War is spreading like cancer around the world. There are countries in Africa where conflict between militias and governments have reached incurable levels – the common people have to just manage somehow. There is little if any hope of these arriving at anything like a civilised settlement. The reasons for the conflicts are either religious or the control of resources – actually both. And, now, instead of bringing about a global order that can establish peace, the lack of civilisational cohesion is spreading to other regions that were thought to have more stable governments.
Now, after the out of control conflict in West Asia, the latest break out is between Pakistan and Afghanistan. After Pakistan’s air strikes across the border, the most recent on Kabul, the risk of escalation has increased. With this, the chaos now borders India. And as the LPG crisis has shown, there are many ways in which the world and India’s economies face serious disruption. The effort to bring about a better quality of life for the people will not only face a serious setback, but also create social and security problems. As has been witnessed, there are forces of various kinds just waiting to exploit such an opportunity, regardless of long term consequences.
The question that arises is: why are people around the world incapable of identifying a common cause that is beneficial to all? Why has an institution like the United Nations, which emerged from the lessons learned in the Second World War, been unable to deal with international differences in a civilised and orderly manner? How come powerful nations like the US and Russia that were supposed to serve its objectives have now themselves become renegades? Could it be because the other nations that matter have not been properly represented and diplomacy has been reduced to meaningless bureaucratic conversations?
In human relationships, even longtime neighbours in a village, mohalla or colony do not agree on everything and there are bound to be differences of opinion, but at the everyday level there is enough give and take to create a positive environment. It is only when power becomes centred around a person or group to the extent that they can profit from it at others’ cost that differences arise to the point they cannot be resolved. It is important at the local, national or international level, therefore, to identify those benefiting from a conflict, if a beginning is to be made in arriving at a solution. So start looking!
