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Experts and leaders discuss the impact of the multipolar world on left-wing politics
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Experts and leaders discuss the impact of the multipolar world on left-wing politics

The United States, long the world’s sole superpower, has seen its power decline over the past decade as several Asian countries gained economic and political power.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, China grew to counter American domination. As the world is believed to be moving from a unipolar to a multipolar world, what impact will this have on the global communist movement?

During an interaction on ‘Changing the global order and geopolitical landscape: Prospects and challenges for left politics in Nepal’ in Kathmandu on Saturday, speakers from Nepal, India and China attempted to assess the question.

At the event organized by the Foundation for Critical Discourse Nepal, Khagendra Prasai, associate professor of political philosophy at the Open University of Nepal, presented his paper on the theme, with comments from professors from India, China and of the Philippines.

Prasai’s article examines left-wing politics in the context of the current march towards multipolarity. He argued that with the current weakening of the neoliberal order and the transition to multipolarity, leftist politics in Nepal can benefit from some momentum.

“Nepal’s left-wing political parties need to understand the nature, direction and speed of the transition to multipolarity,” Prasai’s paper reads.

The rise of China and the globalization of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have transformed the geopolitical landscape of many regions and countries, he says.

Prasai sees the Global South emerging as a dominant force. He also asserted that America is no longer an imperialist power, especially since it has lost its status as the world’s sole superpower.

Prasai also argued that China’s Belt and Road Initiative could potentially change Nepal’s geopolitical status. Multipolarity could be a boon for communist parties if they act cautiously, he suggested.

Contrary to Prasai’s belief, Professor BS Butola of Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, said that communist parties can suffer in a multipolar world. The main problem facing communist parties is the lack of political knowledge among the population.

Political literacy should be the motto of communist parties, Butola said.

“Seeing without vision is dangerous and it is the responsibility of the left forces to give vision to society,” Butola said. For him, elections alone cannot support democracy without a thorough political culture.

Urging left-wing political parties to work towards social transition rather than transformation, Butola accused capitalists of turning human beings into instrumentalists.

Saroj Giri, associate professor of political science at Delhi University, did not dispute Prasai’s argument. However, he added, when talking about geopolitics, we must not forget the character of capitalism. For Giri, there are two types of capitalism: oligarchy and corporate domination.

While global communist discourse is shaped by identity politics, the working class agenda still exists and was evident during the recent presidential campaign in the United States, Giri said.

Chinese professor Wang Lei, director of the BRICS Studies Center, emphasized a rules-based world.

Professor Wang tried to reassure participants that China’s rise does not pose a threat to any country.

Professor Walden F Bello, a former member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a left-wing intellectual, has condemned US President-elect Doland Trump.

Britta Petersen, director of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in New Delhi, highlighted the challenges facing communist parties. Petersen said the multipolar world desired by the Global South has become a reality.

“A multipolar world could really be in the interest of a country like Nepal,” she said. However, she also warned that in a multipolar world, a lot of money could flow into countries like Nepal, but such investments would often be in the interests of major powers.

CPN (United Socialist) President Madhav Kumar Nepal, who was the chief guest at the event, recalled the period when communist parties were struggling to gain a foothold in Nepal. Due to the reluctance of BP Koirala, founder and idealologist of the Nepali Congress, to ally with communist forces, the Panchayat regime could not be abolished during BP’s lifetime, Nepal claimed.

“Abolition of the autocratic system became possible only when Congress leaders like Ganesh Man Singh and Krishna Prasad Bhattarai forged an alliance with the Nepalese communist forces,” he said.

Madhav Nepal was of the opinion that Nepalis should maintain balanced relations with their neighboring countries. “Our northern neighbor, China, is ruled by a communist party while our southern neighbor, India, is ruled by the bourgeoisie,” the former prime minister said. “After the fall of the Soviet Union, there were debates in Nepal about the need to change the names of communist parties, but we rejected the idea.”

He explained to the visiting experts how Nepalese communists adopted democratic values ​​and principles by propagating the idea of ​​multi-party people’s democracy. To prove that a communist party can be democratic, late Madan Bhandari propagated the idea, Nepal said.

The people-centered approach of the leaders has made the communist parties in Nepal corrupt, the leftist leader said.