INDIAN FOREIGN POLICY: The Tharoor Candidacy - The Campaign is the Message

The Opening Gambit

Marshall McLuhan may be intrigued to learn that the medium is no longer the message. The era of liquid foreign relations is giving birth to another paradigm wherein the campaign is the message. And, the more fortified the campaign, the stronger the message. So what is the message of the Tharoor candidacy, and how does the Tharoor campaign gain extra punch?

Why did India nominate Tharoor for the post?

Geopolitics and diplomacy aside, the most significant reason for the nomination of Tharoor is a transformation in Indian foreign policy based upon a shift in culture and recent experiential learning. The Indian society is moving towards a “to-do” and aggressive culture as opposed to decades of somnolent living. This shift in attitudes and culture, along with increasing globalization, especially, of the elite, is breeding confidence in the Indian economy and strategic circles. To cap these attitude changes, the newly found and ongoing experience of international lobbying and diplomacy in public for the U.S. India nuclear deal is culturally prompting the Indian establishment to be entrepreneurial in international relations.

What is in it for India?

A whole lot. It is not only about brand India, and a feel-good factor about the Secretary General being of Indian origin. That it is, and surely one does not expect the SG to be an extension of Indian establishment in Turtle Bay, so that is not a benefit. However, the key benefit which is not being credited is the deeper significance – the campaign is the message. By undertaking this campaign to canvass and lobby for the nomination of Tharoor, India is signaling a flexing of its geopolitical and lobbying muscles. This campaign, coming on the heels, and actually overlapping another strategic campaign underway (the civil nuclear deal and lobbying in the U.S.) is building the lobbying, diplomatic, negotiating, positioning, and realpolitik skills and capacity of Indian foreign policy. The campaign is sending a message that Indian capabilities in the geopolitical arena are now being marshaled in an aggressive and creative manner. Both of these campaigns – the ongoing lobbying for the nuclear deal; and the looming campaign for Tharoor, are providing invaluable experience and competency building of Indian strategic thought. The game for India is its ability to project its power and offerings to the world.

What must Tharoor do? Resign he must, and …

…well, the list may run long, and wiser counsels will have several suggestions. Yet, a few things which must be considered immediately include, first of all, a resignation. Tharoor must resign from his position and then campaign. What does he lose – a few months salary at most? If he is elected he will be the SG. If he loses he cannot serve the UN in any case. Having campaigned and argued against the vision of his competitors’, how moral would it be to then serve under an alternative vision? In his campaign he will have to critique and shred apart alternative visions, and express confidence in his and only his vision. It would not behoove Tharoor’s stature to then reconcile his vision for the mere sake of office. He is too refined a gentleman and in any case the literary world is awaiting him in all earnestness!

Once he resigns he can freely conduct his private and public diplomacy, and lobbying, to win votes. He should also categorically state that if and when India gets a seat in the UN with a veto, he would resign his post as Secretary General, since a SG cannot be from any Permanent Member. This will nip the compromise theories’ doing the rounds about India’s bid for the UN Security Council.

Having covered his base, the next step for Tharoor will be to define one single, concise visionary message for his candidacy. That message is obviously about UN reforms. In articulating his vision for UN reform, Tharoor will have to critique the present dispensation, and will thus have to step out of Kofi Annan’s shadows. He should not be perceived as a candidate of Annan, which his competitors,’ and may be even the U.S. media, will attempt to portray. There is not much love lost for Annan in U.S. foreign policy circles, particularly those whose support may be crucial for Tharoor’s candidacy.

The winning candidate for the SG should challenge the geopolitical unreality of the present U.N. based on a charter written 60 years ago to serve the purposes of the victors of World War II. He should be talking about putting reality to the U.N. of 1945 whether he gets the job or not. From India’s point of view, it will do well for all candidates for the SG to be reminded that population, and past contributions to the U.N. system, are the most important criteria. The U.N. charter begins with the sentence “We the peoples of the world…” – and not states, or countries.

Tharoor should be independent, bold and aggressive in his analysis and comments on the future of the U.N. In fact, Tharoor should make statements that will show he is impartial, independent, and most imaginative in reforming the U.N. structurally and administratively. Even if Tharoor does not make it, the global community and India will benefit if he were to make his thinking public on structural reform of the U.N. and the Security Council. Tharoor must show that he has his own personality and must spell out his recommendations for the reform of the U.N. based upon his rich experience of over 26 years at the U.N., and bring out a formula on composition of the Security Council acceptable to all its present permanent members. This is the true national offering of India to the U.N. system.

Administratively, Tharoor could become a revolutionary manager by at least proposing cutting the staff from its present level to ½, making the UN lean and mean, thus reducing the cost of operations. As one of my good friends, and a crafty protégé of Krishna Menon, Ven Parameswaran, said, “Tharoor should buy the biggest whipsaw in town and trim the present organization”. In doing this he has to dismantle the Annan legacy, and thus will need to stride boldly. If he does not resign he will not be able to do this.

Having framed his candidacy, Tharoor will be then launching an integrated campaign of public diplomacy and lobbying to win over as many stakeholders as possible. Such a campaign, as will unfold in the coming months, will test and expand international lobbying skills of India. Various stakeholders will pitch in, including the Indian American community, which is proud to see the emerging sophistication of Indian thought, as represented in the persona of Tharoor. The U.S. will be a key force in deciding the next SG, and the proactive support of the Indian American community will be a strong factor in Tharoor’s favor. The international, and Indian American, lobbying for Tharoor’s campaign will be crafted in the coming weeks, and is maybe the topic of another article.

For now, the campaign is the message.