It is a weakness of a state if it losses the ability to formulate its foreign policy independently. It is a weakness that is made worse by charity. A country without an independent foreign policy remains unable to secure the interests of its people. Prime Minister Imran Khan during the Islamabad Security Dialogue’ called for the need for an independent foreign policy for Pakistan, as the state is facing ‘dependency syndrome’. The Term “dependency syndrome” is basically an attitude and belief that a group who cannot solve its own problems without outside help or a state cannot formulate its policy independently and rely on other powerful states. The weak states often follow the principle of “if you can’t beat them join them” to survive as a nation. Though making efforts for survival is a rational act for them, bandwagoning is not a rational decision in every matter, particularly when there is a matter of state security and existence. States can never achieve their true protentional until they cannot be independent in their policy-making and implementation. In this globalized world, the concept of sovereignty and total independence is changed to some extent but still independent decisions while keeping the interests of a nation as a priority is extremely important rather than submitting to the will of other countries in exchange for foreign aid. A nation could not progress until it kept thinking that it could not survive without foreign aid and criticized the decisions of previous governments for their decisions. No country can ever compromise on its national security if it is dictated by others. National security is a multidimensional phenomenon and it can be ensured when the State and nation got united with a single vision and ideology. Domestic stability and regional peace are based on mutual co-existence, regional connectivity, and shared prosperity are essential prerequisites to optimizing national security.
Comments are closed.