Alternative Centres of Power - WordPress.com...Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia join the EU. 2007 January: Bulgaria and Romania join the EU

OVERVIEWAfter the end of the bipolarstructure of world politics in theearly 1990s, it became clear thatalternative centres of political andeconomic power could limitAmerica’s dominance. Thus, inEurope, the European Union (EU)and, in Asia, the Association ofSouth East Asian Nations (ASEAN),have emerged as forces to reckonwith. While evolving regionalsolutions to their historicalenmities and weaknesses, both theEU and the ASEAN have developedalternative institutions andconventions that build a morepeaceful and cooperative regionalorder and have transformed thecountries in the region intoprosperous economies. Theeconomic rise of China has madea dramatic impact on worldpolitics. In this chapter, we take alook at some of these emergingalternative centres of power andassess their possible role in thefuture.

Chapter 4

Alternative Centresof Power

The two images here represent two phases of the history ofChina. The red poster – “The Socialist Road is the Broadest ofAll” – represents the ideology that guided China during itsearly phase after the Revolution. The photograph below isthat of the city of Shanghai, the symbol of China’s neweconomic power.

Contemporary World Politics52

EUROPEAN UNION

As the Second World War came toan end, many of Europe’s leadersgrappled with the ‘Question ofEurope’. Should Europe beallowed to revert to its old rivalriesor be reconstructed on principlesand institutions that wouldcontribute to a positive conceptionof international relations? TheSecond World War shattered manyof the assumptions and structureson which the European states hadbased their relations. In 1945, theEuropean states confronted theruin of their economies and thedestruction of the assumptionsand structures on which Europehad been founded.

European integration after1945 was aided by the Cold War.America extended massivefinancial help for revivingEurope’s economy under whatwas called the ‘Marshall Plan’.The US also created a newcollective security structureunder NATO. Under the MarshallPlan, the Organisation forEuropean Economic Cooperation

(OEEC) was established in 1948to channel aid to the westEuropean states. It became aforum where the westernEuropean states began tocooperate on trade andeconomic issues. The Council ofEurope, established in 1949,was another step forward inpolit ical cooperation. Theprocess of economic integrationof European capitalist countriesproceeded step by step (seeTimeline of European Integration)leading to the formation of theEuropean Economic Communityin 1957. This process acquireda political dimension with thecreat ion of the EuropeanParliament. The collapse of theSoviet bloc put Europe on a fasttrack and resulted in theestablishment of the EuropeanUnion in 1992. The foundationwas thus laid for a commonforeign and security policy,cooperation on justice andhome affairs, and the creationof a single currency.

The European Union hasevolved over time from aneconomic union to anincreasingly political one. The EUhas started to act more as anation state. While the attemptsto have a Constitution for the EUhave failed, it has its own flag,anthem, founding date, andcurrency. It also has some formof a common foreign and securitypolicy in its dealings with othernations. The European Unionhas tried to expand areas ofcooperation while acquiring new

The European Union Flag

The circle of gold stars stands for solidarity and harmony betweenthe peoples of Europe. It has twelve stars, as the number twelve istraditionally the symbol of perfection, completeness and unity.

Source: http://europa.eu/abc/symbols/emblem/index_en.htm

53Alternative Centres of Power

members, especially from theerstwhile Soviet bloc. The processhas not proved easy, for peoplein many countries are not veryenthusiastic in giving the EUpowers that were exercised by thegovernment of their country.There are also reservations aboutincluding some new countrieswithin the EU.

The EU has economic, politicaland diplomatic, and militaryinfluence. The EU is the world’sbiggest economy with a GDP of

more than $12 trillion in 2005,slightly larger than that of theUnited States. Its currency, theeuro, can pose a threat to thedominance of the US dollar. Itsshare of world trade is three timeslarger than that of the UnitedStates allowing it to be moreassertive in trade disputes withthe US and China. Its economicpower gives it influence over itsclosest neighbours as well as inAsia and Africa. It also functions asan important bloc in international

Oh, now I know what aSchengen visa means!Under the Schengenagreement, you have toget a visa from just oneof the EU countries andthat allows you entry inmost of the otherEuropean Unioncountries.

