India’s G20 Presidency: Championing the Global South : Daily Current Affairs

Date: 07/12/2022

Relevance: GS-2: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Key Phrases: Third World Solidarity, Non-Alignment, Championing The Cause Of The Global South, Universalism, Washington Consensus, Role In International Activism, India’s Third World Strategy In The Cold War Era.

Why in News?

As it takes charge of the G20 forum, India’s proclamation of a new ambition of championing the cause of the “Global South” with the revival of ideas of non-alignment and Third World solidarity has raised a number of questions about India’s intentions.

Key Highlights:

India’s new international partners, especially in the US and Europe are apprehensive if India is returning to an anti-Western orientation.
Moreover, its eastern partners are also alarmed that India might privilege the “Global South” and downgrade the new forums like the BRICS built in recent years to promote a multipolar world.

Is India committed to universalism or mobilising one part against another?

The doctrine of NAM and Third World was against the North as a whole that included the Soviet Union and not just the West.
The idea of the “third” world underlined that it was not only different from the “first” — the capitalist West but also from the second — the socialist “East”.
It is questionable how the claim to champion the Global South synchronizes with India’s idea of a vasudhaiva kutumbakam — the world is one family.

How relevant is the idea of Third World radicalism in contemporary geopolitics?

The debates around the axes of the West versus the East and the North versus the South do not correspond with the ground realities in the contemporary world.
For example, China which has long been viewed as part of the East and the South as the second largest economic and military power, sits at the top of the global hierarchy, and has deep ties with the West.
The ideological enthusiasm of Third World radicalism in the 1970s exhausted itself quite quickly.
By the 1980s, most countries had moved away from the so-called third path to economic development and they began to accept the so-called “Washington Consensus” on liberalisation and globalisation.

Promotion of Third World solidarity by India:

With the end of the Cold War, India too started to focus on restructuring its economy, managing the new threats to its security from internal insurgencies and cross-border terrorism, rediscovering the virtues of regional cooperation, and rearranging its relations with major powers in the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s collapse.
While India continued to participate in the NAM summits and various affiliated forums in the United Nations, promoting Third World solidarity fell off the list of priorities for India.
While the Global South fell off from India’s agenda, the nature of international relations in the developing world began to change in a big way in the 21st century.

Efforts by the western world to reconnect with the global south:

The US has started making a special bid to reconnect with the Global South. For example:
Last June, the US sought to inject new life into the summitry with the Latin American countries.
Washington is hosting the African leaders to regain some influence in the dynamic continent.
Over the last two years, it has also intensified the engagement with the South East Asian and South Pacific countries.
Europe has begun to offer alternatives to Belt and Road by offering finances for infrastructure development.
Thus, the current political arena is entering an era of renewed great power competition for the Global South.
The developing world too is looking ahead and not looking back to the old ideas wherein its leaders want concrete options and are adept at bargaining with multiple players.

India as a pole in the global order:

India has risen in the international hierarchy and is well on its way to becoming the third largest economy.
Although it is by no means a pole in its own right, its role in international activism has grown significantly.
India can persuade the world to focus on issues of special concern to the developing world amidst the challenges presented by deglobalisation, the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change.

India’s Role as a Bridge Between Global North And South:

India’s objective is not to rebuild a global trade union against the North although it aims to become a bridge between the North and the South by focusing on practical outcomes rather than returning to old ideological battles.
In recent years, Delhi has often talked of itself as a “South Western power” that is capable of building deep partnerships with the US and Europe and at the same time, championing the interests of the Global South.
If India can translate this ambition into effective policy, there will be no contradiction between the simultaneous pursuit of universal and particular goals.

Concerns associated with India’s aim of pursuing universal and particular goals:

India’s ideological enthusiasm for the Global South was not matched by material power and political will.
Today, India’s material capabilities have grown and its leadership is filled with political ambition.
However, it is miles away to be able to overcome the entrenched indifference within the governmental machinery to realize India’s new international possibilities.
India also needs to come to terms with the fact that the Global South is not a coherent group and does not have a single shared agenda.
There is much differentiation within the South today in terms of wealth and power, needs and capabilities.
This demands a tailored Indian policy for different regions and groups of the developing world.

Conclusion:

India’s Third World strategy in the Cold War era was undermined by multiple internal and regional conflicts within the Global South.
Championing the Global South today would demand more active Indian engagement with the messy regional politics within the developing world.

Source: Indian Express

Mains Question:

Q. India can utilize the G20 presidency in championing the cause of the global South as well as bridging the gap between the global North and South. Examine. (250 words).