The Crumbly World Order

The sudden disruptions, collusions, regional hostilities and death and destruction on unlimited scale are on the rise. The year 2025 just half way through,  it seems it has more human catastrophes in the womb than imagined at its arrival. The tragedy is that there is loss of narrative. The only catch word is ‘De-escalation’ amidst floating alliances in mutual destruction plans of power elite, internationally. The experimentation with hybridity of technology and Artificial Intelligence regulating space have made mockery of national boundaries. At present there are two super powers, USA and China and its strategic alliances, which assume the power of unpredictability and urge for overcoming each other’s strength, politically and militarily.  Beneath Israel’s aggression, Rafale aftermath and media rhetoric, there is a hard reality that the foundations of present world order emerging from Modern Project have become crumbly. The world moves towards deep familiarity alliances, which is on civilizational thrust.

The lasting trail of civilizations is surfacing weirdly. Before it assumes concrete forms, it has made the world unsafe place. It is negating both modern rationality and pre modern faith sagacity. No space remains the claimed space and no geography is exclusively profane or sacred. Such is the control of cybernetics and AI management with technology. It is a new era bringing discontentment for a friend and a foe, alike. The power elite nationally and internationally need introspection.

The world no longer is the same as before the eruption of 90 hours’ combat escalation between India and Pakistan. This restricted conflict has many lessons. The safety of the people of both the countries is paramount. The control of the present boundaries become illusory, when spaces remain uncontrolled. The regional stabilization alone is a guarantee for welfare and survival. The radical nationalist rhetoric of power elite of the nation states has limited reception. America preaches peace and values of democratic life, but prefers Pakistan as strategic partner. It is not in love for Pakistan, but to dent Iran and needle ‘Russian Indian nearness’. It might flare the ego of Pak-establishment and its supportive think tank that Pakistan’s strategic geography has enough space for maneuverability power to get the best of China and attention of America, just to hyphen with India. This is what public consumption formula and national policy of yesteryears had been, but where would it lead Pakistan to in its nation building process; one can only contemplate. It could have unimagined repercussions. The future could not be gauged at this moment, when present is beset with its fault lines.  China knows regional stability is prime for its future, but it has testing jab at Indian leadership that had taken its dissenting voices for granted or slothful in response, in its multinational alliances.

We do not know what the ‘New Normal’ is unless we are sure about the understanding of the normal. It is about space, land and its people within the national boundaries. Its functional synergy has been deemed normal through the modern nation state. It is now all broken, with displacements, internal and external migrations, economic deprivations, with breaking of cultures and with increased gimmick politics.

The new normal is to bring the synergy back, so that nation-states are normally governing. It is to minimize asymmetrical extremism.  In   sense, a deterrence; the way Pakistan often threatens to  the nuclear use.

The notional deterrence, one may perceive in a contesting mode. However; ultimately it would be won through peace initiatives with China and USA and strengthening its ties with established friends like Russia. Pakistan as well has to understand that animosity with India would always make it a client state, cleaning the grime for its switches. Its development and safety of its people are destined with India in a civilizational mode of journeying. India has been there before 1947 and its understanding has not come after 2014. The cult politics is productive, so long as parts are glued to the whole. Nehru might have failed in his political understanding about China in the short run, but in the long course China has to be nearby with India for its own dreams to realize. In the long march of history, passing through kingdoms to the nation states, the territorial boundaries have not remained static. The continued negotiations are to be valued. Its comprehension is statesmanship, which we have dearth in the current times.

Imagine catastrophes of displacements, uncertainties of travel, individual radicalization and power politics compulsions and whims of political elites, how much the humanity is suffering. The current regional wars and multinational competitions are creating the conditions for human annihilation. The processes of globalization for the last three decades have unfolded the inherent contradictions of construed constructions. If poor have no space, at least they have plentiful time. The rich have places to go but no moment extra to spend. Similarly, if poor die of hunger and lack of treatment, the rich over the years are dying because of affluence and mobility. The recent tragedies internationally or nationally have shown that humans are dying without any considerations. Look at air crashes, stampedes, people dying through bombardments, target killing at random places, vulnerabilities at all places, just humans are vanishing. There is increased awareness among people about publicity and information, gimmicks and polemics and news and noise. Those who control media should now have to realize that their stories have lost credibility to a good extent. A good number of educated middle class have renounced television news, which a few years would it be a delight to watch. The political elite should know the best thing to give strength to democratic polity is to be open to public with its transparency. Nothing is hidden from satellite  observance and AI surveillance. The American GPS, China’s BDS and Russia’s GNSS provide not only different timings and positions, but also can reveal the opponent’s hidden targets to hit. Our people may not be clear about details of recent events, but not before long information may appear from different quarters. The happenings cannot be left to speculative news, but has to be researched, which could be verified and accepted by all, with consensus. The public transparency is the key in the times of uncertainties and misrepresentations of realities.

Our social sciences have failed us. While knowledge became power but it could not be controlled as it was presumed, when it aligned with technology. Instead of giving us social linearity, the notion of progress; it has given us vulnerabilities with manufactured uncertainties and jump into primordial. The nation building process is complicated for asymmetrical diversities have compounded in each country. Technology has advanced, places compressed but society disintegrated and humans lost in wilderness; that is the nature of present times.

That mind body binary of Descartes that laid foundations of theory building along with Marxian determinism and Comte’s positivism finally led to the triumph of goal rationality and loss of human reason. Order making, of late, has been the disintegration of social institutions and naked show of power. it has come to a saturation point. The humans are treated like useless pests. The last laugh of nature may be imminent. Boisterous it could be, more severe than one we had, five years ago.

It is time of statesmanship, where the leaders have to visualize men and women living beyond national boundaries also are humans and places are not for owning or destroying, but to be lived in coexistence. The world order needs global corrections that diversities and natives, all belong to humankind.

Prof Ashok Kaul, Retired Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Banaras Hindu University.