Amalgamation of Two Antithetical Approaches

Thepandemic of Covid-19, spread by SARS CoV-2, has transformed the nature of international relations. Ithas propelled the countries into such an ambivalent situation where they cannot venture to adhere strictly to a particular approach to international relations.

In the following article, an attempt has been made to unveil the current nature of internationalrelations where the blends of two antithetical approaches, namely Idealism andRealism, have become a thing of common praxis.

In a daily lexicon, globalization is defined as a cross border exchange of goods, services, technology, ideas, and most importantly, people. Interdependence andinterconnectedness are fundamental characteristics of the process. It would notbe spurious to say that the concept of globalization is in accordance with theprinciples of idealism, where it has been mutually accepted that internationalrelations (IR) could be regulated by the set of common rules of internationallaws. Based on the liberal conviction, Woodrow Wilson in his historic 14 points speech said that it was possible to achieve peace through arational and intelligently designed international system.

However, the pandemic of Covid-19spread by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (commonly known asNovel Coronavirus) has completely changed the traits of relations shared by thecountries in the pre pandemic globalized era. On the one hand, countries arecompelled by the circumstances to seal their borders for foreign nationals andon the other hand, they are heavily dependent on each other’s cooperation tofight the common invisible enemy. In this ambivalent situation, the fact isquite evident that even in this globalized era, countries cannot afford to besolely governed by the forces of globalization (idealist principles), and therealist precepts of statism and survival are also playing an equivalent role inthe governing processes and in determining the nature of internationalrelations.

This paper entails thecomprehensive analysis of the prevailing traits in international relationswhere the two antithetical approaches, namely idealism and realism areserendipitously working in concurrence with each other.

Prior to the outbreak ofcatastrophic pandemic, countries were entangled in the net ofinterconnectedness and interdependence in such a way that the concept of worldcitizen or cosmopolitanism seemed to be quite feasible. Rapid increase in the crossborder migrations had made the state borders permeable. It was not theterritorial boundaries and local politics, instead, it was the economy that hadbeen playing a decisive role in the formulation of foreign policy (however, itshould not be assumed that state sovereignty and local politics were of noimportance, but more emphasis had been laid on the economic aspects during thepolicy formulation). The pre pandemic situation was in accordance with theidealists’ principles where it was widely believed that international relationscould be regulated by a common set of rules and regulations.

Astonishingly, the pandemichas shadowed the ideals of globalization as it is quite evident that thenations are resolute enough to protect ‘theircitizens’. For instance, the member states of European Union haveinstantaneously adopted the realist paradigm of statism and survival andconsequently suspended the free movement across the borders, just after theoutbreak of pandemic. Akin to it, many countries have sealed their borders forthe foreign nationals despite being cognizant of the fact that they have tobear a huge economic cost for this act. Hans J. Morgenthau in his magnum opus Politics Among Nations: The Struggle forPower and Peace, said thatpolitics is an autonomous sphere of actions and cannot therefore be reduced toeconomics or morals. State leaders should act in accordance with dictates ofpolitical wisdom (Morgenthau1978). During this periodcountries that were once the staunch advocates of free trade across the bordersare now reluctant to share their limited resources with others, especiallythose which are essential in combating the disease. The change in tradepolicies have substantiated the fact that the nations are now not primarilyconcerned about the amelioration of ‘global economy’ but are more inclined toprotect and foster their ‘local economy’. Countries are contouring theireconomic policies, in a way that will protect the interest of local players andwill subsequently reduce their dependence on others.

Nonetheless, in suchvicissitudes, countries have diligently contemplated the situation, which has thusled to the incorporation of the indispensable element of ‘integral humanism’ intheir policies. Though the concept was coined in context to Indian society byDeendayal Upadhyay, however, it has become more prominent during this pandemicand has gained universal acceptance. Integral Humanism is a philosophicalfoundation of life, useful for the entire world. The concept endorses theintegration of our lives with Nature (society) and such an integral systemensures the all-round development of individuals and the society. In the prepandemic era, countries were primarily focused on the growth (not development)of their economies at the cost of natural resources, but the pandemic hascompelled them to value nature and ‘human life’. Consequently, despite theabeyance of cross border travelling, they have manifested their determinationto save the lives of people of other nationalities as well by exchanging goodsthat are essential in combating Covid-19. Apart from goods, countries are alsoproviding monetary assistance to those who are unable to save lives due to the paucityof adequate resources.

The current situation hastestified to the fact that in international relations, one cannot strictlycling to a particular approach or ideology. What we are witnessing today is aperfect blend of realist and idealist principles where on the one handcountries are giving primacy to protect their citizens with the cooperation of acountry like China, but at the same time, they are openly criticizing it forthe outbreak of the disease. Countries like the US, the UK and India importedpersonal protective equipment (PPE) kits and Covid-19 testing kits from Chinainitially, despite duly acknowledging the fact that the fundamental cause ofthe outbreak of Covid-19 was China’s irresponsible act and subsequentlydemanded a probe against it. The most common changethat could be easily observed in the policies of the nations is that they aretrying to be self-reliant by reducing the dependence for essential goods on theother nations without deteriorating their amicable relations and extendingtheir helping hand to the countries which are in need of it. Forinstance, in the early stage of the pandemic in the country, India orderedaround 15 million PPE kits from China, but over a period of time, India has begunto manufacture a colossal amount of PPE kits within the country. By this, theyare not only catering their needs but also ready to export around 5 millionkits to other countries. In this way, the realist precept of statism - survivaland the idealist precept of cooperation are being followed simultaneously.

Anomalous situationrequires extra ordinary solutions. Unequivocally, the apocalypse caused by thepandemic cannot be overcome by a single country. It requires persistentcollective efforts as its catastrophic impact has hardly left any economy andsociety untouched. The nations are embroiled in such a bewildered situationwhere they are compelled to impede the free flow of goods, services and people acrossthe borders but at the same time are in a desperate need of cooperation fromeach other. In order to minimize and overcome the grievous impact of thepandemic, countries should work in congruity with each other rather thanindulging in superfluous quarrels. Amalgamation of idealism and realism seemsto be the most pertinent paradigm to overcome the life threatening crisisgenerated by the pandemic.

Undoubtedly the globaleconomy has to bear a humongous cost for this temporary halt because our economies(markets) are so interconnected and interdependent on each other that activitytaking place in a country has a multidimensional impact on others. Andconfining the exchange of goods and services has a significant impact on therelations shared by the countries. Therefore, in these testing times, theexchange of goods and services, especially those of essential services are themost pressing and common conundrums faced by almost all of them. However,countries should not hasten to resume the exchange immediately. Perhaps therecovery process will take time but once the nations will attain their prepandemic positions, the integrated global economy will augment subsequently.

It would not be a folly toinfer that the pandemic has substantially transformed the traits ofinternational relations. As prior to the outbreak of coronavirus, we all werethe members of ‘global village’ but the pandemic has made us realize that weare the members of our respective nation first and then of the world.