EUROPEAN UNION MAP

Ireland UnitedKingdom

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France

Luxembourg

Belgium Germany

Italy

Netherlands

Denmark

Sweden Finland

Estonia

LatviaLithuania

Poland

CzechRepublic Slovakia

Hungary

Slovenia

Austria

Cyprus

Malta Greece

Older MembersNew Members


France, hold permanent seats onthe UN Security Council. The EUincludes several non-permanentmembers of the UNSC. This hasenabled the EU to influence someUS policies such as the current USposition on Iran’s nuclearprogramme. Its use of diplomacy,economic investments, andnegotiations rather than coercionand military force has beeneffective as in the case of itsdialogue with China on humanrights and environmentaldegradation.

Militarily, the EU’s combinedarmed forces are the secondlargest in the world. Its totalspending on defence is secondafter the US. Two EU memberstates, Britain and France, alsohave nuclear arsenals ofapproximately 550 nuclearwarheads. It is also the world’ssecond most important source ofspace and communicationstechnology.

As a supranational organi-sation, the EU is able to intervenein economic, political and socialareas. But in many areas itsmember states have their ownforeign relations and defencepolicies that are often at oddswith each other. Thus, Britain’sPrime Minister Tony Blair wasAmerica’s partner in the Iraqinvasion, and many of the EU’snewer members made up the US-led ‘coalition of the willing’whereas Germany and Franceopposed American policy. Thereis also a deep-seated ‘Euro-skepticism’ in some parts

TIMELINE OF EUROPEANINTEGRATION

1951 April: Six west European countries, France, WestGermany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourgsign the Treaty of Paris establishing the European Coal andSteel Community (ECSC).

1957 March 25: These six countries sign the Treaties of Romeestablishing the European Economic Community (EEC) andthe European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom).

1973 January: Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdomjoin the European Community (EC).

1979 June: First direct elections to the European Parliament

1981 January: Greece joins the EC.

1985 June: The Schengen Agreement abolishes bordercontrols among the EC members.

1986 January: Spain and Portugal join the EC.

1990 October: Unification of Germany.

1992 February 7: The Treaty of Maastricht was signedestablishing the European Union (EU).

1993 January: The single market was created.

1995 January: Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU.

2002 January: Euro, the new currency, was introduced inthe 12 EU members.

2004 May: Ten new members, Cyprus, the Czech Republic,Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakiaand Slovenia join the EU.

2007 January: Bulgaria and Romania join the EU.Slovenia adopts the Euro.

economic organisations such asthe World Trade Organisation(WTO).

The EU also has political anddiplomatic influence. Twomembers of the EU, Britain and


of Europe about the EU’sintegrationist agenda. Thus, forexample, Britain’s former primeminister, Margaret Thatcher,kept the UK out of the EuropeanMarket. Denmark and Swedenhave resisted the MaastrichtTreaty and the adoption of theeuro, the common Europeancurrency. This limits the abilityof the EU to act in matters offoreign relations and defence.

ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH

EAST ASIAN NATIONS

(ASEAN)Take a look at the political map ofthe world. Which countries wouldyou say fall in the southeastern

Imagine what wouldhappen if they havea European Unionfootball team!

region of Asia? Before and duringthe Second World War, this regionof Asia suffered the economic andpolitical consequences ofrepeated colonialisms, bothEuropean and Japanese. At theend of the war, it confrontedproblems of nation-building, theravages of poverty and economicbackwardness and the pressureto align with one great power oranother during the Cold War. Thiswas a recipe for conflict, whichthe countries of Southeast Asiacould ill afford. Efforts at Asianand Third World unity, such asthe Bandung Conference and theNon-Aligned Movement, wereineffective in establishing theconventions for informalcooperation and interaction.Hence, the Southeast Asian

The cartoon appeared in 2003 when the European Union’s initiative to draft acommon Constitution failed. Why does the cartoonist use the image of the shipTitanic to represent EU?

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nations sought an alternative byestablishing the Association forSouth East Asian Nations(ASEAN).

