What to do if US is really meddling in our politics?

All big powers, especially the US, wish to influence the politics of smaller countries. They have a clear preference regarding who should be in power and what foreign policy stance should be adopted by the smaller country. Various tools are at hand to exercise this influence, with the recent favourite being FATF; earlier, IMF and World Bank have been used to exercise influence.

Economically and politically weaker countries are vulnerable to being pressured. When a country is desperate for IMF loans, it is likely to have its arms twisted through IMF conditionalities. If a country has a military coup, the army chief is eager to do the big power’s bidding in return for international recognition and support. This dynamic has repeatedly played out in the last century, and should be no surprise.

How does a country stop the practice of being tossed around? Protesting doesn’t help, because the big powers can simply deny that they are exercising influence, and be assured that given the country’s economic vulnerabilities, it may make some noise for a while, but will eventually come crawling back for the next IMF programme. There is only one way to end this practice: strengthening the economy and eliminating dependency on external financial assistance.

Germany and China are two examples that demonstrate that this transformation can happen. In the 1990s, China was a pet project of the World Bank. Instead of being visibly offended by the influence the World Bank and the US exerted, China just put its head down and strengthened its economy. Now, in the 2020s, the US may be critical of China, but is obliged to deal with it as an equal.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Germany hardly had a foreign policy of its own. It was emerging from the shadow of WW2, and mostly followed the US stance. The EU was also in its formative stages. With the EU gathering strength in the early 21st century, Germany took its place as its largest economy and now leads the EU in forging an independent pathway.

If Pakistan too puts its head down, focuses on the economy, and turns down the political temperature, it will enter a different category of countries, which simply cannot be tossed around by the big powers.

What if a big power is rude about stating its political preferences in our country, undiplomatic and condescending? Such an attitude should not be tolerated, and this should be firmly communicated to that power. This response will change their attitude.

However, we must not forget the value of information. Are we better off knowing a big power’s political preferences for our nation, or not knowing them? While we must be close to our friends, we must be closer to our adversaries, in terms of knowing their mind.

How can we be politically and socially more robust, and not have the cracks that can be utilised by big powers to manipulate us? 1) We must change our political culture, be less confrontational, and not consider political adversaries as enemies. However poor an opinion we may have of a political opponent, he or she cannot pose a greater threat to our nation than poverty, inadequate education and external adversaries. 2) We must reduce inequality in our nation, as the resulting polarisation and fragmentation would make us a prime target for outside interference.

What if there is an actual foreign conspiracy to bring about regime change in Pakistan? This is certainly not out of the realm of possibility. Any such suspicions must be thoroughly probed; and if proven, such a conspiracy must be prevented and the perpetrators punished. However, the allegation of an unproven conspiracy must not be used to taint political opponents and obstruct democratic processes. This has happened too many times in the past, like when US Senator McCarthy accused individuals of being communists during the Cold War. This weakens democracy and the rule of law.

Let us direct our energies to strengthen our economy rather than unwisely and wastefully dissipating it by protesting foreign arm-twisting, hence taking the vulnerabilities off the table that make foreign interference and domination possible.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 11^th, 2022.

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