It was while delivering a lecture at the Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa on May 23, 2013, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said: “Globalisation has brought us closer together. In the 21st century, we live for the first time in one global community. But it is a community composed of many strands which must be carefully woven together into a whole. If diversity is seen as a source of strength, societies can become healthier, more stable and prosperous.” He also mentioned: “But there is another side of the coin if we fail to manage the conflicting pressures that pluralism inevitably brings. Without the institutions and policies to manage diversity, whole communities can feel marginalised and oppressed, creating conditions for conflict and violence. This is why pluralism is a key challenge for the 21st century.”

Kofi Annan

On that day, the seasoned diplomat from Ghana made clear that although democracy and global co-operation were the necessary preconditions of a pluralistic society, they could not necessarily establish pluralism. This is because, in such a situation, countries may destroy pluralism through their own system of co-operation. Also, majority of the people in a country can destroy the pluralistic nature of a society by joining hands with each other. It means we have to respect the principles of pluralism to establish a pluralistic society. Otherwise, democracy and globalisation will become meaningless.
The year 2017 helped us realise that the warning by Annan was a timely one. Pluralism was attacked even in democratic countries again and again last year. In many countries, there was an increase in the influence of reactionary people. Minorities and marginalised people faced critical situation mainly in those countries that are pluralistic in nature. Also, the most intolerant and hostile leadership gained popularity in those countries.

President Donald Trump can be a fine example of such leadership. His government is busy signing intolerance policies one after another. Hatred claimed so many lives (mainly of foreigners) in the US in 2017.
The Rohingya crisis in Myanmar is another example of attack on minority. The ‘majority’ Buddhist community are trying hard to ‘destroy’ Rohingyas, who have taken shelters in neighbouring Bangladesh and India. The West Asian migrants are facing (almost) same problems in different European countries. The list goes on.
It’s a new environment that can’t be described as temporary instability. The essence of this environment is: different types of people are not entitled to enjoy equal rights.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das