ASEAN was established in1967 by five countries of thisregion — Indonesia, Malaysia, thePhilippines, Singapore andThailand — by signing theBangkok Declaration. Theobjectives of ASEAN were primarilyto accelerate economic growth andthrough that ‘social progress and

cultural development’. A secondaryobjective was to promote regionalpeace and stability based on therule of law and the principles of theUnited Nations Charter. Over theyears, Brunei Darussalam,Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar(Burma) and Cambodia joinedASEAN taking its strength to ten.

Unlike the EU there is littledesire in ASEAN for supranationalstructures and institutions. ASEANcountries have celebrated what hasbecome known as the ‘ASEANWay’, a form of interaction that isinformal, non-confrontationist andcooperative. The respect for nationalsovereignty is critical to thefunctioning of ASEAN.

With some of the fastestgrowing economies in the world,ASEAN broadened its objectivesbeyond the economic and socialspheres. In 2003, ASEAN movedalong the path of the EU byagreeing to establish an ASEANCommunity comprising threepillars, namely, the ASEANSecurity Community, the ASEANEconomic Community and theASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.

The ASEAN Flag

In the ASEAN logo, the ten stalks ofpaddy (rice) represent the tenSoutheast Asian countries boundtogether in friendship and solidarity.The circle symbolises the unity of ASEAN.Source : www.aseansec.org

“Courtesy of the University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texasat Austin”

MAP OF EAST AND SOUTH EAST ASIA

Who arethemembersof theASEANRegionalForum(ARF)?


The ASEAN securitycommunity was based on theconviction that outstandingterritorial disputes should notescalate into armed confrontation.By 2003, ASEAN had severalagreements in place by whichmember states promised to upholdpeace, neutrality, cooperation,non-interference, and respect fornational differences and sovereignrights. The ASEAN RegionalForum (ARF), which wasestablished in 1994, is theorganisation that carries outcoordination of security andforeign policy.

ASEAN was and still remainsprincipally an economicassociation. While the ASEANregion as a whole is a muchsmaller economy compared to theUS, the EU, and Japan, itseconomy is growing much fasterthan all these. This accounts forthe growth in its influence both inthe region and beyond. Theobjectives of the ASEAN EconomicCommunity are to create acommon market and productionbase within ASEAN states and toaid social and economicdevelopment in the region. TheEconomic Community would alsolike to improve the existing ASEANDispute Settlement Mechanism toresolve economic disputes. ASEANhas focused on creating a FreeTrade Area (FTA) for investment,labour, and services. The US andChina have already moved fast tonegotiate FTAs with ASEAN.

ASEAN is rapidly growing intoa very important regional

organisation. Its Vision 2020 hasdefined an outward-looking rolefor ASEAN in the internationalcommunity. This builds on theexisting ASEAN policy toencourage negotiation overconflicts in the region. Thus,ASEAN has mediated the end ofthe Cambodian conflict, the EastTimor crisis, and meets annuallyto discuss East Asian cooperation.

The current economic strengthof ASEAN, especially its economicrelevance as a trading andinvestment partner to the growingAsian economies such as Indiaand China, makes this anattractive proposition. During theCold War years Indian foreignpolicy did not pay adequateattention to ASEAN. But in recentyears, India has tried to makeamends. It signed FTAs with twoASEAN members, Singapore and

Isn’t India a part ofSoutheast Asia? Thenorth-eastern statesare so close to theASEAN countries.

India’s ‘Look East’ Policy since 1991 has led to greater economicinteraction with the East Asian nations (ASEAN, China, Japan andSouth Korea).

Keshav, The Hindu


Thailand. It is trying to sign anFTA with ASEAN itself. ASEAN’sstrength, however, lies in itspolicies of interaction andconsultation with member states,with dialogue partners, and withother non-regional organisations.It is the only regional associationin Asia that provides a politicalforum where Asian countries andthe major powers can discusspolitical and security concerns.

affairs. The strength of itseconomy, together with otherfactors such as population, landmass, resources, regional locationand political influence, adds to itspower in significant ways.

