The Big Three

Foreign ministers of China, India, and Russia met recently in Delhi to discuss matters ranging from border disputes and shared rivers to Iraq and Afghanistan. (As always, read about it here)

The BBC headline names the three countries the "Big Three". There are many reasons why they're big. Their collective population, for one, is nearly half that of the entire world. More importantly, though, China and India are re-emerging economic powers (they were dominant centuries ago), while Russia is being re-assertive after decades of post-Cold War humiliation. Combined, this bloc can be a formidable force in world affairs. All three are nuclear powers, and two have permanent seats in the UN Security Council. China is the world's factory, producing nearly everything sold in the West. The IT industry has effectively been outsourced to India, whose engineers now populate US technical universities. Russia is becoming the main energy source for Europe, and has shown inclination to use its petroleum muscle.

It's about time a bloc challenges US dominance in world affairs. This meeting, although by no means binding or policy-setting, is a signal to the US that the three countries can work together and present a unified foreign policy front. These three can "buy" their way into alliances with smaller countries-- China's forays into Africa is a prime example-- and challenge US influence. The US can suddenly find its options lessened and be forced into compromises with the rest of the world. Moreover, small nations that have been at the short end of US foreign policy, like Palestine and the Philippines, can form (or threaten to form) alliances with the Big Three and forge a better deal for themselves.

America, being the sole superpower, gives it a monopoly over world affairs. Without the threat of being unseated it rules roughshod over smaller states, using a combination of incentives and punishments to impose its interests around the world. The Big Three has the potential to challenge US hegemony and soften its barganing stance. On the other hand, the US can provide the necessary counterweight against possible abuse by the Big Three.

In the marketplace of power, competition among the big benefits the small.