Turning Point
India promotes the Global South. Power & Wealth move East. Past and present Western narratives demonise Asia. The "turning point" is here! But can the US and EU live in the new Multipolarity?
UPDATE: The Long Mekong Daily Special International Relations Edition provides its readers with a concise reading list to better understand how the long history of world affairs continues to shape global order. The Global South is the focus for global development and the primary engine for inclusive economic growth, irrespective of endogenous political systems. Such a model repudiates Anglo-American narratives of a Hobbesian struggle for the 21st century between liberal democracies and authoritarian regimes and defines democracy and freedom in terms of social security and economic development.
Narendra Modi says the Global South has the largest stakes in the future and three quarters of humanity should have an equivalent voice in shaping the emerging global order.
L.S. Stavrianos’s ‘Global Rift: The Third World Comes of Age’, the traditional differentiation between affluent developed countries and impoverished underdeveloped countries is no longer clear cut and mutually exclusive.
Giovanni Arrighi’s ‘Adam Smith in Beijing’ argued that a shift in the geographic core of the global capitalist economy, from the United States to China, is imminent, inaugurating its next "long century."
Sanjeev Sanyal’s ‘The Ocean of Churn’ posits that the Indian Ocean Rim is significant not only due to its strategic location, and the value of the trade that passes, but also due to its history that has shaped the present and will certainly influence the future.
Nicholas V. Riasanovsky’s ‘A History of Russia’ presents the whole span of Russia's history, from the origins of the Kievan state [the Russe] and the building of an empire, to Soviet Russia, the successor states, and beyond.
Charles River Editors published ‘The Khmer Empire: The History and Legacy of One of Southeast Asia’s Most Influential Empires’. The Khmer Empire, also known as the Angkor Empire, was a powerful empire of Southeast Asia established in 802 CE, which ended in 1431 with the invasion of the Siamese [Thai] and abandonment of Angkor.
‘The Histories’ by Herodotus documents how Asia and Europe Became Enemies and Sima Qian’s ‘Record of the Great Historian’ recorded how China [Qin] was born from a Dragon.
Historian Tom Holland’s ‘Persian Fire’ recasts the Greek-Persian conflict as the first clash in a long-standing tension between East and West, echoed in the disastrous US-led War on Terror.
Lastly, Charles King’s ‘The Decline of International Studies: Why Flying Blind Is Dangerous’, argued that the United States government has eliminated State funding programs for advanced language and cultural training and now increasingly lacks regional experts who understand country-specific challenges and can place them in a larger global strategic context.
Narendra Modi’s remarks at opening session of Voice of Global South Summit 2023
Excellencies,
Leaders of the global South, Namaskar! It is my pleasure to welcome you in this Summit. I thank you for joining us from different parts of the world. We are meeting as a new year dawns, and brings new hopes and new energy. On behalf of 1.3 billion Indians, I extend my greetings for a happy and fulfilling 2023 to all of you and your countries.
We have turned the page on another difficult year, that saw: War, conflict, terrorism and geo-political tensions: Rising food, fertilizer and fuel prices; Climate-Change driven natural disasters, and Lasting economic impact of the COVID pandemic. It is clear the world is in a state of crisis. It is difficult to predict how long this state of instability will last.
Excellencies,
We, the Global South, have the largest stakes in the future. Three fourths of humanity lives in our countries. We should also have equivalent voice. Hence, as the eight-decade old model of global governance slowly changes, we should try to shape the emerging order.
Excellencies,
Most of the global challenges have not been created by the Global South. But they affect us more. We have seen this in the impacts of COVID pandemic, climate change, terrorism and even the Ukraine conflict. The search for solutions also does not factor in our role or our voice.
Excellencies,
India has always shared its developmental experience with our brothers of the Global South. Our development partnerships cover all geographies and diverse sectors. We supplied medicines and vaccines to over 100 countries during the pandemic. India has always stood for greater role of developing countries in determining our common future.
Excellencies,
As India begins its G20 Presidency this year, it is natural that our aim is to amplify the Voice of the Global South. For our G-20 Presidency, we have chosen the theme of – “One Earth, One Family, One Future”. This is in line with our civilizational ethos. We believe the path to realizing ‘oneness’ is through human-centric development. People of Global South should no longer be excluded from the fruits of development. Together we must attempt to redesign global political and financial governance. This can remove inequities, enlarge opportunities, support growth and spread progress and prosperity.
