THE DIALECTICAL STREAM

  Shivshankar Menon warns, “we are headed for a poorer, meaner, and smaller world." Globalisation is often described through metaphors like 'Global Village', 'Borderless world'. However, the real globalisation is much more complex than these metaphors suggest. The simplistic view is that globalisation is growing interconnectedness, which essentially results in compression of time and space. It is a multi-conceptual and multi-dimensional term with social, political, economic and cultural domains. It can also have many models like Pax Americana or Pax Sinica. The American model or Pax Americana is based on liberal international order. It has three components : ( a) Growth of institutions - World Bank, IMF, WTO (b) Democracy - spread of democratic values (c) Free trade - greater impetus to private sector. The Pax Sinica fashions itself as an alternative, a anti-thesis to the American model. Some features of Chinese model are : (a) Authoritarianism - to kee

Giorgia Meloni is widely expected to form Italy's most right-wing government since World War Two. With around 26% votes in their favour, the Brothers of Italy, a party with neo-fascist roots that came up with the slogan - "God, family and fatherland" has sent a clear message to the Italians and rest of Europe. Italy is a founding father of the European Union and a member of Nato, and Ms Meloni's rhetoric on the EU places her close to Hungary's nationalist leader Viktor Orban.  However, when we take a closer look to understand the rise of Ms Meloni. We come across some parallel developments like, populism, economic slowdown, unemployment, polarisation among communities, anti-immigrant stand and LGBT bashing. Yet, as one may think that such extreme opinions are bound to draw more and more people in the public sphere. The voter turnout in Italy has a different story to tell. Turnout fell to a record low of 63.91% - nine points down on 2018 elections. Elec