NEW WAR FRONTS LIE IN ECONOMIC ZONE
REDEFINING MODERN BATTLES
THE RISE OF ECONOMIC BATTLEGROUNDS
ECONOMIC DOMINANCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY
ECONOMIC ZONES AS BATTLEFIELDS
I.
Introduction:
Thesis Statement:
In the contemporary era, the economy has emerged as a potent
force, akin to a weapon. Thesis Statement: While there's a prevalent belief
that modern warfare is driven by the defense of human rights and political,
nationalistic, and ideological agendas, the reality is that these conflicts
predominantly revolve around securing economic interests, whether tangible or
intangible, to uphold conventional superiority through economic dominance.
II.
Contextualization:
-
What are the new arenas of conflict, and what
significance do economic zones hold?
-
How has the nature of warfare transitioned from
territorial expansionism to economic supremacy?
III.
Counter Narrative: Contrary to
popular belief, new wars are often justified as endeavors to safeguard human
rights and uphold political, ideological, and nationalistic values.
IV.
Manifestations of the Economic
Warfront:
-
Competition among global superpowers in maritime zones
for dominance in the blue economy.
-
Rivalry among regional economic blocs.
-
The emergence of outer space as a potential arena for
economic conflict.
-
The economic battleground in the virtual realm of
technology.
-
Ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and US-China
trade disputes primarily driven by economic gains and control over natural
resources.
V.
Reasons for the Concentration of New
War Zones in Economic Frontiers:
1.
The global economic slowdown and population growth
have strained existing economic resources.
2.
Shifting from globalization to nationalism due to the
chaotic international landscape.
3.
The Global North offers tax havens to the corrupt
elite of the Global South to attract capital and maintain economic dominance
over developing nations.
4.
The Global North utilizes military force to exploit
the natural resources of developing nations.
VI.
Addressing the Menace:
-
Foster economic integration and interdependence among
all nations worldwide.
-
Implement reforms in the economic policies of
institutions like the Bretton Woods institutions, IMF, WTO, and WB.
VII.
Conclusion:
The future of the world is fraught
with both promise and peril within the global economic battlegrounds.
All major powers are involved in the “great game" of
maritime political economy by carving out strategic alliances in the Indo-Pacific
region, why is there a potential threat of an all-out war in waters? Are
nationalistic, political, or ideological Interests involved in this quagmire?
Although it is generally perceived that new wars are fought to protect
political, ideological, nationalistic, and strategic interests and human interests,
the truth is that these wars are waged only in the world's potential economic
zones whether tangible or intangible to maintain traditional superiority
through economic gains. Rivalry of regional economic organizations and
technology wars manifest this fact. The global economic slowdown and, the rise
in greed of first-world countries for more morality in international political
discourse are triggering new wars in economic zones.
This can be averted by more economic integration of
countries, third-world friendly reforms in economic policies of global economic
institutions, and the signing of more anti-money laundering treaties at
international forms like the UN.
What are the new war fronts? What do economic zones signify
here? The new war fronts are the fronts where, covertly or overtly,
contemporary wars are being fought. The potential areas where war can initiated
at any time. Economic zones signify the areas, physical or virtual, which have
great economic potential. These areas are maritime space, outer space,
countries with immense economic potential of natural resources, and virtual
areas of technology war like the race between China and the USA.
How has the nature of war evolved from territorial
expansionism to economic hegemony? Most of the ancient and medieval wars were
conventional and were fought for territorial expansion to get economic
bounties. However, in modern times, conventional wars have become irrelevant
due to modern weaponry, nuclear risks of destruction, and military
interconnectedness by security alliances. The main purpose of war remains the
same. The post-mem warfare focuses on economic gains and is waged in most
potential economic zones. In modern times, this is done even without annexation
of territories.
There is a faction of political pundits who believe in quite
contrary propositions. They opine that wars in the contemporary era are waged
only to protect human rights and political, ideological, strategic, or
nationalistic pride. They think that the charter of the United Nations is “the
sacred trust of humanity" and wars are fought to protect human rights as
enshrined in it. World wars and the Cold War were fought for nationalistic pride
and ideological underpinnings. According
to these political thinkers, new war fronts do not lie in economic zones.
There are numerous manifestations of how. new war fronts lie
in economic zones. The rivalry for global hegemony in the South and East China Sea,
the Indian Ocean region, and the Pacific Ocean region. The shift from
previously potential economic hubs, like the Atlantic Ocean, to these new
economic zones is taking pace. In these regions, the world powers like the USA,
China, Russia, Australia, India, and Japan are weaponizing their navies. This
is because all of them want to control this region for economic exploitation
even beyond their Exclusive economic zones.
Apart from rivalry in maritime space, there is an ongoing
conflict between the global powers due to regional economic organizations.
BRICS and BIMSTEC, led by European powers and India, are opposing the Chinese
economic endeavors of OBOR, and CPEC's Indian aspiration for becoming a
regional hegemon is hindering the progress of the OBOR project of China. The
active military involvement of India, the USA, and their allies in the Baluchistan,
region to destabilize the flagship project of OBOR is the manifestation of the
fact that modern war zones lie on economic fronts.