Excellencies,
To re-energise the world, we should together call for a global agenda of ‘Respond, Recognize, Respect and Reform’: Respond to the priorities of the Global South by framing an inclusive and balanced international agenda. Recognize that the principle of ‘Common but Differentiated Responsibilities’ applies to all global challenges. Respect sovereignty of all nations, rule of law and peaceful resolution of differences and disputes; and Reform international institutions, including the United Nations, to make them more relevant.
Excellencies,
Despite the challenges the developing world faces, I remain optimistic that our time is coming. The need of the hour is to identify simple, scalable and sustainable solutions that can transform our societies and economies. With such an approach, we shall overcome the difficult challenges- whether it is poverty, universal healthcare or building human capacities. In the last Century, we supported each other in our fight against foreign rule. We can do it again in this Century, to create a new World Order that will ensure the welfare of our citizens. As far as India is concerned, your Voice is India’s Voice. Your Priorities are India’s Priorities. Over the next two days, this Voice of Global South Summit will have discussions on 8 priority areas. I am confident that together the Global South can produce new and creative ideas. These ideas can form the basis of our Voice in the G-20 and other forums. In India, we have a prayer- आ नो भद्राः क्रतवो यन्तु विश्वतः. It means, may noble thoughts come to us from all directions of the universe. This Voice of Global South Summit is a collective effort for gaining noble ideas for our collective future.
Excellencies,
I look forward to listening to your ideas and thoughts. I once again thank you for your participation. Thank you.
Dhanyavaad.
Read more here.
"Global Rift: The Third World Comes of Age"
Ask the typical American what he knows of the countries which make up the Third World and he will probably reply with terms like "underdeveloped," "poverty," "dictatorship," and "disease." The Third World is home to most of the world's people and taken together these African, Asian and Latin American countries hold the key to the future of the world.
In "Global Rift: The Third World Comes of Age," L.S. Stavrianos traces the evolution of Third World countries back to the Middle Ages. Defining the Third World as "those countries or regions that are economically dependent upon and subordinate to, the developed First World," he locates the initial appearance of the Third World in Eastern Europe in the 15th century.
"Because of the unprecedented impact of modern science and technology," the traditional differentiation between affluent developed countries and impoverished underdeveloped countries no longer is clear cut and mutually exclusive." A new industrial revolution incorporating new developments in science and technology is taking place "blurring old distinctions between the hitherto privileged peoples of the First World and the subject peoples of the Third. "The inhabitants of all regions now are becoming subject peoples--that is, peoples subject to the imperatives of the global market economy."
Adam Smith in Beijing: Lineages of the Twenty-first Century
Giovanni Arrighi argued that a shift in the geographic core of the global capitalist economy, from the United States to China, is imminent, inaugurating its next "long century." This ambitious, thought-provoking, and engagingly written monograph presents the reasoning underlying this claim. Its title refers to his core argument that market-based development in China and East Asia has long followed a distinct trajectory from that of Europe and North America, one that Adam Smith intuited better than Karl Marx. Arrighi thereby aligns himself with those China scholars and world-system political economists who argue that Eurocentric theorisations of the global economy cannot make sense of China.
Arrighi reminds readers that Adam Smith was far from the free marketeer stressed by neoliberals. Arrighi focuses on three aspects of Smith's thinking: that the market should be subordinate to the state's responsibility to advance its citizens' prosperity; that market-based development has no single trajectory and need not be capitalist; and that the military plays an essential, problematic role in territorial economic development.
He stresses Smith's distinction between "natural" and "unnatural" paths of market-based economic development, the former (agriculturally based, noncapitalist) regarded by Smith as better suited to territorial enrichment and characteristic of China, the latter (capitalist, industrial, globalising) exemplified by Britain.
Read more here.
The Ocean of Churn
The Indian Ocean is the third largest water body in the world, containing vital sea lines of communication (SLOCs), which sustain the economies of countries in the region. It has gained further strategic importance in recent years by facilitating East- West exchanges. The Indian Ocean Rim is significant not only due to its strategic location, and the value of the trade that passes, but also due to its history that has shaped the present and will certainly influence the future.
The content of the book can broadly be divided into two thematic halves. The first half narrates various mythologies and popular folklores of the Indian Ocean countries, in a chronological sequence. The latter half gives a vivid account of the evolution of commerce, maritime trade, cultural exchanges, political rivalries and military conflict between countries connected by the Indian Ocean.
Read more here.
