English Vocab

Unsentimental Ties

Since the end of the Cold War, the West and especially America viewed Russia with unbelievable condescension (an attitude of patronizing superiority). Nearly three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, America and Europe are now calling Russia a political and military threat. This transformation of the Western perceptions of Russia, which congealed (took a shape) in 2017, have everything do with President Vladimir Putin. He has surprised the West by putting Russia right back at the centre of great power politics.

Through his eight-year tenure, US president Barack Obama dismissed Russia as a “regional power”. When the Republican presidential candidates Senator John McCain (2008) and Governor Mitt Romney (2012) talked of Russia as a security threat, the Democratic Party’s foreign policy establishment rolled on the floor laughing.

In an ironic twist, Donald Trump, who won the White House on a Republican ticket, thinks it is necessary and possible to get along with Putin’s Russia. Washington’s permanent establishment has little interest in that proposition. It accuses Putin of interfering in the presidential election and tilting it in Trump’s favour. Few would have expected in 2016 that Russia would be at the front and centre of America’s internal disputations in 2017.

Washington’s foreign policy community is replacing unreasonable disdain (the feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one's consideration or respect.) for Russia with irrational hostility. Meanwhile, the Europeans are struggling to come to terms with Russia’s annexation of Crimea, continuing intervention in eastern Ukraine and political meddling elsewhere on Russia’s periphery. Putin’s military modernisation, a robust nuclear doctrine and a penchant (an inclination towards something) for coercive diplomacy are giving sleepless nights to Russia’s European neighbours.

Beyond Europe, Russia has joined China in reshaping the geopolitics of Eurasia. It has re-emerged as a critical player in the Middle East. Note its successful military intervention to shore up (to support or strengthen) the regime of Bashar al Assad. In partnership with Beijing, Moscow also created regional institutions like the SCO, challenging Western primacy in international institutions. If the West thought Russia was inconsequential, Moscow has demonstrated the capability to disrupt Western plans with an asymmetric strategy.

When the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, Delhi was among the few capitals that mourned. India’s foreign policy community prayed for the miracle of Russian resurrection. Delhi did its best to keep the relationship with Russia going. It resolved outstanding financial issues, renegotiated the peace and friendship treaty and went along with many of Russia’s global initiatives. Having long wished for Moscow’s return to the centre stage, Delhi’s discomfort with an assertive Russia became increasingly visible in 2017. Russia’s tightening embrace of China and its flirting with the Taliban and the Pakistan army are generating unease. Instead of lamenting (express passionate grief about.), Delhi must reimagine India’s relations with Russia in 2018 and beyond on the basis of clear-eyed realism. Three elements must constitute this pragmatic engagement.

First, having long-wished and campaigned for a multipolar world, Delhi must learn to live with it. A world of many powers is far more unstable than the Cold War duopoly and the unipolar moment. Realignment, dealignment and multi-alignment are the features of the contemporary world. India, on its part, has sought to hold onto Russia while rapidly expanding its ties with the US. Russia, which drew closer to India in the 1960s to counter China, now hangs on to a tenuous (very weak or slight.) trilateralism with Delhi and Beijing. But here is the inescapable reality: India is trying to balance China by turning to America and Japan. Russia is trying to balance the West by aligning with China. India can’t expect a veto over Russia’s China policy, nor it can cede one to Moscow on India’s ties with the US. India’s bilateral ties with Russia must necessarily be defined by these boundary conditions in the near term.

The second is to appreciate Russia’s long-term strategy towards the West. While Russia appears to revel (enjoy oneself) in tweaking America’s nose, a permanent fight with the US and Europe is not Putin’s end-goal. Defiance can be exhilarating (make (someone) feel very happy, animated, or elated.) for a while, but it is of no long-termsolace (comfort or consolation in a time of great distress or sadness.) for Putin to find Russia isolated from the West. What Putin wants is an honourable accommodation with the West that Russians feel was denied after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Although Putin has drawn Russia closer to China, he has no desire to play a permanent second fiddle (to be subordinate to someone). Moscow, which helped Mao’s Beijing in the 1950s and fought with it in the 1960s and 1970s, has no illusions about a rising China. In a world of changing distribution of power, Russia is aware that it can’t reinvent a duopoly with America. Putin wants to make Russia a “swing state” in the global balance of power marked by the rise of China and the uncertain evolution of America.

Third, if Russia is conscious of its limitations, Delhi’s strategic community seems hesitant to acknowledge India’s strengths. Consider the fact that India’s GDP today, at $2.4 trillion, is nearly twice that of Russia. Many in Delhi’s foreign policy establishment, who grew up thinking of Russia as a warm blanket in a cold and uncertain world, are unprepared for a relationship that is more in tune with the changed circumstances in which India is emerging as a power in its own right.

Russia’s relative weight may have diminished, but it has a long tradition of great power diplomacy. It has military capabilities and the political will to use force that together can shape global and regional balances. As middle powers, there is much that Delhi and Moscow can do with each other.

