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Towards the New Horizon: World Order THIS book is the product of two intellectuals—Professor James Mayall, distinguished academic from the West, and Ambassador Krishnan Srinivasan, a former diplomat from the East. They undertake a joint journey in their exploration, bringing with them both theoretical and practical experiences.
For Mayall, the nation-state still would remain central to any new world order. Nation-states would still remain at the fulcrum of a world order, as they are not prepared to wither away, while accepting that inter-dependence in a globalised world may chip away some aspects of their sovereignty. For Srinivasan, it would be a modified Westphalian system, where the regional powers would assume a central role, providing stability and ensuring world peace. International organisations would, however, play an ineffectual role. It is implied that regional powers would act in concert, resulting in a multipolar rather than a unipolar world. Among the issues, the focus on fresh water is well placed, as water security could become a new factor of stability or instability. For multipolarity to become a reality, it is essential for the American hegemon to accept such a role, by placing the US in a cooperative mould. Hopefully, President Obama, with the Nobel Peace Prize, would steer US in that direction. Equally important would be for Russia, not to stake its claims to a superpower status, and return to a ‘New Cold War’. The regional powers on their part would have to gain greater acceptability and respectability in their respective regions. We will have to see, how the world is able to develop and maintain such a neat order, as some of the smaller powers would put obstacles in the path of the real or imagined regional powers. How would religion play out in this respect, as both the authors perceive a different role for this factor? In the above scheme, India would find itself in an unenviable spot. Would it be content to be a regional power when the former hegemons have started seeing it as a world power? Would not rapid economic growth, catapult it into a world power status? To emerge as a regional hegemon, India would have to work overtime with its neighbours, who would have to realise that their co-prosperity lies through the ‘prosper thy neighbour’ and not ‘beggar thy neighbour’ approach. Both the authors have made a bold statement in their predictions, which are well reasoned out. Finally, it is good news that both the authors end on a positive note and a faith in "a safer and more stable" new world order, based on "peaceful, mutual accommodation". If the authors’
prognosis comes true, then they are blessed with great foresight. The
world needs a cooperative approach, where all nations work in unison.
We all would like to see a new world order, where cooperation, peace
and development rule the world. Hopefully, Srinivasan’s caveat does
not come true, where one regional hegemon becomes a spoiler of this
peaceful world order, and this cannot be ruled out. The book makes a
valuable addition in the area of international relations and should
whet the appetite of scholars to find their own horizons for a world
order in this century.
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The
authors’ conclusions bear an imprint of their diverse experiences
and understanding of world events. Some of these, they view, from the
same prism, such as the hegemonic role of the US, while others they
view from different lenses. They nonetheless also see globalisation,
neither as a panacea nor leading to the withering away of the
nation-state, while we have seen the withering away of capitalism, as
the prognosis of the End of History has not come true.