The international system in a dangerous situation and the pit of anarchy,

Abu Dhabi: Former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned ‘The decline of the international system has started, and the situation is dangerous and trapped in the pit of anarchy. This situation has arisen because of jolting the systems established after the second world war.’ Rice claimed that the challenges faced by the free trade policies and economic protectionism along with the trampling of the international regulations by countries like Russia and China are making the situation more threatening.

A lecture by Rice was organised at the Adipec Oil and Gas Conference, held in Abu Dhabi. While speaking on the topic ‘Political Risk in the Twenty-First Century’, Rice pointed to the difficult challenges faced by the world. After the second world war, the United States and allies made efforts in the direction of establishing peace and international systems. Financial institutions, like the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, were set up during this period. The foundation of the international economy also was laid during this time and the fundamental principle behind this was positive. Rice said that the basic principle for building the international economy was my progress should not be at the cost of someone else’s loss.

But the situation has changed now. The systems in place since 1945 are being challenged now. The international machinery and Global systems are being jolted because of the competition between the major powers. This has caused a decline in the international systems and the systems are trapped in dangerous pits of anarchy. The power struggle and conflicts between the main countries are responsible for this situation. Russia, once a superpower, still has a substantial influence whereas China has become an emerging superpower.

The biggest challenge faced by the United States is how to handle relations with a country like China. At the same time, the bad tendencies of taking populistic decisions, extreme nationalism, economic protectionism and attitude to remain lonely discarding the world, has started delivering jolts to the international systems. The former US Secretary of State claimed that this would make the situation more worrisome, in the future.

The opponents are trying to convince people saying that nothing has been achieved through the process of globalisation. This is coming to be true to a certain extent and it cannot be denied that the benefits of globalisation have been reaped by the people from the high society and the ones connected to them. Rice clarified that to tide over these difficulties, governments of all the countries will have to make intense efforts to fulfil the ambitions of the people of their countries. They will have to use better options to reach the benefits of technology to all.