Humiliation rarely solicits sympathy in international politics where the world order is still largely decided by degree of power. Calls for a more justified global system by emerging countries either go unheard, or are seen as impulsive challenges to the existing power hierarchy.
A recent Op-Ed by Financial Times columnist Gideon Rachman however raised an eyebrow. While repeating the same old tone that the mood of national humiliation is exploited by various governments to shore up domestic support and deflate criticism, the author seemed to faintly understand the necessity of paying attention to such emotion. "Solving international conflicts may involve thinking as much about emotions as about interests," suggested the author. In the Western rhetoric, defiance stems from a country's demand to be treated equally in international politics, such as the case with Russia and China, and national humiliation strongly pushes for such demands.
There seems to be a persistent huge divergence between the Western and non-Western countries as to whether this national mood of being wronged is legitimate and should be cared. Some political theorists agree that nations act on the same emotions as people do in many cases. But it is difficult for emerging countries to apprehend since one of the central parts of Western values is to encourage individuals pursuing independence and equality, yet the same efforts pursued by countries over national status are dismissed and scorned.
Humiliation is often portrayed by the West as nationalism or anti-West sentiment. The West, eager to imagine the negative consequences of such moods and censure the government for it, is reluctant to ponder the cause of humiliation. The current turmoil in the Arab world for instance is engulfing more resources and development opportunities despite being painted as public movement asking for democracy. Regional peace and religious reconciliation are more remote by arrogant attitude against Islam and discriminative policies toward different tribes.
Even in the fictional world, discriminative sentiment by the West prevails. In spy movies, a typical story starts with a nuclear weapon being stolen and transported to a Middle Eastern country or where else depending on which nations are at odds with the West currently.
Early this month, India's Daughter, a documentary made by the BBC on India's culture of rape, has aroused repercussions in far more wider regions. Indian authorities banned the documentary over worries that the movie may widen national division and tarnish India's image. The decision to ban actually led to the widespread popularity of the movie and let people question the sensibility of Indian government.
How India should better address its male-dominated culture and improve the protection of women is definitely critical for the authorities. A German professor refused to accept male applicants from India citing several high-profile rape cases of the country. Though the professor later apologized, it is indicative of how the negative feeling about India has been penetrating elsewhere.
Interviews carried by the documentary exposed some of the darkest corners in India, but they also met with strong resistance by some local populations. Of course, the BBC can defend its broadcast based on freedom of speech, yet it is the long-time lopsided coverage loaded with cultural indifference that makes people feel irked toward Western media.
An image will always be distorted if one sees through an ideological lens and analyzes from a narrow perspective. National revival-themed exhibitions in Chinese museums are often taken by Western observers as patriotic education promoted by the government and may hint at Chinese perception toward the West. That is true to some extent.
But compared with museums in the West that display looted relics from past invasions, or the Yasukuni Shrine where local politicians regularly pay tribute to the war dead, which one could trigger more worries that the world is far from being a just and peaceful place?
没有评论:
发表评论