After the inception of thePeople’s Republic of China in 1949,following the communist revolutionunder the leadership of Mao, itseconomy was based on the Sovietmodel. The economically backwardcommunist China chose to severits links with the capitalist world.It had little choice but to fall backon its own resources and, for abrief period, on Soviet aid andadvice. The model was to create astate-owned heavy industriessector from the capitalaccumulated from agriculture. Asit was short of foreign exchangethat it needed in order to buytechnology and goods on theworld market, China decided tosubstitute imports by domesticgoods.

This model allowed China touse its resources to establish thefoundations of an industrialeconomy on a scale that did notexist before. Employment andsocial welfare was assured to allcitizens, and China moved aheadof most developing countries ineducating its citizens and ensuringbetter health for them. Theeconomy also grew at a respectablerate of 5-6 per cent. But an annualgrowth of 2-3 per cent in populationmeant that economic growth wasinsufficient to meet the needs of agrowing population. Agriculturalproduction was not sufficient to

Why did ASEANsucceed whereSAARC did not? Is thisbecause they do nothave one dominantcountry in thatregion?

THE RISE OF THE CHINESE

ECONOMY

Let us now turn to the third majoralternative centre of power andour immediate neighbour, China.The cartoon on the following pagesums up the current mood all overthe world about the rise of Chinaas an economic power. China’seconomic success since 1978 hasbeen linked to its rise as a greatpower. China has been the fastestgrowing economy since thereforms first began there. It isprojected to overtake the US as theworld’s largest economy by 2040.Its economic integration into theregion makes it the driver of EastAsian growth, thereby giving itenormous influence in regional

Locate theASEANmembers onthe map. Findthe location ofthe ASEANSecretariat.


generate a surplus for industry. InChapter 2, we discussed the crisisof the state controlled economy inthe USSR. A similar crisis was toface China too: its industrialproduction was not growing fastenough, international trade wasminimal and per capita income wasvery low.

The Chinese leadership tookmajor policy decisions in the1970s. China ended its politicaland economic isolation with theestablishment of relations withthe United States in 1972.Premier Zhou Enlai proposed the‘four modernisations’(agriculture,industry, science and technologyand military) in 1973. By 1978,the then leader Deng Xiaopingannounced the ‘open door’ policyand economic reforms in China.The policy was to generate higherproductivity by investments ofcapital and technology fromabroad.

China followed its own path inintroducing a market economy. TheChinese did not go for ‘shocktherapy’ but opened their economystep by step. The privatisation ofagriculture in 1982 was followedby the privatisation of industry in1998. Trade barriers wereeliminated only in SpecialEconomic Zones (SEZs) whereforeign investors could set upenterprises. In China, the stateplayed and continues to play acentral role in setting up a marketeconomy.

The new economic policieshelped the Chinese economyto break from stagnation.

Privatisation of agriculture led toa remarkable rise in agriculturalproduction and rural incomes.High personal savings in the ruraleconomy lead to an exponentialgrowth in rural industry. TheChinese economy, including bothindustry and agriculture, grew ata faster rate. The new trading lawsand the creation of SpecialEconomic Zones led to aphenomenal rise in foreign trade.China has become the mostimportant destination for foreigndirect investment (FDI) anywherein the world. It has large foreignexchange reserves that now allowit to make big investment in othercountries. China’s accession to the

A total of 6 SEZs inChina and morethan 200 approvedSEZs in India! Is thisgood for India?

The Great Wall and Dragon are two symbols most commonlyassociated with China. This cartoon uses both these to depictChina’s economic rise. Who do you think is the little man in thiscartoon? Can he stop the dragon?

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WTO in 2001 has been a furtherstep in its opening to the outsideworld. The country plans to deepenits integration into the worldeconomy and shape the futureworld economic order.

While the Chinese economy hasimproved dramatically, noteveryone in China has received thebenefits of the reforms.Unemployment has risen in Chinawith nearly 100 million peoplelooking for jobs. Femaleemployment and conditions ofwork are as bad as in Europe ofthe eighteenth and nineteenthcenturies. Environmental degradationand corruption have increasedbesides a rise in economicinequality between rural andurban residents and coastal andinland provinces.

