologies and essential raw materials. The escalating animosity between these factions is raising the possibility of a future armed conflict among great powers. This would have catastrophic consequences for our entire planet, potentially surpassing even the devastation wrought by the two preceding world wars. The power of opposing major nations to exercise veto authority has resulted in the complete ineffectiveness of the UN and its Security Council framework.
The discord in Ukraine has persisted for more than a year with no resolution in sight. Freedom of navigation in the seas has again become contentious, particularly in the highly significant Indo-Pacific region. India’s role is poised to grow as a responsible stability and security provider in this area. A few months ago, Mexican President Obrador notably suggested the creation of a high-level commission that would consist of Pope Francis, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for developing a plan to halt conflicts worldwide and to advocate for a five-year global ceasefire. India’s emergence as the United States’ most significant and trusted partner, while maintaining our historically strong partnership with Russia, is just one of the numerous instances that lend credibility and credentials to this current standing. India is also playing a significant role in enhancing the global supply chains that faced disruptions due to the pandemic and later the Ukraine conflict.
Our future challenges, ranging from the climate crisis and measures to prevent pandemics, to enhancing global trade for the revival of our world economy, can all be addressed only through collective action and cooperation. The developed world, primarily in the Global North, and the Global South, which is home to over 80% of the world’s population, are currently a long way from finding a just and equitable common ground for addressing any of these issues. The lines of communication between major competing powers also appear to be diminishing. India stands as one of the prominent voices representing the Global South across various forums, including the G20 and BRICS, and as a bridge between these nations and the developed world.
Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Modi stated in his recent Independence Day speech that, much like the creation of a new world order after the Second World War, he envisions a fresh global order, with new geopolitical equations in the wake of the onset of Covid-19. Here India is emerging as the “Vishwa Mitra” (friend of the world), and “Vishwa ka atut saathi” (world’s reliable partner). We comprehend the necessity of embracing multilateralism and multi-alignments, and we strive to optimise our collaborations, while minimizing conflicts in areas of disputes and competition.
India has begun acting as one of the primary security and stability providers in these rapidly transforming times, and could in future be an initiator of a new charter based on current world realities, and expected future trajectories. Institutions and frameworks thus established and restructured could bring an end to this period of mounting turmoil, and instability, and could again set the world towards enduring peace and prosperity.
Anil K. Antony is the National Secretary and a National Spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party, and a graduate of Stanford University. Tweets@anilkantony