The theme of the 56th World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in snowbound Davos-Klosters—attended by A-listers in the world of global business and top policymakers—was the spirit of dialogue. But this spirit was severely tested by the worsening trans-Atlantic tensions that were in full display at the week-long summit.
At stake is the rapidly fraying rules-based international order as the most powerful economy in the world, the US, ruthlessly pursues its drive for hemispheric dominance by taking over Venezuela and has trained its sights on Greenland which is sovereign Danish territory.
US President Donald Trump’s speech in Davos ruled out force but sought immediate negotiations. He ominously hinted “you can say yes, and we will be very appreciative, or you can say no, and we will remember”. The good news is that the threat of Trump imposing Greenland tariffs on the Europeans has receded with a framework of a future deal for Greenland and the Arctic region.
The US’s bullying led the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, to comment that the shift in the international order is not seismic but permanent as “we now live in a world defined by raw power”.
Raw Power Realities
A world described by Thucydides in which the stronger powers do what they can and the weak must suffer what they must surely would have provoked shock and awe in Davos.
Although the WEF’s summits are a paean to starry-eyed globalisation and technocratic governance, the regular participants must surely have known that the rules-based international order was indeed fraying over the years. Trump was consistently arguing that globalisation offered no benefits as the US was taken advantage of by the world.
This has been a recurring theme of his four Davos speeches since 2018 although he has been more brazen about his agenda in his second term. There is no warrant to pretend the world was otherwise as has been sharply underscored by a forceful speech in Davos by the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Citing from a famous essay by Czech dissident Vaclav Havel, he noted that the communist system survived as people were willing to lie to each other about its realities. Accordingly, it was time now to call the system what it is and “stop invoking the rules-based international order as though it still functions as advertised”.
India’s Strategic Navigation
India must heed these thoughts as it navigates through a world in which the most powerful ruthlessly pursue their interests through coercion. Look no further than the limited progress in clinching a bilateral trade deal with the US despite Trump’s profession of friendship with India’s Prime Minister and statements that a deal is imminent.
India must form alliances with other middle powers “because if we are not at the table, we are on the menu”, as Carney warns. India has rightly not yet taken a call on joining Trump’s Board of Peace to bring lasting peace to Gaza and resolve other global conflicts.
Although we welcomed the Gaza peace plan and adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803 last November as a step forward to end the conflict, Trump’s latest proposal is more of a poisoned chalice as it has a much broader mandate that allows it to potentially rival the United Nations.
Why should India be a part of the most powerful economy’s drive to undermine this multilateral body?