Gandhinagar: ‘The contemporary world is more interconnected and interdependent than ever in human history and any deviant behavior of one State affects the other much more profoundly today than in the past’, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval writes in a forward section of scholarly project authored by Professor Dr. Bimal Patel on “National Security of India and International Law” that has published last month-end. Dr. Bimal Patel is Director General of Gandhinagar based Raksha Shakti University.

Doval in his forward opines that change in international order is neither new nor stoppable….the challenge is to manage the change that is orderly and serve the best interest of the World at large.

‘Change in international order is neither new nor stoppable. There would have been no history had the World order been status quoist. While entrenched powers resist change, aspirational powers crave for dispensations that suit their national ambitions. Accepting the reality that all States strive to maximize their national interests, the challenge is to manage the change that is orderly and serve the best interest of the World at large. Avoiding the mine fields of conflicts, ensuring stability and minimizing human hardships is necessary,’ Doval writes.

Doval points out that nations with accretion in their power want the World order best suited to sub-serve their intentions while the others resist it.

“A corollary of this reality is that nations with accretion in their power want the World order best suited to sub-serve their intentions while the others resist it. The evolution over the centuries of international law, customary law, international institutions, etc. tried to create an eco-system that propelled nations of the world to abide by these laws & practices and change, if necessary through commonly agreed processes. It was felt that unilateralism, potentially can be a cause of conflict. The conflict potential was highest when they related to national security issues,” he writes.

Though he penned down a forward piece for Professor Bimal Patel’s project in August last year when Coronavirus pandemic was not in existence even, Doval while listing the trends in the global scenario that can’t be ignored, also mentions pandemic in light of legal and ethical challenges associated with it. Doval writes, ‘Pandemics and public health emergencies are creating legal and ethical challenges for which the new world order has to find acceptable solutions.’

Doval stressing on need to accommodate the new centres of powers writes, ‘the rules of international relations that were put in place after the Second World War were based on certain principles that reflected the global realities of that time. The changing power spectrum has led to new dynamics. In such an environment, there is need to accommodate the new centres of power through, inter-alia, reinterpreting and redefining international law and strengthening the international system of governance.’

He notes that the concept of national security has expanded both in scope and threats. ‘Seven decades ago, the war ravaged world emerged from a bloody crisis, whose roots lay in then leading powers fighting over territories and resources. The threat to international peace and security at that time was from these competing powers jostling for geo-strategic supremacy. The most fundamental document that governed such inter-State relations was the United Nations Charter, which was an outcome of the catastrophe that the world had witnessed in the early 20th century.’

Pointing out shortcomings of existing international laws, Doval writes, ‘Current international law, for example, is not well positioned to support responses to cyber-attacks that transcends sovereign jurisdiction based on defined territories. The international legal regime in the fight against international terrorism and its financing is also inadequate.’

‘Today, while inter-State conflicts and security defined in traditional terms with focus on protection of sovereignty remain important concerns, other non-traditional security issues such as terrorism, cyber threats, ethnic strife, maritime competition, climate change, refugee crises, prevention of weaponisation of space, water security, public health are all impacting national security directly or indirectly. Its inadequacies notwithstanding, international law based on the post-World War was able to deal with traditional national security threats reasonably well. However, it is increasingly finding itself unable to cope up with emerging realities,’ he writes.

‘Large demographic movements consequented by conflicts, ethnic strife, climate change or even economic pressures, can impact security in distant geographies,’ he adds.

Regarding challenges associated with the technology, Doval believes, rapid advances in technology have also compounded the problem further. He adds, ‘Access to modern technologies at affordable costs with non-state actors facilitates encrypted communications and easy access to weapons, finances and bomb-making techniques. It is also easier to radicalize unsuspecting youth with extremist ideologies. Social media controlled from distant geographies can be a tool to generate strife, disaffection and political instability against the adversaries. Further, dual use technologies have blurred the distinction between the civilian and defence sectors. There are no effective laws to cope with the threats.’

National Security of India and International Law is an inter-disciplinary scholarly exercise by Dr. Bimal Patel in the context of India, offering a perspective on interplay between the needs, concerns and interests of the national security actors, means, institutions, inherent limitations, and prospects of international law to achieve the national security objectives of India. The work analyses traditional and contemporary issues and challenges – water, natural resources, bilateral treaty law, strategic culture, refugee management, use of force, nuclear doctrine, space developments, defense procurement and manufacturing and private players, among others. It aims to generate inter-disciplinary debate, teaching and research in this emerging field of national security.

DeshGujarat