STRATEGIC PATIENCE: A CURRENCY FOR TODAY'S GEOPOLITICS

Forbearance and maturity are needed at a time when there is little clarity in many geopolitical arenas. Some of the fog will lift after the US election

- LT GEN SYED ATA HASNAIN

THE diplomatic and strategic security hierarchies of India are fully seized of the plethora of geopolitical challenges that have come in India's path as we fought our way out of the pandemic and restored our balance over the last two years. Simultaneously, with improving economic prospects as the fastest growing large economy and our aims quite clearly set upon achieving various benchmarks, there is clearly a need for an even more pragmatic approach to national security.

Wars of any kind would be anathema at such a time and sub-conventional threats even worse due to their longevity and all-pervading impact on society. The world is at a juncture where clarity in developing geopolitical situations is indeterminate and decision-making strewn with challenges. In purely strategic security terms, such a time is best handled through immense forbearance and maturity, with an eye on second and third order impact. In many ways, this could also be defined as the era of 'strategic patience'.

There is plenty of evidence that doing nothing in geopolitical terms is many times a good strategy, but that isn't what strategic patience alludes to. Individuals, leaders, organisations and society often have an 'action bias', virtually a psychological compulsion to act while procrastination is politically considered passé. At such times, that indeed is dangerous. How does this philosophy apply to India's geopolitical matrix of the current times? When the US withdrew from Afghanistan, it appeared fairly plausible that it was girding its loins in preparedness for what strategists called the inevitable confrontation with China. China was at an aggressive high through the pandemic, repelling criticism of its irresponsible handling of the crisis and using coercion through wolf warrior diplomacy. India's proximity to the US unwittingly enhanced as the strategic partnership developed faster than it may otherwise have.