The new world disorder and the Indian imperative
Author : Shashi Tharoor and Samir Saran
Genre: Non fiction
Publisher : Aleph Book Company
Stars: 4/5
How excited I was to read this book can be gauged from the fact that I had pre-ordered this book and it had cost me hefty sum of money. But after finishing this book, I can say with beaming pride that it is worth every single penny!
As a student of International relations (my optional subject for the civil services examination) we are told that whenever we study International politics we do so by keeping USA at the centre. And this is precisely the pattern followed by this book as well. The central theme of the book deals with the rising “disorder” in the world and how USA has been the prime player in making and breaking the established world order. This fact has been further accentuated by the election of Donald Trump as the President of the United States. He has pulled USA from Trans-pacific partnership, INF treaty with Russia, Paris peace deal, threatened China,Iran(coming out of JCPOA) andNorth Korea to mend their ways. He has also asked NATO allies to increase their defence spending or else stop expecting US to be their angel-guardian in a precarious world, sought withdrawal from Syria and most recently from Afghanistan. The disorder it has created because of “humanitarian intervention” in Libya and Iraq as well.
China has been the “New Kid on the Bloc.” It is because of its rising economic and military power that the ‘Middle Kingdom’ seeks a place at the global high table. Or let me put this bluntly, it rather wants to turn the global tables upside down. With its Belt and Road initiative China wants to fill in the gap that USA wants to leave. China’s aggressive expansion has become a cause for concern across the world and potential powers like India ,Japan and Australia have joined hands with USA to form QUAD to rival china in what is dubbed as the most happening region of the 21st century : Indo-pacific.
Where does India fit in all this ? The authors have attempted to chart out a path for India, one that not just upholds principles of a liberal world order but also develops the aspirational global south without taking the “debt-trap” diplomatic route adopted by China and a rules based global order where everyone gets a chance to frame the rules(unlike the USA model wherein it is the rule setter and the convenient rule breaker). India, as the authors coin the term ,can be the world’s first “development superpower” unlike Geopolitical superpower like USA and geoeconomic superpower like China. But here I would like to mention that the term “Indian imperative” that appears in the title has not been done with complete justice. This part forms a minuscule proportion across the length of the book and I expected the authors would have thrown more light on this.
The book’s beauty is in its exhaustiveness of topics that it covers ; from multilateral institutions to climate change to SDGs to UN peacekeeping to cybersecurity to Brexit to rise of rightism to trade protectionism and the list is endless. But on a personal note I wished that the authors had also included a chapter on conflict in outer space that has become more relevant after India’s Mission Shakti and also on the evolving nuclear order .
But nonetheless, this is a book that is a bridge from darkness to light in the field of global politics and is a MUST READ for foreign policy enthusiasts.
Post script 1: I would recommend this book only to people who have a background in international relations as there are many academic terms like “end of history” , “ clash of civilisations” ,etc used which a layman might not fully comprehend,
Post script 2: At every page the reader will find references to brilliant articles which one can read to further enhance his knowledge. In this respect many times articles by Richard .N. Haass ( President, council on foreign relations) have been quoted and Mr. Haass is coming out with his book - “ The world: an introduction” whose theme is somewhat aligned to the book being reviewed and I would also recommend to keep Mr. Haass’ book in the bucket list as well!
Genre: Non fiction
Publisher : Aleph Book Company
Stars: 4/5
How excited I was to read this book can be gauged from the fact that I had pre-ordered this book and it had cost me hefty sum of money. But after finishing this book, I can say with beaming pride that it is worth every single penny!
As a student of International relations (my optional subject for the civil services examination) we are told that whenever we study International politics we do so by keeping USA at the centre. And this is precisely the pattern followed by this book as well. The central theme of the book deals with the rising “disorder” in the world and how USA has been the prime player in making and breaking the established world order. This fact has been further accentuated by the election of Donald Trump as the President of the United States. He has pulled USA from Trans-pacific partnership, INF treaty with Russia, Paris peace deal, threatened China,Iran(coming out of JCPOA) andNorth Korea to mend their ways. He has also asked NATO allies to increase their defence spending or else stop expecting US to be their angel-guardian in a precarious world, sought withdrawal from Syria and most recently from Afghanistan. The disorder it has created because of “humanitarian intervention” in Libya and Iraq as well.
China has been the “New Kid on the Bloc.” It is because of its rising economic and military power that the ‘Middle Kingdom’ seeks a place at the global high table. Or let me put this bluntly, it rather wants to turn the global tables upside down. With its Belt and Road initiative China wants to fill in the gap that USA wants to leave. China’s aggressive expansion has become a cause for concern across the world and potential powers like India ,Japan and Australia have joined hands with USA to form QUAD to rival china in what is dubbed as the most happening region of the 21st century : Indo-pacific.
Where does India fit in all this ? The authors have attempted to chart out a path for India, one that not just upholds principles of a liberal world order but also develops the aspirational global south without taking the “debt-trap” diplomatic route adopted by China and a rules based global order where everyone gets a chance to frame the rules(unlike the USA model wherein it is the rule setter and the convenient rule breaker). India, as the authors coin the term ,can be the world’s first “development superpower” unlike Geopolitical superpower like USA and geoeconomic superpower like China. But here I would like to mention that the term “Indian imperative” that appears in the title has not been done with complete justice. This part forms a minuscule proportion across the length of the book and I expected the authors would have thrown more light on this.
The book’s beauty is in its exhaustiveness of topics that it covers ; from multilateral institutions to climate change to SDGs to UN peacekeeping to cybersecurity to Brexit to rise of rightism to trade protectionism and the list is endless. But on a personal note I wished that the authors had also included a chapter on conflict in outer space that has become more relevant after India’s Mission Shakti and also on the evolving nuclear order .
But nonetheless, this is a book that is a bridge from darkness to light in the field of global politics and is a MUST READ for foreign policy enthusiasts.
Post script 1: I would recommend this book only to people who have a background in international relations as there are many academic terms like “end of history” , “ clash of civilisations” ,etc used which a layman might not fully comprehend,
Post script 2: At every page the reader will find references to brilliant articles which one can read to further enhance his knowledge. In this respect many times articles by Richard .N. Haass ( President, council on foreign relations) have been quoted and Mr. Haass is coming out with his book - “ The world: an introduction” whose theme is somewhat aligned to the book being reviewed and I would also recommend to keep Mr. Haass’ book in the bucket list as well!
5 starred review, utkarsh sir.
ReplyDeleteDidn't have the time to read the book , but couldn't wait to know what's inside it!.
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming to the rescue!!