A History of Russia
Widely acclaimed as the best one-volume survey text available, A History of Russia presents the whole span of Russia's history, from the origins of the Kievan state and the building of an empire, to Soviet Russia, the successor states, and beyond. Drawing on both primary sources and major interpretive works, this sixth edition updates its existing coverage of the social, economic, cultural, political and military events of Russia's past and includes a new chapter on the post-Gorbachev era as well as helpful updated bibliographies and reading source lists.
Read more here.
The Khmer Empire: The History and Legacy of One of Southeast Asia’s Most Influential Empires
The Khmer Empire, also known as the Angkor Empire, was a powerful empire of Southeast Asia that was established in 802 CE and ended in 1431 with the invasion of the Siamese and abandonment of Angkor. The Khmer Empire was responsible for many of the historic monuments and temples found throughout the jungles of modern-day Cambodia, and also in other countries of Southeast Asia, all made possible by the fact the Khmer Empire reached across modern-day Cambodia, parts of Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam, making it a strategic trading partner with ships traveling from China and India.
As a result, the long-lasting influence that this empire had on the people of Cambodia can still be felt today, with Angkor Wat being featured on the national flag. The Khmer Empire: The History and Legacy of One of Southeast Asia’s Most Influential Empires chronicles the remarkable history of the Khmer and their impact on the region.
How Asia and Europe Became Enemies
In this accessible volume, Thomas Martin compares the writings of Herodotus in ancient Greece with those of Sima Qian in ancient China to demonstrate the hallmarks of early history writing. Martin shows the similar struggles that each grappled with and how their efforts helped invent modern notions of history writing and the job of the historian.
Herodotus, The Histories - How Asia and Europe Became Enemies: The Story of Croesus How Others Live: The Customs of the Persians, Egyptians, Massagetai, and Scythians Roping Asia to Europe: The Persian Invasion of Greece Death before Dishonor: The Battle of Thermopylae and the Story of the Three Hundred Human Wisdom and Divine Vengeance: Artemisia's Advice and Hermotimus's Revenge Ending Stories: Cruelty and Revenge on Both Sides
Sima Qian, The Records of the Historian’s Castration as the Price of Writing History: Sima Qian's Autobiographical Letter to Ren An The First Emperor of China: The Basic Annals of the Qin Dynasty Born from a Dragon: The Origins of Gaozu, founder of the Former Han Dynasty A Woman in Power: Empress Lu Heroic Hermits: The Biographies of Bo Yi and Shu Qi Arts of War: The Biographies of Sun Wu and Sun Bin Imperial Assassin: The Biography of Jing Ke How Others Live: The Customs of the Xiongnu.
Read more here.
Persian Fire: The First World Empire And The Battle For The West
Historian Tom Holland turns his attention to 480 BCE, when the Greeks defended their city-states against the invading Persian empire, led by Xerxes. Classicists will recall such battles as Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis, which raises the question: why do we need another account of this war, when we already have Herodotus? But just as Victor David Hanson and Donald Kagan have reframed our understanding of the Peloponnesian War by finding contemporary parallels, Holland recasts the Greek-Persian conflict as the first clash in a long-standing tension between East and West, echoing now in Osama bin Laden's pretensions to a Muslim caliphate.
Holland doesn't impose a modern sensibility on the ancient civilizations he describes, and he delves into the background histories of both sides with equally fascinating detail. Though matters of Greek history like the brutal social structure of the Spartans are well known, the story of the Persian empire—like the usurper Darius's claim that every royal personage he assassinated was actually an imposter—should be fresh and surprising to many readers, while Holland's graceful, modern voice will captivate those intimidated by Herodotus.
Read more here.
“The State” of International Studies
In recent decades, institutions across the United States have increasingly emphasized global education as a prerequisite to successful existence in a diverse yet interconnected world. At the same time, there is increasing awareness that the decline in international studies (IS) has resulted in the United States being ill prepared to address complex global challenges. Charles King (2015) lamented that the United States now increasingly lacks regional experts who understand the country-specific challenges and can place them in a larger global strategic context.
How the discipline engages students in a global environment matters; however, the field provides little guidance on how to design global studies majors. IS and global studies are apparently both important and neglected. As a globalised world begins to be challenged by climate change, isolationism, and fluctuations in the international economy, the discipline must reflect on what faculty are teaching future generations of scholars in the field of political science. More specifically, how do faculty prepare international studies (IS) majors in political science departments? What are the similarities and differences of programs that offer a globalized perspective and coursework dedicated to understanding other nations, cultures, and politics?
Read full article here.