World power shifting to Asia
By Yuba Nath Lamsal
The power balance keeps changing in the world. We are at the stage that the global power balance is taking a new shape. So the world is witnessing a great power shift—the shift from the traditional power center in the west to the oriental east. In other words, the power is shifting from the US dominated western world to the emerging power house of the east mainly China, Japan and India.
Many international analysts have claimed and predicted that the 21st century would be dominated by Asian powers. However, western countries are not ready to accept this and they still claim that the United States would continue to be the global leader for at least another fifty years if not more. Their assumption is based on the military might, economic prowess and technological innovation and supremacy that the United States has at present. To a large degree they are true because no other country so far has proved superiority in any of the fields that determine the role in the global affairs. Even the present global economic crisis also demonstrates how the world is interlined with the US economy and its system. When America caught in the economic downturn, the entire global economy tumbled and no other country could be spared from this financial onslaught. This is one reason why the world is still not ready to take up the global leadership.
However, the present global order and power balance is not bound to remain intact for a long. Certain changes and fissures have already been visible, which are the indicative of the beginning of the change in the global power equation. It would take time but change is certain. That is the process of history.
Right from the beginning, Europe was the center of power. Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Spain were the European powers that had a greater influence in the contemporary world. In Asia, Japan and China had made their presence felt in the global scene. But their role was less decisive than the European powers.
But the United Kingdom of Britain had always been the single dominant power in the world. Some other European countries like Germany, Russia and France did try to challenge Britain’s domination and hegemony in the world but their efforts were foiled by military might of Britain backed by its powerful economic strength. The United Kingdom controlled almost half of the world during the colonial era prior to the Second World War. Many countries in Asia and Africa were Britain’s colony from where London extracted all its prosperity. Although Britain was victorious in the Second World War, its power and influence started dwindling right after the war. This was because colonial countries, one after another, became independent from Britain’s rule, which also resulted in fall of Britain’s domination in the global affairs as a world power. Moreover, Britain, after the war, became more inward looking as it had to concentrate and invest more on its own reconstruction.
No other European countries were in the position of having a dominate role in the sphere of global power politics after the war. Germany was already a vanquished country which was economically and militarily rendered powerless and vulnerable. So was Italy in Europe. Japan was licking its own wound afflicted by war in Asia. They were not in a position to emerge as a world’s power in the immediate future.
Britain’s place was taken over by the United States of America right after the World War II. The US was emerged as a super power because this country was almost untouched by the war except attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan. Moreover, while European countries suffered from the war, the United States benefitted by exporting war machines, weapons, ammunitions and warships to the fighting European countries.
In the meantime, a new power bloc emerged in the international arena under the leadership of the communist Soviet Union (now Russia). The Soviet Union was seen as an alternative power and its satellite empire combined with the Eastern European countries posed a real threat and challenge to the domination of the United States. The US and the Soviet Union were the two super powers with both dominating in their sphere of influence. The entire world revolved round these two super powers until the collapse of the Soviet Union and its empire in the early 1990s. During this period, the world had been divided into two power blocs and their rivalry was such that the threat of war always loomed large like the Damocles’ swords hanging over our head. This period is better known as the period of cold war. There was another group of poor and weaker nations that could not afford to be directly associated with either of these two blocs. This is called a group of non-aligned countries or NAM, which has virtually no say in the global affairs.
This power equation too could not last long. The Soviet bloc collapsed with the fall of communist regime in Moscow. Beginning from Poland, the whole of the eastern empire collapsed like a house of cards in early 1990s, thanks mainly to Mikhail Gorbachev’s Glashtnost and Prestroika (reforms and openness). This marked an end to the bi-polar power equation in the world giving once again rise to the United States reaming the only super power having its sole domination and say in the global affairs.
Right from the early 90s till 2000, the present system of global power equation worked perfectly well. But problem started surfacing since 2001 especially after 9/11 attack. The 9/11 was not only a mindless terrorist attack on the United States but also an onslaught at humanity and civilization which must be condemned with all manifestations. But this can be viewed as the beginning of a challenge to the military and economic might of the United States.
Since then America is at war and Washington is fighting two wars simultaneously—in Afghanistan and Iraq. Around this time, Russia, which claims to have inherited the old Soviet Union’s legacy, is regrouping and reemerging, which has, in some cases, clearly shown signals of discontent to the US dominated western world. In Asia, Japan is already an economic super power. China and India, too, are rising fast both economically and militarily. In South America, Brazil is viewed as an emerging power in the world.
If the combined strength of Japan, China and India is put together, it definitely would surpass the United States both in economy as well as military strength. China is already an economic and military giant. Chinese economy is growing very fast, perhaps fastest in the world. Economists have already predicted that Chinese economy would outpace the United States in the next 25 years. The case of India too is similar as it is one of the fastest growing economies in the world with excelling in information technology innovations. The potentials are already there but the Asian countries lack cooperation, trust and coordination. The west is in the greatest economic crisis and the power shift is beginning to take place. The Asian continent would be the center of power in the 21st century, if the present trend keeps continuing.
