Topic: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
1. Critically analyse the growing fissures and challenges to the unipolar global order led by the US. (250 words)
Reference: The Hindu
Why the question:
The article presents an analysis on growing fissures and challenges to the unipolar global order led by the US.
Key Demand of the question:
Comment on the changing global order and analyse the challenges of unipolar global order led by the US.
Directive:
Critically analyze – When asked to analyse, you have to examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them as a whole in a summary. When ‘critically’ is suffixed or prefixed to a directive, one needs to look at the good and bad of the topic and give a fair judgment.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start with brief history of power-centric global order.
Body:
From the Renaissance period onwards (14th-15th century) – an era of Eurocentrism: Europe began its hegemonic ambitions through trade and commerce, taking almost 500 years to colonize.
Post-colonial phase: Pax Britannica gave way to Pax Americana: American ascendency began after the end of British imperialism in the aftermath of the Suez Crisis (1956). Defining third world aspirations: Bandung Conference of 1955 set the schema for the rise of Asia, politically and economically.
Then present an overview of widening fissures in the present global order- talk about Trumpism and far-right ultra-nationalism, Rising scepticism on China, Rising threat of military conflict, Unquestionable capabilities of the rising economies.
Conclusion:
Conclude that a kind of dualism persists in the world order with no clear hegemony that can be bestowed on one single nation. Global power gradually extends across many countries.
