By: Aditya Vashisht
The latest OPEC+ decision to stay on the track of keeping oil production levels low have become a source of strain for the United States. The effect was such that the US President Joe Biden threatened Saudi Arabia, the major OPEC+ member with whom Washington has a significant partnership, with ‘consequences’. This very word and the context in which it was spoken cannot be ignored, and when one dives down deep, it is a manifestation of a mentality seeking to regain the status of a hegemon.
It is clear that the US President’s threat of consequences makes him no less than his Russian and Chinese counterparts, the difference lying in terms of means at present. The Ukrainian war has brought the world again to the steps of an intense form of powerplay which is at its nascent stages. The intensity of this competition is contrasted by the multilateralism which is also making headway. The powerplay is challenging it, and that is where the source of tensions lay.
Russia attacked Ukraine for aggrandizing its strength. Ukraine was attacked because it played into the hands of US led West which wanted to bring it under its ambit, which gave Russian President Vladimir Putin the perfect justification for which he had been waiting. The result is war, which has effectively punctured the growth of global economy which had already been reeling under the effects of a global pandemic, apparently originating from another big player.
The Ukrainian war through the eyes of independent minded nations like India is disastrous for all and requires an urgent settlement. When such stances do not show an anti-Russian disposition, this angers the US and its President, who searches for ‘consequences’.
We need not to take any example but of our own country. An apparent renewal is being seen in the relationship of the United States with Pakistan. For not mimicking the Western position of standing against Russia, Washington provides a 450 million dollar fighter jet upgrade to Pakistan. Its ambassador visits POK and terms it ‘Azad Kashmir’. It delays visa requests for Indians. It pressures South Korea to engage with Pakistan for defence cooperation. The courting of Pakistan is being covered with the need to tackle Chinese hegemony, but it is undoubtedly clear that the eyes are also set on New Delhi in order to prevent it from working independently.
All this reeks of unipolarity. To tie the strings of unipolarity to a multilateral reality Biden calls Pakistan the most dangerous country, and the US Congress condemns Pakistan for the genocide of Bangladeshis during the 1971 war, a conflict in which they actively sided with Islamabad. Well words haven’t been backed by actions. Pakistan is being actively pursued, demonstrating that the need to establish hegemony trumps all. The recent statement by Biden is thus a feeble attempt to placate India which is aware that its relationship with the US can never be smooth. India has been termed as an important partner in the US’ latest National Security Survey of this year, an assertion made keeping the Chinese threat in mind. But it should be known that when the US President openly calls for consequences, allying with American side is no more futile than pursuing friendship with Beijing.
The Ukrainian war has had a profound impact upon the global setup. The reality of partnerships has been laid bare and like-minded nations have sought to join hands coming out into the open as allies. Whether be it Russia, China and North Korea in East Asia or the renewed assertion of US bringing Europe under its umbrella, its clear that that the world is being again drawn into an atmosphere of hostility. The big players are vying for the centre stage and are trying to ‘force’ others to side with them. It is a situation which calls for making a choice. And this is what constitutes a menace for independent minded nations like India and the rest. They believe in multilateralism which is for them the best source of progress where one can engage with all. They don’t prefer to give concrete answers and do not in any situation favour a conflict with global implications.
When PM Modi remarked to Putin that ‘today’s era is not of war’, it was to emphasize the disastrous effects which the pursuance of unipolarity involves. In it, one cannot singly point all fingers at Russia, but the other side is equally to blame. The West is no different from its rivals since it would be doing the same if it is challenged, which it in actual has done. Libya, Iraq, Vietnam and many Latin American nations are a testament to this fact. Instead of pursuing an active solution to end the conflict which is rattling the global economic sphere, active assistance is being supplied to Ukraine in terms of weapons which shall do nothing but prolong the war. The armed assistance to Ukraine is in every means the West’s reaction to the challenge which Russia posed to their order.
The consequences therefore of which Biden talked about is a warning for the multipolar world and it clearly shows that circumstances a point where many would be pressured to make choices. In such a case it would be interesting to see the developments which shall take place in the future in which multilateralism and attempts to challenge it would co-exist together.
The writer is a student and blogger
