By Anuradha Chenoy*
Adjunct Professor, Jindal Global University and Associate,
Transnational Institute-(The Netherlands)
There are broadly four major positions on international security, with several differences within each of these. To simplify I present and explain this positions in the Table below:
- Hegemony 2. Anti-Hegemony Russia and China 3. Neutrality. 4.Common Security
International Security- Different Positions
| Strategic Positions | 1.Hegemonic Positions
(US and West +) |
2.Counter-hegemony (Russia and China) | 3.Non alignment/
Neutrality Swing States |
4.Common Security
(Progressive CSOs) |
| Political aim; strategy | -Maintain hegemony +exceptionalism;
(Primacy/Imperialism/Neo-colonialism/unipolarity) -Legitimized as protecting democracy, rules based order, protecting people from authoritarianism.
|
Military and economic build up to catch up and retaliation; regional hegemony; + Multipolarity | Multipolarity;
Anti-hegemony; strategic autonomy; asserting sovereignty; reform multilateral institutions.
|
Common Security: De-constructs dominant hegemonic narratives +
Anti-hegemony. |
| Method | 1 Create+ Construct threat perception:
Demonize/otherize/fear and phobia. 2 This becomes a ‘national security issue and threat and so sacrosanct. 3.Reinfocrce this NS threat narrative by echo chamber of media, ‘Think Tanks’ ‘research’; strategic community; 4.Cancel any opposition to this threat construction 5.Strenthen Military blocs-NATO; Interventions for ‘democracy’ military bases; Containment. 6.Hybrid wars.
|
Counter threat perceptions. Demonize the West;
3.National security. 4.Clamp down on internal dissent. 5.Arms race. 6.Alliance of ‘others’. |
Reforms UN; No military alliances
new regional groupings G77/ BRICS/ ASEAN; regional arms race -trends towards political and economic centralization. |
1.Shows intersections of war +corporate media +political funding complex;
2. Crack the dominant narratives; 3. support and link the resistances 4.*Hybrid and intersectional intellectual response. |
| Diplomacy | Spread Threat, phobias, Demonization; ‘othering’
Narratives; bribe/buy out comprador politicians. Military Interventions in name of democracy. |
Threat narratives; Covert operations;
Blame other side for everything. |
Talk, engage, conversation leverage both sides for state gains. Regional alliances. | Peoples summits, Negotiated settlements; No to NATO/war. |
| Economic Strategies | Unilateral Economic Measures-Sanctions;
Trade with friend shoring’; DEBT And Conditionalities; TNCS-MICs; Neo-liberalisation.
|
De-Dollarization Globalization
Develop technologies, Counter sanctions. |
‘Catch up’ neoliberalism +globalization; oppose unilateral sanctions; extract resource. | Show connections between defence and social exp; Common security and common prosperity. |
| Military | Military/Arms
Support MICs; increase Bases; militarization. |
Arms Race;
nuclear race; State control of MICs. |
Local conflicts; global disarmament;
Collective security; Four Nos; Increase def expenditures. |
Call for global disarmament; link climate crises with militarisation.. |
| Technology | Dominance and control of Research and Technology/To restrict flow of US technology; by patents; Missile Technology Control Regimes. | Focus on military and new technologies despite western controls. | Ask for Transfer of technology. | Use and develop alternate media;
critically support the resistance to hegemonism and militarism. Anti-hegemony. |
| Information wars | Information domination and narrative control in sync with info and corporate media. | Isolated on global information. Though they have some alternate media. | Local nationalist media; control media; but lack international communications. | Use social media, creative peace movements;
Media. |
| Strategy and tactics | Use Proxies. | Uphold Proxies. | Regional assertions and regional alliances | Expose Proxy wars. |
| Social | Racism, cultural stratification, phobias: Islamophobia, Russo-phobia; China phobia etc;
Co-optation of women, colour in militarisms. |
Contest Western racism and stereotypes; nationalisms. | Anti-racism; cultural chauvinisms; internal stratification; identity politics; majoritarianism.
|
Anti-racism; for diversity; plurality;
Tolerance; Non-violence; Holistic peace with justice |
| Global Interests
|
For the Free World
Binary Choice; with us or against us Existential choice.
|
Present themselves as a choice;
Existential choice. |
National interest; class interests Human Security and look for choices. | Common security; human security;
International law; Non alignment. |
| Theory | Realism/ neo liberalism; neo conservatism; militarism. | Personality cult, ultra-nationalism; victimhood. Militarism. | Post colonialism, nationalist revanchism; globalisation, realism, neoliberalism | Theorise common security; link with anti-war movements and thinking. |
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