Connectography: Mapping the Global Network Revolution
Parag Khanna
Weidnfeld & Nicolson
Pages: 466, Price: Rs. 599/=
In an era of globalization National boundaries have a very limited meaning, because the world has become interdependent. It can be said that now the days have gone of the nationhood when the national spirit was considered as of great importance. Now the time has come to think of the world as a Global village. The boundaries of the nations are just to mark the territory of the nation. In a world of Globalization all the nations depend on other countries, may be for food, fibre, medicines, oil, natural gas, research in the science and technology, space etc. No nation can be self sufficient in all respect. It has to import something from the neighboring countries and sometimes from the other part of the world. If we look at the history, we realize that international trade has been going on since long time. The term International Trade may not have been used during those days. But there was trade between Europe and Asia. China and India had strong business ties with the Europe. China and India had similar ties of business. So the concept of interdependence is not new. What is new is to put the old things in new terminology. And in an era of globalization, it is necessary to put the age old practices in modern concepts, with new data and point of view.
By the end of last century, it became evident that 21st century is going to be a period of advanced science and technology. It will be a period of knowledge based society. And in just 17 years of the 21st century we have realized how true it is! With the advancement is science and technology the rate of the progress has accelerated and has opened new windows of communication, education, trade etc. China started its longest distance train in recent past. Australia has already its longest rail route that connects two points of the continent. India, though internal, has strong net work of the railway routes. In short, connectivity has become very important. This is the central theme of Mr. Parag Khanna’s book, Coneectography. He says, “Seeing the world through the lens of connectivity generates new visions of how we organize ourselves as a species. Global infrastructures are morphing our world system from divisions to connections and from nations to nodes. Infrastructure is like nervous system connecting all parts of the planetary body; capital and code are the blood cells flowing through it.” Having said this, Mr. Khanna, elaborates his theme in a very systematic way, giving every minute detail to prove his theorem.
In five parts of the book, full of maps, he explains his theorem n a lucid language. He shows how maps keep on changing and remind us that there is nothing permanent about maps. One of his remarkable arguments is “Maps have graduated from art and theology to commerce and politics; now they need to better reflect demographics, economics, ecology and engineering… new generation of maps and models is thus more than a collection of pretty digital guides. They should be the focal point for the synthesis of environmental science, politics, economics, culture, technology and sociology- curriculum curated through the study of connections rather than divisions.” Throughout the book Mr. Khanna, tries to tell us how connectivity is becoming an order of the day. He peeps in the history to give examples and narrates the current scenario with future perspectives. His way of argument is to convince reader that all the nations shall try to have better connectivity to survive.
The days have come when the world is worried about the environmental issues. Rising temperature, rising average sea level, loss of land and sea ice to a great extent, (According to World Meteorological Organization, global sea-ice extent dropped more than 4 million km2 below average – an unprecedented anomaly- in November. Global sea levels rose strongly during the 2015/2016 El Nino, with the early 2016 values making new records.), loss of small islands. The rising sea level and unpredictable weather are the big threats to the world. These threats will compel us to be resilient in many aspects. Mr. Khanna touches the future in a very subtle ways. He thinks of the great British writer, whose writing appeals to the readers of this century and makes them to think. Mr. Khanna, says, “Orwell’s world was one of perpetual stalemate, with no single power – or even alliance of two against the third- able to dominate the planet. However, in a perverse twist Orwell never could have imagined at the time of his death in 1950, the superstars’ primary mode of interaction is not the conquest of each other’s territory but the pursuit of access to each other’s resources and markets. Precisely because they cannot conquer each other, they wage not war but tug-of-war. “
For many people interdependence may not prevent the nations from waging a war. In future the wars may not be to grab the territory but natural resources like water. But Mr. Khanna argues, “Even though interdependence can be weaponized through financial sanctions, cyber-attacks, and supply chain disruptions, escalation is far costlier for both sides today than a century ago because they immediately harm one’s own businesses operating in the rival country… War is the continuation of tug-of-war by other means. These arguments and the hard work are strengths of this book which may sound, at some times, as a book of utopian ideas. Notes, sites and tools Mr. Khanna has given are beneficial for the one who wishes to read and understand complex issue of today’s world.