The outer space is also becoming a potential economic war
front. Global powers, like the USA, Russia, China, India, Germany, and France
are trying to explore outer space to pursue, economic bounties. These countries
want to hegemonize outer space to "colonize” it so that other countries
may not control it in the future. These countries are, through the use of
technology, trying to win the space battle by controlling international space
stations. This shows that outer space has also become a potential but virtual
economic war front.
The new war zones not only lie in maritime, territorial, or
outer space regions. These are also in the virtual space of technology. For
instance, the USA is in an unannounced war with China over 5G technology. The
war of iPhone vs Huawei is its vivid manifestation. This war is also wider
covering a wide range of technology-related areas. The big technology companies
are storing the personal data of world users to exploit it later for economic
gains and to maintain superiority over rival companies, whether state-owned or
privately owned like those of Chinese state-owned big technology companies
Yuval Noah Harari in his magnum opus, 21 Lesson for 21st century, mentioned the
same argument.
The list of manifestations of the under-discussion phenomenon
is non-exhausted. However, lastly, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the
Iraq invasion by the USA, and the US-China trade war are case studies to prove
that new war zones lie on economic fronts. The ongoing conflict in the Middle
East is only because of the reason that global powers want to exploit the oil
and gas resources of this region. The US-China unannounced trade war is also to
maximize economic bounties through protectionist policies. Hench, the new war
zones lie in only potential economic areas for maintaining traditional
superiority through economic gains.
Why do new war zones like only in potential economic areas
The first and foremost reason is that the world is facing a global economic
slowdown and the population is increasing at a rapid pace. The global GDP
growth rate is only 3.3% now. This is far less than that of the 18th and 19th centuries.
The rise in population is putting stress on domestic economic resources To
cater to the economic demands, world powers are trying to control the economic
potential of alien places So the global economic slowdown and sharp rise in
world population are causing covert or overt conflict in only potential
economic regions.
The global economic slowdown is not the only reason, the
world is now changing from globalization to nationalism because there is no
morality in intimidating policing forces to maintain international peace. In
the anarchic system of world politics, global powers-especially the USA and
Europe are moving away from the sacred Ideology of globalization. Due to this
change in attitude internationally, global powers try to create a monopoly over
economically rich regions to maintain their hegemony and national interests.
Apart from these reasons, the political maneuverings of world
powers are also a major reason for the new wars in economic zones. These powers
want to maintain their superiority in economic terms. To this end. they need to
control the natural resources of third-world countries. They destabilize these
countries politically by installing favorable governments and allowing them to
deposit their plundered money in the world's safe havens for non-tax payable
money. In this way, money is concentrated and remains in flow in the global
north, while the global south remains poor. Hence political instability in the
third world benefits, first-world countries, and hence these countries become
prey to economic wars.
Where the “soft power” of political instability does not
work, global hegemons shake the region with their hard power of military
instability. The war in Afghanistan, to generate rare medical products through
poppy fields, the war in Iraq and the Middle East to control the national
resources of these mineral-rich countries, and now the new war front in Yemen
are the manifestations that world powers, especially, the USA, are
destabilizing the regions for covertly plundering their natural resources.
Arundhati Roy an Indian writer and activist also posits the same argument in
her literary pieces.
What does the world community need to do to avert the
contemporary trends in international politics of war? How can global citizens
benefit from natural resources and the economic potential of land, sea space,
and technology? First of all, there is a dire need to integrate world
economics. All countries must become interdependent. Only through economic
integration and interdependence can humanity avert the ongoing wars. All the
countries can benefit from peace and economic cooperation. Europe had been in
bloody wars before the formation of the European Union. After its formation,
Europe became peaceful. This happened only due to cooperation and economic
integration. The same model can be applied to the whole world to minimize the
possibility of war on economic fronts.
Apart from economic integration, there is a dire need to
change the economic policies of global economic institutions like the IMF, WB,
and WTO. They must reform their policies to end the monopoly of MNCs, counter
predatory capitalism, and end the hegemony of global superpowers their policies
must be inclusive for the developing world. They must actively take action
against international tax heaven to end the monopoly of global elites so that
the soft economic war, can be catered to. Through these reforms, the developing
world will also improve in economic terms and the balance of economic power
will be active which will resist the developed world to wage soft or hard work
on economic zones in third-world countries.
The sum and substance is that the new wars are fought only in
the world’s potential economic zones for maintaining traditional economic
superiority on the part of global superpowers. The rivalry of regional economic
organizations, the risk of war in oceans, and the ongoing wars in the Middle
East are the manifestations of the fact Global economic slowdowns, the absence
of morality in international politics, and the vested economic interests of
global hegemons are causing this phenomenon. Through economic integration,
economic interdependence, and reforms in Bretton Woods economic institutions
this can be countered.