However, regionally andglobally, China has become aneconomic power to reckon with.The integration of China’s economyand the inter-dependencies thatthis has created has enabled Chinato have considerable influencewith its trade partners. Hence, itsoutstanding issues with Japan, theUS, ASEAN, and Russia have beentempered by economicconsiderations. It hopes to resolveits differences with Taiwan, whichit regards as a renegade province,by integrating it closely into itseconomy. Fears of China’s risehave also been mitigated by itscontributions to the stability of theASEAN economies after the 1997financial crisis. Its more outwardlooking investment and aid

Chinese bicycle

Like the opening images for this chapter, the first cartooncomments on the change in China’s orientation. The secondcartoon uses the symbol of the bicycle — China is the largest userof bicycles in the world — to comment on a duality in today’sChina. What is this duality? Can we call this a contradiction?

China then and now

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policies in Latin America andAfrica are increasingly projectingit as a global player on the side ofdeveloping economies.

INDIA – CHINA RELATIONS

India and China were greatpowers in Asia before the adventof Western imperialism. Chinahad considerable influence andcontrol on the periphery of itsborders based on its uniquetributary system. At differenttimes in China’s long history ofdynastic rule, Mongolia, Korea,parts of Indo-China, and Tibetaccepted China’s authority.Various kingdoms and empiresin India also extended theirinfluence beyond their borders.In both cases this influence waspolitical, economic and cultural.However, the regions where Indiaand China exercised influencerarely ever overlapped. Thus,there was limited political andcultural interaction between thetwo. The result was that neithercountry was very familiar withthe other. In the twentiethcentury, when both nationsconfronted each other, they hadsome difficulty evolving a foreignpolicy to deal with each other.

After India regained itsindependence from Britain, andChina expelled the foreign powers,there was hope that both wouldcome together to shape the futureof the developing world and ofAsia particularly. For a brief while,the slogan of ‘Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai’ was popular. However,

military conflict over a borderdispute between the two countriesmarred that hope. Soon afterindependence, both states wereinvolved in differences arising fromthe Chinese takeover of Tibet in1950 and the final settlement ofthe Sino-Indian border. China andIndia were involved in a borderconflict in 1962 over competingterritorial claims principally inArunachal Pradesh and in theAksai Chin region of Ladakh.

The conflict of 1962, in whichIndia suffered military reverses,had long-term implications forIndia–China relations. Diplomaticrelations between the twocountries were downgraded until1976. Thereafter, relationsbetween the two countries beganto improve slowly. After the changein China’s political leadershipfrom the mid to late 1970s,China’s policy became morepragmatic and less ideological. Soit was prepared to put off thesettlement of contentious issueswhile improving relations withIndia. A series of talks to resolvethe border issue were also initiatedin 1981.

Since the end of the ColdWar, there have been significantchanges in India–China relations.Their relations nowhave a strategic aswell as an economicdimension. Both viewthemselves as risingpowers in globalpolitics, and bothwould like to play a

The ChinesePresident Hu Jintaowas in India duringNovember 2006.Find out about theagreements signedduring his visit.


major role in the Asian economyand politics.

Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to China inDecember 1988 provided theimpetus for an improvement inIndia–China relations. Since thenboth governments have takenmeasures to contain conflict andmaintain ‘peace and tranquility’ onthe border. They have also signedagreements on cultural exchangesand cooperation in science andtechnology, and opened fourborder posts for trade. With India–China trade growing at 30 per centper year since 1999, a more

positive perspective on relationswith China has emerged. Bilateraltrade between India and China hasincreased from $338 million in1992 to more than $18 billion in2006. More recently, bothcountries have agreed to cooperatewith each other in areas that couldotherwise create conflict betweenthe two, such as bidding for energydeals abroad. At the global level,India and China have adoptedsimilar policies in internationaleconomic institutions like theWorld Trade Organisation.

