The principles of King Birendra's peace doctrine that include non-alignment, regional cooperation and peaceful conflict resolution still remain highly relevant today
During the cold war era that began with the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan in 1947 and ended with the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, the world was ideologically divided into two blocs – one led by the United States promoting capitalism, and the other aligned with the Soviet Union advocating communism. However, during those testing years, Nepal successfully maintained a non-alliance foreign policy. Nepal was one of the very few countries that adopted the so-called small-state realism approach during that time. With this smart diplomatic move, Nepal evaded major cold war conflict or involvement to any proxy war. Instead, Nepal's equidistance foreign policy secured development aid, infrastructure support and diplomatic attention from the countries in both the blocs – Capitalists as well as Communists.
With the end of the cold war and reinstatement of multi-party democracy, Nepal's strategic hedging diplomacy gradually weakened and has now reached a notably low point. In recent time, high-level bilateral diplomatic engagements and invitation to major international forums have declined, thereby eroding the country's international standing.
Hence, Nepal must reassess its foreign policy approach with a renewed focus on restoring and enhancing its global diplomatic reputation. For that, Nepal's iconic non-alliance foreign policy should be prioritised and the proposal of Zone of Peace should be restored. In this context, King Birendra's peace-oriented foreign policy, which can be referred to as the 'Birendra Doctrine', could serve as a guiding framework for drafting Nepal's sustainable diplomatic policy.
Birendra Doctrine is not a documented and systematically published document. However, the farsighted conceptual framework enunciated by King Birendra during the peak of the cold war – directed towards stability, development and friendship between south Asian countries – has the characteristics to be documented as a global doctrine. King Birendra had introduced his peace-oriented vision during his coronation ceremony in 1975 by pledging his distinguished guests to declare Nepal as a Zone of Peace – a recognition that fittingly resonated with Nepal's identity as the birthplace of Gautam Buddha and its long-standing commitment to peace and neutrality.
King Birendra elaborated his concept of Zone of Peace the following year at the United Nations Convention by accentuating his commitment towards non-alignment, peaceful coexistence and the rejection of military alliances or interventionist policies. Moreover, he advocated for maintaining regional peace and assured that Nepal would alienate itself from external conflicts. Among the many world leaders, this forward sighted vision of King Birendra was wholeheartedly lauded by the legendary US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in 1983.
King Birendra stuck to his commitment throughout his life by adapting Nepal's non-align commitment and promoting regional peace. Aligning with this concept, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), a regional forum of seven south Asian countries, was established in 1985 to promote economic and regional integration. Although the concept of SAARC was originally proposed by President Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh in 1980, King Birendra played an important supporting role in its early development. It is noteworthy that a similar forum of European countries, the European Union, was established in 1993 on the background of the Maastricht Treaty.
King Birendra had the vision to strengthen the south Asian unity through SAARC, as most of the countries in this region shared a common ancestral linage. Hence, the permanent SAARC secretariat was established in Kathmandu. However, the objectives of SAARC could not be effectively implemented in the later years, especially after the demise of King Birendra. The second and subsequent generations of south Asian leaders post SAARC founders should have upheld and advanced the legacy of this regional organisation. Unfortunately, SAARC has been left in limbo due to the dominance of personal egos and petty national interests among some of its key leaders as well as India-Pakistan hostility.
The last SAARC summit was held in Nepal in 2014. Hence, Nepal technically holds the chairmanship of SAARC. In this capacity, Nepal should consider discussing about the possibility of reactivating SAARC with the member countries. Through this initiative, the SAARC member countries can collectively promote peaceful measures in the south Asian region and solve the interstate conflict through multilateral engagement. Unfortunately, given the prevailing self-serving, spineless and ineffective leadership in Nepal, such an initiative is unlikely to materialise anytime soon. Despite that, Nepal's independent intellectual community and policy think tanks should consider reviving and promoting the Birendra Doctrine and advocate for the insulation of non-belligerent states from the fallout of regional conflicts thereby promoting regional peace and harmony.
In a nutshell, the principles of King Birendra's peace doctrine that include non-alignment, regional cooperation and peaceful conflict resolution still remain highly relevant today. Amid escalating regional conflicts, Birendra Doctrine serves as a reminder of the need for diplomacy, regional solidarity and the safeguarding of south Asian countries.
It is high time our leadership reset our foreign policy by taking ownership of the Birendra Doctrine and actively contributed towards regional solidarity. For that, our leadership and intellectual community should acknowledge and champion the Birendra Doctrine as a guiding framework for global peace. We have to realise that the fragrance lies within the musk deer, yet the deer wanders in search of it elsewhere.
Dr Joshi is a senior scientist and independent opinion maker based in Germany
pushpa.joshi@gmail.com
