THE US-led West does not tire of telling the rest of the world to abide by the so-called rules-based world order. But while doing so, Western countries conveniently omit explaining that this order was established in the aftermath of World War II primarily for legitimising and maintaining their own global hegemony.

The architecture of the political, security and economic institutions established under the UN or under the Bretton Woods system to regulate the post-World War II international security and economic system was, in the ultimate analysis, aimed at securing this overarching goal of the West. This is particularly true about the UN Security Council as well as the IMF and World Bank where no decision can be taken without the approval of the US and its Western allies.

Before World War II, there were numerous examples of Western countries blatantly flouting recognised principles of international law, or interpreting them to suit their convenience. This was particularly true during the colonial era, which witnessed the cruel subjugation of the people of occupied lands and the ruthless exploitation of their resources.

Even the establishment of the post-World War II global order did not prevent predatory Western nations from violating the recognised rules of interstate conduct to impose their will on the weaker nations. The invasion of Egypt by Great Britain and France in 1956 in league with Israel, and the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 were clear examples of the violation of the UN Charter.

Western nations have often violated the rules of interstate conduct.

In the sphere of international economic, commercial, and financial exchanges, the US-led West has exploited its powerful positions in such institutions as the IMF and World Bank to impose its own choices and preferences on economically weaker nations.

It is also ironic that the US, which used to champion the cause of free trade, has now started imposing economic and technological sanctions against China to slow down the latter’s economic and technological progress, especially in such fields as semiconductors, AI, and quantum computing. But this is nothing new. As pointed out by Kishore Mahbubani in his book, Has China won?, in the face of the tough competition given by the Japanese automakers to their American counterparts, “President Ronald Reagan had to twist the arms of the Japanese to agree to a voluntary export restraint.”

The double standards of the Western cou­ntries are also exposed by their positions on such subjects as the situation in Hong Kong, Palestine, occupied Kashmir and Taiwan. When Hong Kong was being governed by the UK, Western concerns about democratic values in the territory were non-existent even though colonial rule is the very anti-thesis of a truly representative form of government. But this issue became a major source of concern for the West once Hong Kong reverted to Chi­n­ese sovereignty. Since Israel is a virtual Western outpost in the Middle East, its excesses against the national rights of the Palestinian people in violation of UN resolutions are generally ignored by the US-led West.

The same conclusion applies to the treatment of the UN-recognised right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people by the Western countries because of their desire to cultivate India as an emerging Great Power and build it up as a bulwark against China. Taiwan is recognised by the international community, including even the US, as part of China. But that has not prevented Washington from offering political and military support to Taiwan’s adm­inistration to encourage separatist tendencies in the territory, even though it is internationally recognised as an integral part of China.

Repeated calls by the US-led West on China and others to abide by the rules of the global order established by it in the aftermath of World War II are aimed at protecting its own security and economic interests. Therefore, whenever these rules come into conflict with the Western countries’ own narrow national interests, they have no hesitation in ignoring them. Logically, China and other emerging major powers can be expected to insist on rewriting these rules to make them equitable for global security and economic progress, rather than solely promoting Western interests.

In light of the foregoing, the coming decades will witness growing tensions between the established and the emerging major powers. Pakistan and other countries of the Global South need to navigate carefully in the unfolding turbulent global scenario. This scenario is marked by multipolarity and by the primacy of national power over recognised principles of interstate conduct.

The writer is a retired ambassador and author of Pakistan and a World in Disorder — A Grand Strategy for the Twenty-First Century.
javid.husain@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, September 22th, 2023