M WAQAS JAN
AS day to day life changes dramatically around the world as a result of the novel Corona Virus, there still lies this uneasy sense of continuity to the way International Relations are playing out within an ongoing global pandemic. Be it the latest oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia, China and the US blaming each other for the advent of the Corona Virus, or the latest round of US sanctions against Iran; it seems that despite a worldwide emergency which almost begs for a more liberalist approach to foreign policy, it is instead the prevalence of a dangerous realpolitik that has continued to define the international system. This is evident in how as of writing, the COVID-19 virus has spread to over 250,000 people spanning 166 countries. So far it has led to more than 10,000 deaths withthe majority ofthese occurringin some ofthe world’s most politically and economically developed countries such as China, Italy and Spain. Countries with sprawling and well-funded public health sectors as well as a considerable surplus of key resources and scalable infrastructure that should on paper help easily tackle any such public health emergencies. Not to mention the fact that all three of these countries are being run by stable governments built on a strong sense of political consensus. The kind of political stability which is further manifest in their foreign policy dealings as well as their overall standing amongst the comity of nations. Yet, the fact that all three of the above-mentioned countries account for 75% of all COVID-19 related fatalities, presents a harrowing insight into the frailties of the prevailing global politico-economic system. A system which having institutionalized the glaring differences between the global haves and have-nots is being challenged by an international pandemic -which in turn by transcending borders, nationalisms and socio-cultural and racial fault lines has only just begun to wreak havoc across the world. It has not only exposed a general lack of preparedness and cooperation on part of these developed countries, but also stands as a precursor to how its effects on lesser equipped and already threatened countries is likely to be even worse. These include countries such as war-torn Afghanistan and Yemen, a heavily sanctioned Iran, or any of the fragile economies of sub-Saharan Africa where even just identifying and recording the impact of the novel Corona Virus presents a Herculean task in itself, let alone combating it. Hence, with more than a month having passed since the virus started to dominate global headlines, there has been a complete lack of empathy to the plight of some of the world’s most vulnerable countries and communities. Instead what has been witnessed is every country turning inward to protect its own interests and people while remaining firmly bound to the cycles of power and greed. Be it for instance, the now infamous fights over toilet paper at the community level, or allegations of President Trump attempting to secure an exclusive vaccine from German Researchers at the international level, this prevalence of self-interest at both the individual community and international state levels represents one of the most dangerous and disheartening realities of our world today. This reality was in itself best described about a year back by former UK Foreign Secretary, David Miliband as the ‘Age of Impunity.’ Drawing on his work as the President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, Mr Miliband has identified the overall political culture that has characterized this last decade and a half as standing in stark contrast to the preceding era of accountability and international cooperation. In his now infamous lecture for the Fulbright Commission, the former Foreign Secretary had explained how whereas the Post-Cold War era had seen ‘growing civilian protection internationally and a surge in accountable government nationally’, it was the reverse which was now taking place the world over. The rise in political demagoguery along with the prevalence of greater autocracy and authoritarianism has directly coincided with the impunity with which international norms have been cast aside. These include norms which once emphasized an almost sacred adherence to greater international cooperation on the basis of international law and universal human rights. Norms which also once formed the very basis for advocating a more liberalist approach to foreign policy whilst strengthening key international organizations such as the UN, WHO and WTO, etc. This Age of Impunity that we now live in however has seen the revitalization and consolidation of a more dictatorial approach to national leadership, which is further expressed in the confrontational and more aggressive approach to foreign policy that has now been adopted by most world leaders. This approach which most scholars and observers would see couched amidst a ruthless realism of sorts has been evident throughout President Trump’s America First policy, a post-Brexit UK, and the revitalization and consolidation of dictatorial style politics across India, China, Russia, Turkey, Brazil and Saudi Arabia. All of whom have aimed to redraw the prevailing international system more on the basis of self-interest rather than for the collective interests of an increasingly interconnected and inter-dependent global village. If the Corona Virus for all the fear and havoc it has wreaked across the world has done one good; it’s shown how the response of most countries in times of a global crisis has laid bare the failings and inadequacies of our current international order. It has shown that rather than having a worldwide pandemic on such an unprecedented scale re-ignite the kind of cross-border cooperation and faith in international organizations, that had emerged in the halcyon days of the Post-War era, the world as a whole remains unchanged in its turn towards a ruthless Machiavellianism. With closed borders, collapsing markets and unfettered capitalism reigning supreme over the need for aid, empathy and a collective resolve to help address this global threat, there is thus a definite need for greater introspection and self-reflection on a collective level. The kind of introspection that critically assesses whether the complex and far-reaching politico-economic systems that we endorse and have set up are conducive to the challenges humanity as a whole faces in this day and age. Unless there is a serious conversation on whether the ideals of peace, cooperation and stability which so many of us have fought to learn, abide by and pass on to future generations hold any relevance to our world today, the world as a whole is likely to descend into further chaos as those in power continue to lead and act with such unchecked self-interest. — The writer is a Researcher at the Strategic Vision Institute, a non-partisan think-tank based in Islamabad.
