UNSC – India

Things before India to do :

• Promote its own people’s prosperity.
• Regional and global security and growth.
• Rule based world order.
• Partner of Choice for both developed and developing countries alike.

Roadblocks to India :

• Rare representation of India in the council. ( only 1/5th of time of UN since inception)

Challenges before India entering UNSC :

• Troubled region between East and West Asia : insurgencies, humans and narcotic trafficking, terrorism, great power rivalries.
• Cataclysmic dislocation in West Asia : though the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Daesh) has been defeated, Iraq and Syria are not going to be the same as before. Surviving and dispersed Daesh foot soldiers are likely preparing new adventures, many in their countries of origin.
• Nuclear and missile tests by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
• Afghanistan’s slow but unmistakable unravelling from the support, sustenance and sanctuary provided in its contiguity to groups such as the Haqqani network, the Taliban, and AL Qaeda.
• Asian Challenges : Strategic mistrust or misperception, unresolved borders and territorial disputes, the absence of a pan-Asia security architecture, and competition over energy and strategic minerals.
• Changing Political Dynamics : Fear, populism, polarization, and ultra-nationalism have become the basis of politics in many countries.
• The world has been distracted from its other shared goals, especially international social and economic cooperation.

India’s way forward :

• Increase the financial contribution. ( Germany and Japan contribute many times more than India )
• Rules based global order.
• Sustainable development and people’s welfare.
• India should push to ensure that the rationalized UNSC Sanctions Committee targets all those individuals and entities warranting sanctions.
• Activating the UNSC’s Military Staff Committee, which was never set into motion following the UN’s inception. Without it, the UNSC’s collective security and conflict-resolution will remain limited.
• Harmonious relations with great powers: India must lead the way by pursuing inclusion, the rule of law, constitutionalism and rational internationalism.
• Global Problems : dealing with climate change, disarmament, terrorism, trade and development.
• Polycentricism – Anathema to hegemonic powers intent on carving out their exclusive spheres of influence. ( India is a great nation, but not a great power).
• Stable neighborhood.
• Exclusive reliance on India’s brilliant team of officers at its New York mission is not enough.