Reinventing Non- Alignment

Context:  The face-off between India and China in Ladakh and the plans for annexation of the West Bank by Israel provides a way for India to play a constructive role in evolving multipolar and just world order.

Reasons for the decline of non-alignment after the Cold War

• The disintegration of Soviet: made the communist ideology irrelevant in the conduct of global politics 
• The emergence of the unipolar world: with the United States (US) acting as the global policemen and leader in all institutions.

Need for reinventing non-alignment

• The declining role of US: The 9/11 terror attacks haunted the US and its allies, and non-conventional security threats have challenged the established conceptions of security, war and modernity.

• 2008 Global Financial Crisis exposed the realities of the neoliberal world order:

• Led to crumbling of institutions of lending, a decline in employment, and increased appreciation for sharing responsibility due to the rise of China and India (multipolar world).

• G-20 nations replaced the elite G-8 of rich countries in deciding the economic course of the world within a neoliberal framework. 

• Rise of China:  as the workshop of the world has made many western powers insecure and has led to a bipolar world with the US as the other pole.
• Tying Indian interests to the interests of America will be disastrous: 

• The US is trying to drag India into its conflict with China to protect US interests in the Asia-Pacific region. For. E.g. the US is muzzling Indian support to Palestine.

• The trade deals with the US have resulted in the loss of livelihood, agricultural land and hard-won labour rights of Indian working classes. 

Way Forward:

• Promote independent  non-aligned credentials of India: based on the principles of mutual respect, concern and cooperation and public participation

• For, E.g. While privatized healthcare systems failed during COVID-19, countries with a socialized or socialist public healthcare system fared better.

• Play a constructive role in evolving a more inclusive, multipolar and just world order: 
• Both the unipolarity of the 1990s and the bipolarity of today shall be rejected.
• India should use it's United Nations Security Council (UNSC) chair to represent nations and people hitherto unrepresented 
• India should strive to make the world more inclusive, just and sensitive to the environment.