Global Order and Ethical Challenges

Emerging Global Order: The international landscape is shifting towards a realist approach where power is derived from compulsion rather than persuasion, focusing on immediate national interests at the expense of ethical principles.

Foreign Policy Dynamics: A trend towards coercive foreign policy tools is evident, including:

• Sanctions
• Energy access control
• Technological dominance
• Financial coercion
• Military deterrence
• The humanitarian implications of these practices are under-discussed.

Case Studies:

• Venezuela: Political and economic uncertainty persists despite perceived strategic gains in its oil sector.
• Cuba: Economic distress and tightening sanctions contribute to its vulnerability, revealing a reliance on economic coercion and strategic isolation.

International Relations Shift: The war in Ukraine and tensions in West Asia illustrate how statecraft is increasingly transactional and driven by technology. Traditional norms of restraint and accountability are weakening.

Historical Context:

• The U.S. provided strategic leadership and a normative framework through principles established in the 20th century, such as Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms.
• Figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela demonstrated the importance of moral legitimacy over mere dominance.

AI and State Power:

• Artificial intelligence is becoming integral to state power in areas such as surveillance, warfare, and strategic analysis, raising ethical concerns about moral detachment and accountability.
• Warfare may increasingly rely on automated systems, diminishing human oversight.

Societal Morality: Institutions historically underpinning public morality are declining in authority, leading younger generations to seek justice through movements aiming for ethical reforms (e.g., climate activism and digital rights campaigns).

Technological Ethics in the Indo-Pacific:

• Japan's Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy incorporates security, technology, and digital governance, emphasizing the need for accountability in critical technologies.
• A framework for India-Japan cooperation is emerging to address ethical governance of AI and technology in statecraft.

Global Cooperation Needs:

• Both India and Japan can foster international dialogue on technology and ethics, emphasizing:
  • Development of military AI norms
  • Humanitarian principles for sanctions and coercion
  • Balance between technological competition and human accountability

Future Challenges:

• The competition among great powers will continue, but reliance solely on transactional logic may lead to instability.
• There is a paramount need to reconnect power with moral responsibility, ensuring human oversight in an increasingly automated geopolitical landscape.

Philosophical Infrastructure: India's concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam champions global unity and shared responsibility, which can be pivotal in navigating these complex ethical challenges.

Call for Action: A strategic response that combines ethical considerations with power dynamics is essential to maintain a balanced and just global order in the face of rapid technological advancements and shifting geopolitical alliances.