Perhaps you could speak some more about what's happening in India?
Here's what I understand: the United States and the West are partnering very heavily with India to get it to rise in tandem with China. India doesn't have a goal to be a global power, and its economy is much more closely integrated with the West, so it's a very kind strategic ally in the changing global economic situation. Its growth and its rise is an area of balance for the West in a world where trade and economy are shifting away from the old world and into the Asia Pacific.
India, with regard to geostrategy, is uniquely placed for growth. Of course it has a large population, which is a huge help, but it also likely to benefit from the trillions of dollars of investment being made by China's investment in Eurasian oil pipelines and trade routes (and Russia's attempt to galvinize a Eurasian Union).
That is to say India will benefit both by West and by East investment.
Now, in support of this Modi (which is in large part the 'West's man') has agreed to Westernize a very great deal and to grow India in very specific and strategic ways.
An example of this is China's investment and experimentation with "Smart Cities" - cities that are designed so that every piece of socioeconomic data can be recorded and adjusted. The idea with a smart city is that this level of insight allows huge boons in the study of, governing of, and changes to the municipality.
With the West's encouragement and investment (through multilateral investment groups) India has not only performed huge amounts of financial reorganization but also promises to build 100 smart cities of its own.
And interesting twist on this is that the smart cities invented by the West have an investment clause: the West wants to 'own' the city - to have equity in it - so that the cities are privately owned and that when people pay to live in the cities and as the cities produce surplus this money goes back into the pockets of private investors.
This is a kind of scary prospect for those who have traditional Western grounding as it makes these cities seem more like giant corporations (or maybe 'fiefs'?) than democracies.
But this probably isn't what the poster above is talking about?
Could you speak more about what trends you see in India?
this and more. i actually had no idea that something like the smart cities you mentioned was planned. and neither does any of the general public here. the idea is terrifying. i wonder where and how will they build these entire new cities and how will they cajole working ckass people into moving there, since villagers are definitely not part of their hifi money techno compounds.
it is very interesting to see your perspective on the global economic position that india occupies. think about how one country can actually 'own' shares of the very cities of another free democracy.
please do not take offence when i say that i can't tell you anything concrete at this stage, except harp about the evils of culture domination, about history repeating itself, and about researching more on my previous comment (if you are so inclined). this is in part because i haven't grasped the pattern fully myself, and for the safety of my dear ones. i just believe as much as a mind can, that there is evil afoot (apologies for being dramatic but i fully believe that a lot of countries including india face grave, long term threats).
"Neo-colonialism" may be the term you are looking for, along with "soft power".
Russia and China in particular are upset with this form of cultural domination and export by the West. Both have stated quite frankly in real terms that they seek to maintain and spread their own culture instead and in fact both Russia and China have begun programs for culture export based on the US model.
China is heavily invested in working in Eurasia, Africa and South America at the moment. They are a bit careful about the Middle East.
Here's what I understand: the United States and the West are partnering very heavily with India to get it to rise in tandem with China. India doesn't have a goal to be a global power, and its economy is much more closely integrated with the West, so it's a very kind strategic ally in the changing global economic situation. Its growth and its rise is an area of balance for the West in a world where trade and economy are shifting away from the old world and into the Asia Pacific.
India, with regard to geostrategy, is uniquely placed for growth. Of course it has a large population, which is a huge help, but it also likely to benefit from the trillions of dollars of investment being made by China's investment in Eurasian oil pipelines and trade routes (and Russia's attempt to galvinize a Eurasian Union).
That is to say India will benefit both by West and by East investment.
Now, in support of this Modi (which is in large part the 'West's man') has agreed to Westernize a very great deal and to grow India in very specific and strategic ways.
An example of this is China's investment and experimentation with "Smart Cities" - cities that are designed so that every piece of socioeconomic data can be recorded and adjusted. The idea with a smart city is that this level of insight allows huge boons in the study of, governing of, and changes to the municipality.
With the West's encouragement and investment (through multilateral investment groups) India has not only performed huge amounts of financial reorganization but also promises to build 100 smart cities of its own.
And interesting twist on this is that the smart cities invented by the West have an investment clause: the West wants to 'own' the city - to have equity in it - so that the cities are privately owned and that when people pay to live in the cities and as the cities produce surplus this money goes back into the pockets of private investors.
This is a kind of scary prospect for those who have traditional Western grounding as it makes these cities seem more like giant corporations (or maybe 'fiefs'?) than democracies.
But this probably isn't what the poster above is talking about?
Could you speak more about what trends you see in India?