The power balance keeps changing in the world. We are at the stage that the global power balance is taking a new shape. So the world is witnessing a great power shift—the shift from the traditional power center in the west to the oriental east. In other words, the power is shifting from the US dominated western world to the emerging power house of the east mainly China, Japan and India.
Many international analysts have claimed and predicted that the 21st century would be dominated by Asian powers. However, western countries are not ready to accept this and they still claim that the United States would continue to be the global leader for at least another fifty years if not more. Their assumption is based on the military might, economic prowess and technological innovation and supremacy that the United States has at present. To a large degree they are true because no other country so far has proved superiority in any of the fields that determine the role in the global affairs. Even the present global economic crisis also demonstrates how the world is interlined with the US economy and its system. When America caught in the economic downturn, the entire global economy tumbled and no other country could be spared from this financial onslaught. This is one reason why the world is still not ready to take up the global leadership.
However, the present global order and power balance is not bound to remain intact for a long. Certain changes and fissures have already been visible, which are the indicative of the beginning of the change in the global power equation. It would take time but change is certain. That is the process of history.
Right from the beginning, Europe was the center of power. Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Spain were the European powers that had a greater influence in the contemporary world. In Asia, Japan and China had made their presence felt in the global scene. But their role was less decisive than the European powers.
But the United Kingdom of Britain had always been the single dominant power in the world. Some other European countries like Germany, Russia and France did try to challenge Britain’s domination and hegemony in the world but their efforts were foiled by military might of Britain backed by its powerful economic strength. The United Kingdom controlled almost half of the world during the colonial era prior to the Second World War. Many countries in Asia and Africa were Britain’s colony from where London extracted all its prosperity. Although Britain was victorious in the Second World War, its power and influence started dwindling right after the war. This was because colonial countries, one after another, became independent from Britain’s rule, which also resulted in fall of Britain’s domination in the global affairs as a world power. Moreover, Britain, after the war, became more inward looking as it had to concentrate and invest more on its own reconstruction.
No other European countries were in the position of having a dominate role in the sphere of global power politics after the war. Germany was already a vanquished country which was economically and militarily rendered powerless and vulnerable. So was Italy in Europe. Japan was licking its own wound afflicted by war in Asia. They were not in a position to emerge as a world’s power in the immediate future.
Britain’s place was taken over by the United States of America right after the World War II. The US was emerged as a super power because this country was almost untouched by the war except attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan. Moreover, while European countries suffered from the war, the United States benefitted by exporting war machines, weapons, ammunitions and warships to the fighting European countries.
In the meantime, a new power bloc emerged in the international arena under the leadership of the communist Soviet Union (now Russia). The Soviet Union was seen as an alternative power and its satellite empire combined with the Eastern European countries posed a real threat and challenge to the domination of the United States. The US and the Soviet Union were the two super powers with both dominating in their sphere of influence. The entire world revolved round these two super powers until the collapse of the Soviet Union and its empire in the early 1990s. During this period, the world had been divided into two power blocs and their rivalry was such that the threat of war always loomed large like the Damocles’ swords hanging over our head. This period is better known as the period of cold war. There was another group of poor and weaker nations that could not afford to be directly associated with either of these two blocs. This is called a group of non-aligned countries or NAM, which has virtually no say in the global affairs.
This power equation too could not last long. The Soviet bloc collapsed with the fall of communist regime in Moscow. Beginning from Poland, the whole of the eastern empire collapsed like a house of cards in early 1990s, thanks mainly to Mikhail Gorbachev’s Glashtnost and Prestroika (reforms and openness). This marked an end to the bi-polar power equation in the world giving once again rise to the United States reaming the only super power having its sole domination and say in the global affairs.
Right from the early 90s till 2000, the present system of global power equation worked perfectly well. But problem started surfacing since 2001 especially after 9/11 attack. The 9/11 was not only a mindless terrorist attack on the United States but also an onslaught at humanity and civilization which must be condemned with all manifestations. But this can be viewed as the beginning of a challenge to the military and economic might of the United States.
Since then America is at war and Washington is fighting two wars simultaneously—in Afghanistan and Iraq. Around this time, Russia, which claims to have inherited the old Soviet Union’s legacy, is regrouping and reemerging, which has, in some cases, clearly shown signals of discontent to the US dominated western world. In Asia, Japan is already an economic super power. China and India, too, are rising fast both economically and militarily. In South America, Brazil is viewed as an emerging power in the world.
If the combined strength of Japan, China and India is put together, it definitely would surpass the United States both in economy as well as military strength. China is already an economic and military giant. Chinese economy is growing very fast, perhaps fastest in the world. Economists have already predicted that Chinese economy would outpace the United States in the next 25 years. The case of India too is similar as it is one of the fastest growing economies in the world with excelling in information technology innovations. The potentials are already there but the Asian countries lack cooperation, trust and coordination. The west is in the greatest economic crisis and the power shift is beginning to take place. The Asian continent would be the center of power in the 21st century, if the present trend keeps continuing.
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