By Nikita Bothra:
The start of the second decade of the 20th century has been dramatic. The end of the cold war triggered huge economic growth with peace, economic stability and democratization in the Middle East.
The first decade of the 21st century has not been fulfilling in terms of growth and stability among nations because it has been fruitless and was misspent in rising intercontinental strains, economic catastrophe. In the Middle East, it was followed by frequent conflicts, and political drama.
What will the second decade of the 21st century has in store for the world, is an uncertainty.
First, globally the economic recovery from the 2008 crisis (recession) has been dawdling. Talking in terms of poverty and unemployment, there isn’t much progress. Nevertheless compared to the west Asia shows signs of growing. The United Nations will be completing 70 years, as a forum, incapable of providing international stability and its inability to handle the growing disengage between the Security Council and the share of political and economic power.
Second, the dilemma is the growing population which will reach nearer to 6.9 -7 billion. This in turn will invite massive poverty, accelerating global warming with its catastrophic consequences: drought, flood and environmental immigrants.
The US has maintained a ‘hyphenated’ foreign policy towards both India and Pakistan for almost half of the 20th century. It was Washington who sort of attempted to poise diplomatic calls, appointments and trade negotiations with one country considering the other country. With India’s marked progress economically, the President stated to de-hyphenate diplomacy concerning South Asia. When Obama was sworn as the President of the US, Pakistan has used its power over the Afghan war to side-track the US from intensifying its ties with India.
The US’s rolling tyrance over universal affairs, has undoubtedly revealed its true imperialistic character post 9/11.
The 150 marginal countries are economically reliant and politically dictated by the so called imperialist states within the G8 and G20 international league which is handled by the US and its provincial partners namely UK, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia and the European Union.
The prospects are not too promising in the Middle-East. The economic growth has certainly helped only a few economies: widening the breach between the affluent and the meagre.
To talk about religion, tensions that prevailed previously are still a subject of worry. The Arab Israeli conflict is far from seeking declaration. The American military exploitation in Iraq and Afghanistan, military operations by sting operation (undercover strategies) will ignite the fire of clashes between fundamental Islam and the West from Pakistan to all the ways to the arid regions of North America.
The world in the second decade, will unrest itself due to political tensions and the growing hegemony between the developed and the developing nations. One will hardly see an iota of serious development except for a few major nations. Conceivably, we might be preoccupied by several socio-political and economic predicaments.