Will Europe’s Past Be Asia’s Future?

Anarchy in the past has engendered devastations as history witnessed in eighteenth-century Europe. Anarchy in the international system is the key foundation of the security dilemma which triggered the idea of getting power so a nation can maintain its ultimate legitimacy in the absence of some supranational authority. In the eighteenth century, Europe created upheaval and fanned the flames of three major wars till the world became unipolar. Now if we compare the past with the present then the Asia Pacific may be considered a new war theatre because many developing nations like India and China are emerging in Asia. Along with this United States of America (USA) considers China’s growth as a menace to its hegemony. So the point is will Asia forget the massive destructions of bloody wars in past and follow the footsteps of Europe or will it choose to be a pacifist? If nations opt to be optimistic and learn from the past then there could be many reasons to evade war. Firstly due to globalization, economic interdependence around the globe has created a wasted interest of nations in other nations’ economies. According to some estimates, the US owes China approximately $1.06 trillion as of January 2022 and the withdrawal of those will seriously devalue the US currency. On the other hand, according to the estimates of the World Bank 35% of China’s GDP is dependent on foreign trade which means conflict between them can cease the growth or even destroy their economies. Secondly, Asia will not be ripe for rivalry as was Europe because of its unique geographical features such as the Himalayan mountain range which separates the Indian subcontinent from the rest of Asia. Thirdly, Asians follow the culture of collectivism and according to Samuel Huntington both “European-type hegemonic wars” and “European style balancing of power” are absent from Asia. He suggests that with the rapid rise of China, other nations must have to choose between “power balanced at the price of conflict” or “peace secured at the price of hegemony”. Western societies might opt for power balancing but history and culture strongly suggest that Asia will go for peace and hegemony.
IQRA MEMON,
Sukkur.