By Samudrala VK As the political dust in war-torn Afghanistan is settling down, multiple questions are cropping up in the minds of dovish political analysts. Will powerful countries let smaller or weak nations act according to their own fate or wishes? Will global powers shed their helicopter parenting role? Will they allow peace to prevail […]
By Samudrala VK
As the political dust in war-torn Afghanistan is settling down, multiple questions are cropping up in the minds of dovish political analysts.
Will powerful countries let smaller or weak nations act according to their own fate or wishes? Will global powers shed their helicopter parenting role? Will they allow peace to prevail in the nations where they have invested a significant amount of wherewithal? Did they learn lessons from Afghanistan that they shouldn’t meddle in the internal affairs of other countries? Will they refrain from exercising their cruel military prowess over weaker nations down the line?
Moreover, how did these nations become powerful? What are the factors that contributed to the rise of these big players? How did they get so much wealth to develop sophisticated weapons or to sponsor their programme of destabilising weaker nations in order to grab their wealth or natural resources?
During the 18th and 19th centuries, while the European powers were busy plundering the wealth of nations in Asia and Africa, the US turned Latin America into its backyard. It was only in the second half of the 20th century, ie, after the second world war, that the US replaced the role of erstwhile imperial powers in Asia and Africa and was elevated as the superpower.
Testing Grounds
If one goes by the recent global history, it appears that the third world nations, especially in West Asia, a region that stands out due to its cultural and religious character, and Africa have become testing grounds for advanced military weapons developed by the global powers. Even after being blessed with independence, these third world nations have turned into scapegoats, in one way or the other, in the hands of global powers, especially the US. Throughout its history, the US has never shied away from implementing its foxy politics in the global political space.
How could the US justify its ‘war on terror’ policy when the country itself is a major sponsor of terrorism across the world? Keeping in view the animosity and widespread criticism against its unilateral actions, the US has been using the policy of “humanitarian intervention” as a token to realise its geopolitical interests. Its aversion to recognising the diversity in the world has been taking a toll on the nations which it feels is crucial to its strategic interests.
It is disheartening to see how foreign powers have been using their proxies, governments or rival factions, to their own advantage in these nations. The political unrest is acting as a lubricant for the fundamentalist groups to bring the distressed people into their fold.
Forced to Remain Poor
It is important to analyse why these war-affected nations are poor in economic, political and social sense. If truth be told, they were turned into or forced to remain in the state of pauperism by the global powers. It is due to the asymmetry of global politics and the vulpine motives of global powers that these war-torn nations have become the epitomes of instability and vulnerability. While internal factors like autocratic or totalitarian regimes, widespread corruption in government machinery and never-ending sectarianism have been contributing to instability in these war-prevailing nations, external factors like interventions, strategic interests of major players and economic stratagems too have their share in the mess.
There is no doubt that Afghanistan is a poor country. If one goes by its ranking position in every global index, it doesn’t need a supermind to say it. But a question would naturally shoot in the mind of a peace desirer. Does it lack the resources to stand on its own feet? The answer is no.
Appetite for Resources
Most of the third world nations started their journey as independent states more or less at the same time. While some nations are progressing at a rapid pace, others have fallen prey to the major powers. Not only to sustain their profits in the industries that are related to the weaponry but also an insatiable appetite for natural resources is what is driving the big-wigs in the global politics to play the foul game.
What started as an ideological squabble, the Afghan episode soon turned into a religious war and then to a civilian one, thanks to the role of the US. Needless to say, it is the US that is largely responsible for the sorry state of affairs in Afghanistan.
Cautious About Tactics
No war is desirable. Be it a just war or a realpolitik one. Starvation, deaths, displacement and grief are inalienable parts of a war. It affects humans and flora alike. Wars do not differentiate the people on the lines of gender and age. Women and children remain the worst sufferers in any war. The future of an individual and society looks bleak. Hopelessness creeps into every aspect of life.
Nation-building, especially in the aftermath of a war or unrest in a developing or underdeveloped nation, is not as simple as designing a missile or fixing a bomb. It requires financial resources from within and outside for the reconstruction. As internal resources are always limited, it forces the nation embroiled in a war to seek economic help from the global powers, which, in turn, pushes it to a state of dependency.
In the age of capitalism and neorealism, it is preposterous to expect that global powers would adopt a pacifist approach in matters of global politics. So, it is important on the part of countries, both developing and underdeveloped, to understand the manipulations and hidden agendas of the superpowers and to remain cautious about the ploys of powerful nations.
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