2 July 2020, NIICE Commentary 5447
Dr. Shubhra Chaturvedi
The current discourse in international relations is extremely labile and strained due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has challenged the notion of traditional security, as well as shaken the super power status. On one hand, scientists, political leaders, experts from academics, business analytics are busy evaluating the way forward to ensure minimum damage. On the other, new tensions are surfacing between states, which undo the developments advocated by the propagators of globalisation and inter-dependence. Amidst all the tensions, The Times reported that the United Kingdom (UK) came up with a plan to form a supplier’s group of ten democracies for 5G equipments to avoid reliance on China especially in context of the company Huawei. This included the G7 along with Australia, South Korea and India. This brings into focus an interesting aspect – alliance between democratic countries. What is it that makes democracies seem ‘responsible’? Is this actually a camouflaging of the economic strife?
The United Nations as a part of their policy, supports democracy and evaluates it to good governance. Ambassador Kishore Madhubani, in his analysis of the rise of China stated that many policy makers in the United States believed that economic engagement with China will result in the adoption of democracy by the latter eventually. This seems quite far-fetched, however, this argument steers us to believe democracies being better or much more capable. This article looks at two different kinds of democracies in the current scenario – India and the US to evaluate if they displayed good governance and proved to be ‘responsible’ or ‘better’ with respect to crisis management? Although there are vast differences in the modus operandi, there are striking similarities in the challenges faced by the two democracies.
United States – A Damp Squib at all Levels
US President Trump was questioned for mishandling the Coronavirus spread and the American supremacy seemed to falter after the dismal condition. According to New York Times, there are more than 2.5 million confirmed cases with more than 125,800 deaths as on 29 June 2020 with a positive case rate being 6 percent. It is believed that due to the relaxations in restrictions, there is a resurgence of disease rather than the second wave in the US.
US President Trump blamed the “malfeasance of the Chinese government” for the pandemic spread all over the world. He questioned the Chinese transparency about the virus in the initial stages and even criticised the World Health Organisation (WHO) for siding with China. He cut the WHO funding by stating that there was an alarming lack of independence in the organisation from the influence of China. Basically, the confidence in the international system of governance seems to have shaken.
Trump’s criticism of the Chinese violation of Hong Kong’s sovereignty has added to the friction between the US and China. November 2019 has seen President Trump sign a legislation to put sanctions on China for attempting to curtail the pro-democracy movements in Hong Kong. According to the Belfer Centre, promotion of democracy has been one of the missions after the end of Cold War. In fact, according to a study carried out by the Belfer Centre, stable democracies reach the highest level of economic performances. One of the reasons behind the affinity towards India is its political system.
America has been facing economic recession and according to the statistics, the economy shrank at an annual rate of 4.8 percent in the first quarter. In addition to that, the death of George Floyd, an American African man in Minneapolis has led to wide spread protests and demonstrations against the governing authorities. The individuals in general have shown a lot of discontentment with the government regarding issues ranging from handling of the COVID-19, to the faltering economy to violation of basic human rights in the country. The overall scenario does not look pleasant. All this, in light of the Chinese rise as a global influencer has led to doubts about the American world leadership. The American elections to be held in November 2020 appear to be the main driving force behind President Trump’s efforts at appearing strong. His decisions are intended to prove the American mantle in the world to reassure his people of his authority after the international backlash he faced for his floppy handling of the pandemic.
Indian Crisis Management
Unlike the US, India started taking measures much earlier to check the spread of the COVID-19. The government of India announced a nationwide lockdown on 18 March 2020. The intention was to contain the spread and yet, India has reportedly more than half a million cases. A major challenge was preparing the people for lockdowns in the midst of challenges like poverty, unemployment, migrant issues and so on. As a result, while the government extended the lockdown period from 21 days to more than 90 days issues concerning hunger, suicides, violence increased drastically.
In addition to the domestic challenges, the border skirmishes with China have added to the pressure on Prime Minister Modi. There are speculations about a possible India-China war and even about the possibility of an extended war between more than two countries. At the domestic level, the issue of administrative violence in the form of police and system of checks and balances during the lockdown period has been a source of concern for people. The lockdown came into effect immediately after the religious riots in New Delhi which witnessed massive violence and many questioned the secular identity of the country. There were many pending concerns when the lockdown began and hence there was much turmoil. There were issues concerning migrants, labourers, domestic violence and so on. The media raised questions about the short sightedness of the government measures and Prime Minister Modi had additional responsibility of utilising the best possible measures to fight the alleged communal accusations.
The international approach was also the subject of discussion, from participation in the NAM, to helping countries with medical supplies, to its restraint with China has all been debated openly. Prime Minister Modi’s approach of addressing the public on television during the crisis, have been attempts to console people and sympathise with them about their grievances. There has been selective information sharing in those addresses.
Analysis
A closer look at the two countries shows the vulnerability of both the countries to traditional and non-traditional security threats. The leaders of both the countries – Prime Minister Modi and President Trump have been under pressure to legitimize and defend their actions and policies. With the fear of rise of China, Russian release of its new policy paper that threatens the future of arms control, contests in the South China Sea and the alliances emerging all over the world, the initiative to form a democratic club seems reasonable. On the scale of responsibility, both US and India have a long way to go. Reasons include leader driven politics, domestic heterogeneity, short sightedness and geopolitical rivalry despite the COVID-19 crisis which altogether are major hurdles. Yet, the idea of a group of 10 democracies to overcome the technological rift is a good initiative due to the economic power it possesses.
The rise of China is a threat to many countries around the world, not because of its political system but due to its economic model. It is the time that this aspect is accepted overtly instead of making the rivalry sound political. China is in the process of the revival of its economy. According to New York Times, its supply has outpaced the demand. Coalitions between democracies will worsen the situation and perhaps meet the intended goal.
