Otto von Bismarck famously stated, ‘Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise learns from the mistakes of others’. The War between Russia and Ukraine, which erupted on 24 February 2022, once again demonstrated in this highly technological world that the basic principle of war – as in life – has not changed – namely, to never compromise upon the basics and to always strive to learn from others.
Even today, war remains the most potent option even when all other measures have failed, such as dialogue and diplomacy. It is therefore crucial not to overlook this fact. In light of the current clashes between Ukraine, Russia, the USA and ‘the West’, here are 12 lessons for India:
1. Soft power is nothing without hard power. Hence, it is important to build a strong military.
2- The absence of conflict does not equal peace, but a good approach to conflict management.
3- Nuclear deterrence is effective in today’s world. In making India a nuclear weapons state, we should acknowledge Bhabha, Indira Gandhi, APJ Abdul Kalam, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and everyone who was involved.
4- No matter what international treaty there is, ‘friendships between nations’ will always come second to the nation’s own security and self-interest.
5- Arms manufacturers must strive for self-sufficiency to the maximum extent possible.
6- Anything can be turned into a weapon. We deal with everything from financial protocols like SWIFT to civil airspace to social media-based business to international sporting bodies. All of these areas should have at least one globally powerful platform for India.
7- Private companies (like Google) will take political sides. Learn how to ring-fence against this. Make sure your domestic companies are supported. For example, use Indian alternatives to Google and Amazon. Strengthen local businesses so they can go global.
8- Lectures on human rights, freedom of speech, and such are pure geopolitical instruments. In reality, these are meaningless gestures, and they are merely a front for the US to do as it pleases.
9- White racism still guides global policy. Geographic location and skin color determine how much support you will receive. Don’t get sucked into the woke brigade’s DEI nonsense.
10- Build strong narrative influence globally. The Indian business community should invest in newspapers, TV channels & social media platforms at a global level or launch their own to operate globally.
11- Asia, Australia, Latin America, & South America are not involved in this war. But the ‘global’ media narrative screams ‘World War’. The rhetoric of global media outlets is ‘it could happen to you too’. Funny thing is, nobody said the same thing when the US invaded Iraq. Recall that.
12 – There is no such thing as a global rules-based order when international rules can always be rewritten/ignored depending on who is breaking them.
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