“One can date precisely China’s debut as a great power,” writes Fareed Zakaria in the latest issue of Newsweek. “It was the evening of Aug. 8, 2008 – the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. The event perfectly symbolized China’s rise, a spectacular and expensive feat of mass organization, directed by the country’s highly competent government. We might look back a few years from now and date India’s coming-out party to May 18, 2009, the day its most recent election results were announced.”
“But the global significance of the election – and the reason it might usher in a new age for India on the world stage – was not the fact of it, but the results. Over the past two decades, India has been consumed by its internal divisions: of caste, ethnicity and religion. This has made it difficult for the government in New Delhi to mobilize national power to any purposeful end in global affairs…That’s bad for India and bad for the world. This could all change now. For the first time in three decades, a single party – the Indian National Congress – was given a clear and broad mandate…
“The great challenge for the 21st-century world is to find a way to bring India, China and Brazil into the international system. This task is often seen as a Western one. But equally important, the emerging powers must assume their international roles and act responsibly on the world stage. That means taking a global – and not narrowly national – perspective on issues like terrorism, energy, the environment, trade, disease and nonproliferation. This election has empowered an Indian government that – compared with all the alternatives – is the most likely to adopt a responsible approach to its world role.”
The makeup of India’s new government was the best possible result for those wanting India to emerge as a great power on the international stage. Unencumbered by a fractious coalition, the Congress Party and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have the mandate to initiate domestic and international changes. As the strongest country in South Asia – given the country’s size, growing economy and military power – India needs to address issues of regional concern and the tenuous ties with some of its neighbors. To start, India ought to find a way to lower and resolve tensions with Pakistan over Kashmir – the region cannot be ignored.
(An interesting podcast by the Council on Foreign Relations highlights India’s role in democracy promotion. “In a major departure from its traditional noninterventionist approach to diplomacy, India has embraced democracy promotion as part of its foreign policy agenda over the past few years.”)
But that doesn’t mean it will be easy. Even though it is not burdened by the same unwieldy parliamentary coalition, the new government is still constrained by a dire fiscal situation. Poverty, inequality, poor infrastructure, insufficient education and inadequate healthcare would challenge the strongest governments.
Image from the Economist.