In the new circumstances, Delhi and Moscow must move towards a practical relationship that focuses on give and take wherever possible. The two sides must also carefully manage the inevitable differences that arise. For the foreign policy conservatives in Delhi, this sounds “transactional”. But in the dynamic world that confronts India and Russia, “transactional” is any day better than “sentimental”.

Courtesy: The Indian Express (International Relations)

1. Condescension (noun): (An attitude of patronizing superiority/ showing that you are more important than others) (अपनी वरिष्ठता दिखाना)

Synonyms: Superciliousness, Superiority, Lordliness, Haughtiness, Imperiousness.

Antonyms: Inferiority, Humility.

Example: Your condescending words can make people feel that you are belittling them.

Verb forms: Condescend, Condescended, Condescended.

Related words:

Condescend (verb) - Show that one feels superior

2. Congeal (verb): (Fig-take shape or coalesce, especially to form a satisfying whole./Lit- become hard or solid) (जमना/आकार लेना)  

Synonyms: Concrete, Harden, Firm (Up), Freeze, Indurate, Set, Solidify.

Antonyms: Soften, Liquefy. 

Example: The political world can never be congealed, as the thirst of power will always make it unbalancing.

Verb forms: Congeal, Congealed, Congealed.

Origin: from Latin congelare, from com- + gelare “to freeze”

3. Disdain (noun): A feeling of contempt for someone or something regarded as unworthy or inferior./ (तिरस्कार/अवज्ञा)

Synonyms: Contemptuousness, Despitefulness, Contempt, derision, disrespect, disparagement. 

Antonyms: Admiration, Esteem, Regard, Respect

Example: One should not disdain anyone based on their abilities or disabilities.

Verb forms: Disdain, Disdained, Disdained

Related words:

Disdain (verb) – तिरस्कार करना

Origin: Latin dedignari, from de- (expressing reversal) + dignari ‘consider worthy’ (from dignus ‘worthy’).

4. To play a second fiddle (idiom): (Have a subordinate role to someone or something; be treated as less important than someone or something.) (दोयम दर्जे पर होना/ कम महत्व का होना)

Synonyms: Subordination, To abide by someone, To play lesser important role than someone.

Antonyms: To be hegemonic, Possessing authority.

Example: Since he was better trained than his friend, and had more experience, he refused to play second fiddle to his friend.

5. Revel (verb): (Enjoy oneself in a lively and noisy way) (आमोद-प्रमोद करना)

Synonyms: Celebrate, Make Merry, Party, Carouse, Roister, Enjoy Oneself, Go On A Spree.

Antonyms: Mourn, Grieve, Sorrow Over, Lament.

Example: Many youngsters celebrate New Year’s evening by reveling.

Verb forms: Revel, Reveled, Reveled. 

Related words:

Reveler (noun) - A person who is celebrating with other people in usually a wild and noisy way. (आमोद प्रमोद करने वाला/मौजी)

6. Exhilarate (verb): (Make (someone) feel very happy, animated, or elated.) (हर्षित करना)

Synonyms: Elate, Make someone's spirits soar, Delight, Gladden, Brighten, Cheer up, Enliven.

Antonyms: Sadden, Make unhappy, Depress, Make gloomy, Make despondent, Dispirit.

Example: Because Ellen loves chocolate, your gift of a chocolate cake will exhilarateher.

Verb forms: Exhilarate, Exhilarated, Exhilarated

Related words:

Exhilaration (noun) – Extreme happiness

Origin: From Latin exhilarare, from ex- (expressing inducement of a state) + hilaris ‘cheerful’.

7. Solace (noun): Comfort or consolation in a time of great distress or sadness. (सांत्वना/तसल्ली)   

Synonyms: Consolation, Condolence, Assuagement

Antonyms: Distress, Torture, Affliction, Torment

Example: Although Rihana was distraught during her father’s funeral, she later found solace by looking at the family photo album.

Verb forms: Solace, Solaced, Solaced

Related words:

Solace (verb) - सांत्वना देना

Origin: From Latin solari ‘to console’.

8. Penchant (noun): A strong and continued inclination./ tendency to do something. (प्रवृत्ति/झुकाव)

Synonyms: Affinity, Predilection, Proclivity, Propensity, Tendency

Antonyms: Antipathy, Apathy, Disinclination, Dislike, Hate

Example: To be an exceptional baseball player, you must have skill and a penchant for the game itself.

Origin: from French, ‘leaning, inclining’.

9. Shore up (phrasal verb): To make something stronger by supporting it. (मजबूत करना/सहारा देना)

Synonyms: Assist, Aid, Help, Strengthen, Support

Antonyms: Block, Halt, Hinder, Discourage, Undermine

Example: The Triple Talaq bill will shore up the position of Muslim Women.

Verb forms: Shore up, Shored up, Shored up

10. Lament (verb): (Express passionate grief about. / express regret or disappointment about something. (शोक प्रकट करना/विलाप करना)

Synonyms: Mourn, Grieve, Bemoan, Bewail

Antonyms: Celebrate, Laud

Example: When her grandmother passed away, everybody in her family lamented.

Verb forms: Lament, Lamented, Lamented

Related words:

Lamentation (noun) – विलाप

Lamentable (adjective) – शोकजनक