Power Struggle: The Cost of Geopolitical Ambitions

Beginning from geopolitical and geostrategic rivalries, the great powers have historically been involved. Every country, throughout history, has tried to enhance its sphere of influence and impose hegemony upon weaker states. The more realistic statement would thus be that countries’ realpolitik ambitions are jeopardizing the peace of the earth. If we glance at history, we will see that every epoch has always experienced great power rivalry; from Athens and Sparta to the Cold War, countries have always remained engaged in maintaining their political, economic, and ideological clout, resulting into an unending power struggle. It becomes very important to examine how, during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the British government controlled its colonies with such harsh and strict policies.

Once colonialism ended and the rise of a bipolar world started, the geopolitical and ideological rivalry of the United States and Soviet Union began. Whenever the selfish interests of these mighty states came into play, thousands of innocent deaths occurred.

This colonial massacre and exploitation of resources of the locals worked in favour of the British to further their scheme to leverage the colonists. Many scholars, including Frantz Fanon and Edward Said, have discussed how colonialism has resulted in psychological as well as cultural influences, proving that British policies were a systematic approach to oppress the colonized. Even the expedition of new lands by Europeans killed several thousand native Indians and locals. These diseases, brought into these colonies, wiped out the indigenous populations. Jared Diamond in his book “Guns, Germs, and Steel” elaborates on how germs ended up being the most predominant of the three agents of European conquests. There can be no denying that every strong nation has exploited others, expanded, and laid its tyrannical rule at one time or another.

Dictators, politicians, aristocrats, and monarchs have been known since time began to monopolize the poor masses for their benefits. Few elites have ruled the masses. Few mighty states dictated the rest of the world. Once colonialism ended and the rise of a bipolar world started, the geopolitical and ideological rivalry of the United States and Soviet Union began. Whenever the selfish interests of these mighty states came into play, thousands of innocent deaths occurred. According to one of the prominent historians, John Lewis Gaddis, in his book “The Cold War: A New History”, this rivalry gave a new turn to global politics and gave birth to many proxy wars. The world has gone through a sea of changes as global political and monetary systems had evolved.

Policy makers should rethink the realist agendas by adopting idealistic ones, with safety, security, needs, wants, and the satisfaction of people at the top end of the agenda. Scholars like Amartya Sen advocate for a more human-centric approach to development and security, emphasizing the importance of human rights and well-being in policy-making.

However, after winning the Cold War, USA started imposing its hegemonic aspirations on the weaker states. This gave way to the democratization process in Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. The inhumane policies under American presidents facilitated the spread of capitalism and liberalism. Noam Chomsky has written many books criticizing the interventions of US foreign policy and claimed that most of the policies are designed to fulfill corporate interests rather than promote democracy. The proxy wars of the 21st century have evolved into a different format, where the great powers are engaging in indirect massacres and destructions.

Quite obviously, the invasion of Iraq, eruption of civil wars in the Middle East, the intervention in Vietnam, the chapter of Afghanistan, and a divide-and-rule policy in Middle Eastern countries must have affected the peace of these societies. On the other hand, the creation of terrorist networks, extraterritorial killings, censorship, and covert operations by great powers have made the world less secure. Scholars like Chalmers Johnson have recorded how the blowback effects of these adventures create spiraling violence and instability. The 21st century is witnessing the power rivalry between revisionist China and hegemonic United States.

Changing Global Politics

The rivalry contributing to arms races and chaos in societies, with the rise of middle powers and shifting of power corridors from West to East. Bloc politics is emerging, with military and economic treaties in which the countries of each bloc try to counter the rising interests of their rivals. Some political scientists, like John Mearsheimer, would argue from a realist approach toward international relations that these necessarily lead to conflicts where states prioritize power and security over cooperation. It is very sad to live in a world where people’s security is of low priority compared to the interests of the states.

The human-centric approach is lacking in global politics, as realpolitik ambitions dominate and overshadow this very pressing factor. More attention should be given to innocent people, who have always become the most targeted entities in wars without committing any crime on their part. Policy makers should rethink the realist agendas by adopting idealistic ones, with safety, security, needs, wants, and the satisfaction of people at the top end of the agenda. Scholars like Amartya Sen advocate for a more human-centric approach to development and security, emphasizing the importance of human rights and well-being in policy-making.

In conclusion, the historical and contemporary rivalries among great powers have consistently jeopardized global peace.From the British Empire’s colonial adventures through the Cold War’s ideological struggles to the present-day rivalry between the US and China, these trends have moved in one direction—state interest-driven dynamics at the expense of human security. It is high time for the global leaders to turn towards a more idealistic approach: putting peoples’ well-being as a precursor to a safer and more peaceful world.