India’s nuclear tests in 1998,sometimes justified on thegrounds of a threat from China,did not stop greater interaction.It is true that China was seen ascontributing to the build up ofPakistan’s nuclear programme.China’s military relations withBangladesh and Myanmar wereviewed as hostile to Indianinterests in South Asia. However,none of these issues is likely tolead to conflict between the two.One sign of this is that the talks toresolve the boundary question havecontinued without interruption andmilitary-to-military cooperation isincreasing. Indian and Chineseleaders and officials visit Beijingand New Delhi with greaterfrequency, and both sides arenow becoming more familiarwith each other. Increasingtransportation and communicationlinks, common economic interestsand global concerns should helpestablish a more positive andsound relationship between thetwo most populous countries ofthe world.

Some people sayChinese products aregoing to flood ourmarket? But whereare they?

STEPSDivide the classroom into three groups.

Assign each group one organisation to work ona fact file on the EU, ASEAN and SAARC.

Students have to prepare a fact file thatcontains information on the objectives,functions and recent activities of theseorganisations. Pictures of the conferences /summit meetings can be collected.Each group is to present its fact file before theclass.

Ideas for the Teacher

The teacher is to focus on the functions of these organisations.

Draw the attention of students to the achievements of regionalorganisations.

Link the role of regional economic organisations to the overall development of the member countries.

Sensitise students to the growing importance of regionaleconomic organisations as an alternative approach to thepeace and security of the world.


JAPANYou might have heard about famous Japanese brands such as Sony,Panasonic, Canon, Suzuki, Honda, Toyota, Mazda. They have areputation for making high-technology products. Japan has very fewnatural resources and imports most of the its raw materials. Even then itprogressed rapidly after the end of the Second World War. It is thesecond largest economy in the world. It is the only Asian member of theG-8. It is the tenth most populous nation in the world.

Japan is the only nation that suffered the destruction caused by nuclearbombs. It is the second largest contributor to the regular budget of theUN, contributing almost 20 per cent of the total. Japan has a securityalliance with the US since 1951. As per Article 9 of the JapaneseConstitution, “the Japanese people forever renounce war as asovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means ofsettling international disputes.” Although Japan’s military expenditure isonly one per cent of its GDP, it is the fourth largest in the world.

Keeping all this in mind, do you think Japan can effectively function asan alternative centre of power?

Also find out about the agreements signed during the visit of the IndianPrime Minister Manmohan Singh to Japan during December 2006.

1. Arrange the following in chronological order.

a. China’s accession to WTO b. Establishment of the EECc. Establishment of the EU d. Birth of ARF

2. The ‘ASEAN Way’

a. Reflects the life style of ASEAN membersb. A form of interaction among ASEAN members that is informal

and cooperativec. The defence policy followed by the ASEAN membersd. The road that connects all the ASEAN members

3. Who among the following adopted an ‘open door’ policy?

a. China b. EU c. Japan d. USA4. Fill in the blanks:

a. The border conflict between China and India in 1962 wasprincipally over ______________ and __________________ region.

b. ARF was established in the year ______________________ .c. China entered into bilateral relations with __________ (a major

country) in 1972.

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ASIMO, The World’s MostAdvanced Humanoid RobotCredit:http://world.honda.com/news/2005/c051213_13.html


d. ____________ Plan influenced the establishment of theOrganisation for European Economic Cooperation in 1948.

e. ___________ is the organisation of ASEAN that deals with security. 5. What are the objectives of establishing regional organisations?

6. How does geographical proximity influence the formation ofregional organisations?

7. What are the components of the ASEAN Vision 2020?

8. Name the pillars and the objectives of the ASEAN Community.

9. In what ways does the present Chinese economy differs from itscommand economy?

10. How did the European countries resolve their post-Second WorldWar problem? Briefly outline the attempts that led to the formationof the European Union.

11. What makes the European Union a highly influential regionalorganisation?

12. The emerging economies of China and India have great potentialto challenge the unipolar world. Do you agree with the statement?Substantiate your arguments.

13. The Peace and prosperity of countries lay in the establishment andstrengthening of regional economic organisations. Justify thisstatement.

14. Identify the contentious issues between China and India. How couldthese be resolved for greater cooperation? Give your suggestions.

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Alternative Centres of Power - WordPress.com...Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia join the EU. 2007 January: Bulgaria and Romania join the EU