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Journalism of Courage
The G-4 group of nations — India, Germany, Japan and Brazil — has circulated a draft UN resolution that envisages veto powers for newly-inducted Security Council Members. While opposition from the US and China, for very different reasons, makes the prospects of this resolution uncertain, it is nevertheless an imaginative move. It is a cardinal rule of international politics that no entrenched order gives up power willingly; rather power has to be claimed. If the G-4 can mobilise significant support for their cause, they will have sent a strong message about the illegitimacy of the current distribution of vetoes in the Council. A growing sense of illegitimacy will itself create pressure for reform. Rather than passively accepting the weight of American or Chinese views in this matter, the G-4 nations should send a strong signal that they are a force to reckon with. Even if they do not succeed this time around, they will have improved their bargaining position in the future.
It could be argued that there is no reason for India to expend political capital on membership of an institution that is moribund and on terms no one will accept. Both assumptions are mistaken. There is no reason to suppose that US hegemony in its current form will last for ever and the UN may well emerge as a forum where balance of power politics is carried out. Ironically, the vehemence with which the US and China defended their turf suggests that they do take the UN seriously.
Even if India’s aspirations for a permanent seat with a veto are not ultimately accepted, it will gain tremendously from actively campaigning for it. Second, India will have demonstrated that it is capable of serious proactive diplomacy around the world. It will strengthen its claim that it is not asking for hand outs from big powers, but claiming what it is rightfully entitled to by virtue of its importance. While the realities of the current decision making process may ultimately force the G-4 into compromise, that compromise will be all the more honorable for having come after expending effort, rather than meekly giving in. If India is to be a great power, it will have to learn the lesson that the fear of failure should not hold you down right from the start.
