RKGLOBALANALYSIS

TheBetrayalofPeaceDividendandtheIllusionofOrderand
Legitimacy

Vol.228
May26,2015

It is far from impossible to reconcile, if we do not suffer ourselves to be

entangled in the mazes of metaphysic sophistry, the use both of a fixed
rule and an occasional deviation: the sacredness of an hereditary
principle of succession in our government with a power to change in its
application in cases of extreme emergency. Even in that extremity (if
we take the measure of our rights by our exercise of them at the
Revolution), the change is to be be confined to the peccant part only, to
the part which produced the necessary deviation; and even then it is to
be effected without a decomposition of the whole civil political mass
for the purpose of the originating a new civil order out of the first
elements of society.
Reflections on the Revolution in France - 1790
Edmund Burke
1758 - 1794

Like individuals, societies also have souls. While an individual journey to an eternal salvation
may contain tough terrain and a punishing process, it is still an attainable goal - at least
according to the scriptures. The social salvation, on the other hand, can be an elusive goal. It is
an elusive goal because the meaning of social redemption varies from one society to another.
Each social order is a result of its own making and native historical forces. No one social order
can replicate another. Yet, irrespective of cultural, geographical or historical burdens, all
societies, primitive or modern, revolve around a crucial question of governance and how it
drives its legitimacy and consent. In a contemporary world where consistent chaos and turmoil
has become a norm in many societies, the question of governance and legitimacy, in realms of
politics and economics, has taken an unprecedented importance.
The core philosophical inquest from
Socrates to John Rawls is how to understand and analyze
the relationship between legitimacy and authority
.
In so many ways, one can attest that the
governing question continues to haunt the global political community-not always in a most
tranquil and civil manner and frequently in a bloody manner. Diverse cultures, social norms,

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economic relations and institutions have shaped the questions of governing in different forms
in different societies. However, the central point was and continues to be, to assess and
analyze the relationship between those who govern and those who are governed. That, in
short, is the story of politics and political discourse since the time immemorial. Naturally, the
concept of power is an integral part of a legitimacy and governing equation. The power
relations in any society do play a significant role in terms of defining the key players and their
attitude towards the legitimacy and consent equation. Power, as a tool, either political or
economic, does define the political and economic atmosphere; for better or worse. That point
must be understood without any doubt.
The great fallacy of our era has been the belief that a liberal international order rests on the
triumph of ideas and the natural unfolding of human progress. It is an immensely attractive
notion, deeply rooted in the Western European Enlightenment worldview. It is also an illusion.
The evidence of that illusion is all around us.
The triumph of the liberal democratic order after 1991 was given a standing ovation by the
world community at large. The global narrative celebrated the rise of democratic system and
market economy over central planning and many (both in the policy and academic world)
believed that a new era of global cooperation and legitimacy is just around the corner. It was in
fact the "End of History". The peace dividend would transform the entire global system into
one community since freedom and market economy were universal values. Political maps were
replaced by economic graphs and the art of geopolitical assessment was not needed. The
geopolitics was dead or so we were told.
But that was a mirage of an epic proportion. The international competition among nation-state
is a natural outcome of global affairs and even the collapse of the Berlin Wall did not end that
natural outcome. Moreover, what also emerged is a tussle between different orders and
histories-between native order and a global order that was heavily tilted towards the Western
political and economic values and traditions. The Western-liberal-democratic order faced
considerable resistance from societies which did not aspire to follow the similar path in their
development. In non-western societies, the debate revolved around which order and social
contract must be followed and what principles and ideals must be abandoned or adapted to
create a balance between being part of a global order and still preserve the native flavor. That
debate has taken a bloody and dangerous turn in weak-states as we are witnessing in many
parts of the world. No amount of freedom, either political or economic, can thrive if there is no
order. The social, political and economic divisions are dangerous cleavages and are able to
produce violent response to the entire system.
All the above plus the rise of the social and electronic media has created a complex situation
for the governing class in many parts of the world. The intense connectivity among masses has

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created its own norms and principles which may or may not be compatible with the existing
governing norms and principles. Moreover, for the first time in the history of the world, the
most challenging issues are global in nature. Issues such as climate change, financial market
vulnerabilities, cyber-risks, global terrorism, weapons proliferation, and the traditional
competition for power, are truly testing the limits of the state power. Moreover, the impact of
these global challenges have wrecked a considerable chaos and mayhem in weak states and
divided societies.
Because of the global nature of the issues, the policy options available to nations, to manage
these issues, are very limited and often counterproductive in nature (QE for example). Within
this context, the traditional responsibility of the state, which is to govern locally, is increasingly
under pressure. As pressure on the state apparatus continues to grow, to provide a local
greater public good for its citizens in a very global climate, the options to provide the local
greater public good (political and economic security at the minimum) continue to shrink along
with the financial capacity of the state. The ability to govern is facing some grave challenges
and not all of those challenges are emerging at home. More and more, international events are
defining the local debate- whether we realize it or not.
It is never an easy task to substitute conventional wisdom with serious discourse and analysis.
But one thing is tolerably certain. The economic and social anxieties simmer for a long time
before their colossal eruption. Social anger in a very connected world can be very dangerous to
the entire social order. And, the first casualty of any social anger is always the
Order- order
inside the state.
That is one of the most visible yet forgotten lessons of human history.

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