India and UN, WTO, Bretton Woods reforms

• 
  Intro: Fareed Zakaria says we are witnessing post Pax Americana. There is decline of west and the rise of rest.

• UN reforms:
• https://youtu.be/ZaP3mWPPp2A
• 
• Intro-according to prof Jeffrey Sachs UN is the most important political innovation of 20th century and the best bargain on this planet.
• though the UN does have some accomplishments to its credit, on the whole, it has left much to be desired in dealing with the important issues and problems plaguing the global community today. This is primarily because the structure of UN still begets of 20th century reality.
• India was one of the few members of UN that signed UN declaration in 1942 in Washington and took part in historic UN conf in San Francisco in 1945.
• UNSC has emerged as the key arena and barometer for evaluating The promise and progress of accommodating new rising powers in the international system
• India is eminently suited for permanent membership of the UNSC by any objective criteria such as population, territorial size, GDP, economic potential, civilization legacy, cultural diversity, political system and past and ongoing contributions to the activities of UN especially to UN peacekeeping operations
• In the wake of mankind’s largest challenge, world is looking towards India as the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer. This role also helps India in negotiating IRS place in the reformed council as a permanent member.
• India along with G4 and L69( like-minded countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America) is pushing for these reforms
• HV Shringla- When power structures continue to reflect the status quo of a bygone era, they also start reflecting a lack of appreciation of contemporary geopolitical realities. It can deliver effective solutions only if it gives a voice to the voiceless rather than zealously guarding the status quo of the mighty. 
• What prevents multilateral-ism, is not multi-polarity, but a democratic deficit in the functioning of international institutions.
• G4 opposed by Uniting for consensus group also called as coffee club
• UNSC divided between p3 and p2. Poor response during COVID pandemic
• India has been voted 8 times to UNSC and this time received 187/190 votes. This shows , in the words of
  
• Tarasita C Schaffer, India's rising “multilateral personality.”
• Without major reforms the UN as an institution is facing a “crisis of confidence” and “crisis of legitimacy.”
• Concluding line on UN reforms - only a reformed multilateral system under a reformed UN can meet the aspirations of humanity.

• On UN peacekeeping
• Peacekeeping est in 1948 and with 78000 soldiers it is second largest military force deployed abroad after US military.
• Peacekeeping is one of the most effective tools available to the United Nations in the promotion and maintenance of international peace and security. Yet peacekeeping faces several challenges that undermine its ability to deliver on its mandate.
• India and UN peacekeeping:
• More than 2.5 lakh troops till now in 51 UN missions contributed by India.
• Currently India is fifth largest with 5424 personnel in 8 countries.
• India became the first country to deploy all women contingent in Liberia.
• Indian mission in south Sudan has gone extra mile to Perform specialized tasks like veterinary services,vocational training, road repair work that has earned them honors across the world.
• With 170 peacekeepers , India has lost more peacekeepers than any other member state
• Dag Hammarskjold awards
• Indian troops Have acted in extremely professional manner
• Indian troops Establish rapport with local populations
• India supports Secy-Gen's A4P (action for peacekeeping initiative) to further enhance peacekeeping through mutual trust and support.
• India through its “protecting the protectors” provided UN peacekeepers COVID vaccines
• Problems-
• Reluctance of developed countries to contribute troops
• Allegations by fund contributing countries, against fund misappropriation
• Disturbs the delicate balance between quest for global justice and state sovereignty 
• countries like India oppose the idea of “robust peace keeping” that allows the use of force at tactical level with the consent of the host state . For India it means the boundaries b/w peacekeeping and other forms of military intervention are becoming too fluid. India has also argued that this approach puts the security of peacekeepers at risk and exposes them to difficult legal and political situations. In addition, India claims that the strong focus on militarization of peacekeeping has distracted the international community from seeking political solutions to conflicts through negotiations.
• including troop contributing countries in decision making as from India's perspective the current arrangement overlooks the contribution and expertise in the on ground realities of the countries like India that could be useful in effective formulation of mandates and their implementation.
• 
  Conclusion: Shashi in his book new world disorder- if peacekeeping is to have a future, governments will have to overcome the syndrome under which legislators are always willing to pay for war, but not for peace.

• Bretton Woods reforms
• Ac to ADB, Asian share of global GDP will double from 26% in 2011 to 52% in 2050
• WB is headed by an American
• IMF headed by European
• Developing countries fighting to increase their quota which is also linked to their voting power in these institutions.
• BRICS countries have been demanding shift of 7% of quota share from developed countries in the IMF and 6% quota share at the world bank. This has not been granted.
• Due to this proliferation of institutions like AIIB, NDB, SCO, G20, where developing countries have greater say.
• Asian crisis of 1998 and global financial crisis of 2008 have produced a backlash against these institutions
• 
  Shashi in his book the new world disorder says the dominance of handful of Western countries in global financial institutions is anomalous in a world where the Economic dynamism has shifted irresistibly from West to east.
• Reforms -
• 
  Conditionality over loans—> SAPs. These SAPs have in the words of Joseph Stieglitz resulted in greater poverty rather than less and have precipitated humanitarian crisis in poor countries.
• Top down programs of IMF and World Bank pay little attention to local needs and circumstances.
• Andrew Heywood (use him in IR theories) argues that The disproportionate influence that the USA exerts over the World Bank and the IMF , demonstrates the extent to which economic globalization was structured in line with US priorities, laid out to the Washington consensus.
• These institutions have led to what Neo Marxists like AG frank, I Wallenstein and Samir Amin have called “development of the underdevelopment.”
• 
  Jefferey Sachs has called World bank as an extension of US Federal Reserve.
• For realist scholars, these institutions have marked a sharp decline in the sovereignty of states in terms of “public decision making.”

• WTO
• 
• It has been called as an ineffective policeman of an outdated rule book that is unsuited for the challenges of the 21st century.
• the dispute settlement function of the WTO, long referred to as the “jewel” of the WTO, has been in a state of crisis for the last several years 
• Became a spectre of US-China rivalry
• Conflict between global north and south over self declaration of developing country status.
• Growing of protectionist tariffs across the world
• rise of bilateral and multilateral FTAs
• 74 countries negotiating e commerce rules outside the realm of WTO
• WTO is more important than ever before for the global economy, for job creation, for growth and for development.
• Unilateral sanctions by USA, trade war
• Adv:
• Improved living std of people in developing countries
• Helped establish peace and security as economically interlinked countries are less prone to go to war.
• It is not a coincidence that the past 25 years have seen the fastest poverty reduction in history: From one third to less than 10% based on world bank poverty line
• Rise of global value chain has increased employment opportunities , customer choices and per capita income
• challenges
• Protectionism- increase in tariffs has affect around $750 B in global imports
• COVID after which countries are ramping up their own manufacturing capacities rather than relying on imports
• Dis functioning of WTO shows realist view that countries value their national interests over their international commitments
• criticism
• Marxist scholars- it has led to development of underdevelopment (world systems theory)
• led to the creation of core and periphery states.
• Increased income inequalities with rich countries getting richer and poor countries getting poorer.
• Realist scholars- it has made non state actors like MNCs as major actors of world politics
• Feminist scholars say growth of capitalism has further increased inequality between men and women. The pressure on women to look beautiful has increased their dependence on beauty products .
• If countries do not cooperate they would all tend to lose (stag hunt game theory)
• Conclusion: No other organisation enjoys a near universal acceptance in the the filed of international trade as the WTO. It is imperative  upon countries to revive the institution and establish terms of international trade that are  fair, equitable and beneficial for all.