Rahul Kamath | Symbiosis International University Pune India (original) (raw)
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University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Maastricht University, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
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Papers by Rahul Kamath
The proliferation of mass surveillance in International Relations has been ceaseless and continua... more The proliferation of mass surveillance in International Relations has been ceaseless and continual since 9/11. Although surveillance techniques have existed since centuries, its prominence rose only post 9/11 where countries have started investing in their domestic security. Initially, the idea of surveillance was to prevent future terrorist attacks but the factors of globalization have caused states to work alongside the private corporations and collect the data and information from the civilian population to analyse their digital footprints and make future behavioural and consumption-based predictions to generate greater profits in the market. Every state is a surveillance state but none greater than the People’s Republic of China. Mass surveillance in China is a level beyond the western understanding and with the introduction of the Social Credit System, China aims to transform into a Super Surveillance State. The western scholars deem the system as ‘Orwellian’ without thoroughly understanding the need for such a system in the Chinese society, therefore, this paper aims to understand the need of mass surveillance in International Relations by taking the Case Study of China’s Social Credit System. The paper identifies the indicators within the individuals which affect their behaviour due to the presence of such an omnipresent system. To understand the socio-behavioural consequences of such an instrument, parallel will be drawn with various fictitious as well as non-fictitious literature and the final objective of the paper is to establish whether such totalitarian instrumentation could be used as a tool for political and social oppression by current or future totalitarian regimes and the need for a system of checks and balances required to contain the mass proliferation of surveillance technology. The Social Credit System will be analysed through various surveillance theories such as Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon followed by prominent behavioural models such as Shoshana Zuboff’s Surveillance Capitalism to predict the change in behaviour caused by mass surveillance.
International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 2020
The twenty-first century world trade mainly revolves around the protectionist environment driven ... more The twenty-first century world trade mainly revolves around the protectionist environment driven by the United States of America and China. In reaction to such protectionism, the European Union – MERCOSUR Free Trade Agreement is a reaction towards protectionism. This agreement took twenty years in the making when the deadlock was first resolved in 2016. This new FTA will be one of the most significant and most sophisticated trade areas in the world. Primarily, because of the magnitude of the trade and investment flows. Together Mercosur and the EU account for a GDP of US$ 20 trillion. Secondly, it is a combined market of 780 million people, almost 1/10th of the total population. Even before the trade agreement, the EU was Mercosur’s second-biggest trading partner and the largest foreign investor in the region. The relationship between the EU and Mercosur is unique as it is EU 8th largest non – regional partner, especially when the EU does not have a preferential trade agreement in Latin America. The new free trade agreement has generated expectations on both sides of Atlantic. The agreement will increase the trade flows, create jobs and decrease youth unemployment, freeing tariffs and fostering markets access to both the EU and Mercosur but environmental activists, indigenous rights campaigners, European Beef farmers and small - scale farmers have denounced the trade agreement deal. The creation of such an agreement between two big regional blocs minimizes losses and stimulate sectors to reach its efficiency. This paper aims to identify the challenges and lay a roadmap for the future of the EU – MERCOSUR trade with the current political system in both the blocs. The agreement is in its principle stages and has not been ratified yet, but it is an agreement worth fighting for as it has the potential for development towards higher growth.
Western Sahara is the most populous and largest non-self-governing territories since 1963. The We... more Western Sahara is the most populous and largest non-self-governing territories since 1963. The Western Sahara conflict remains one of the oldest conflicts in the world which is yet to be resolved. The conflict started between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front, who later formed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The two disputants entered into the conflict in 1975 until the ceasefire was signed in 1991. Since then no peace process has entailed in Western Sahara. The aim of the paper is to analyse the unheard rights of Sahrawis including their right to self-determination incorporating different role players at regional and international levels. The paper further reflects on the efforts made by the UN in containing the conflict. The conflict has never been fully resolved due to disagreements on their political and social will. This paper offers the possible solutions to resolve the conflict keeping in mind the best interests of both the disputants.
The proliferation of mass surveillance in International Relations has been ceaseless and continua... more The proliferation of mass surveillance in International Relations has been ceaseless and continual since 9/11. Although surveillance techniques have existed since centuries, its prominence rose only post 9/11 where countries have started investing in their domestic security. Initially, the idea of surveillance was to prevent future terrorist attacks but the factors of globalization have caused states to work alongside the private corporations and collect the data and information from the civilian population to analyse their digital footprints and make future behavioural and consumption-based predictions to generate greater profits in the market. Every state is a surveillance state but none greater than the People’s Republic of China. Mass surveillance in China is a level beyond the western understanding and with the introduction of the Social Credit System, China aims to transform into a Super Surveillance State. The western scholars deem the system as ‘Orwellian’ without thoroughly understanding the need for such a system in the Chinese society, therefore, this paper aims to understand the need of mass surveillance in International Relations by taking the Case Study of China’s Social Credit System. The paper identifies the indicators within the individuals which affect their behaviour due to the presence of such an omnipresent system. To understand the socio-behavioural consequences of such an instrument, parallel will be drawn with various fictitious as well as non-fictitious literature and the final objective of the paper is to establish whether such totalitarian instrumentation could be used as a tool for political and social oppression by current or future totalitarian regimes and the need for a system of checks and balances required to contain the mass proliferation of surveillance technology. The Social Credit System will be analysed through various surveillance theories such as Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon followed by prominent behavioural models such as Shoshana Zuboff’s Surveillance Capitalism to predict the change in behaviour caused by mass surveillance.
International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 2020
The twenty-first century world trade mainly revolves around the protectionist environment driven ... more The twenty-first century world trade mainly revolves around the protectionist environment driven by the United States of America and China. In reaction to such protectionism, the European Union – MERCOSUR Free Trade Agreement is a reaction towards protectionism. This agreement took twenty years in the making when the deadlock was first resolved in 2016. This new FTA will be one of the most significant and most sophisticated trade areas in the world. Primarily, because of the magnitude of the trade and investment flows. Together Mercosur and the EU account for a GDP of US$ 20 trillion. Secondly, it is a combined market of 780 million people, almost 1/10th of the total population. Even before the trade agreement, the EU was Mercosur’s second-biggest trading partner and the largest foreign investor in the region. The relationship between the EU and Mercosur is unique as it is EU 8th largest non – regional partner, especially when the EU does not have a preferential trade agreement in Latin America. The new free trade agreement has generated expectations on both sides of Atlantic. The agreement will increase the trade flows, create jobs and decrease youth unemployment, freeing tariffs and fostering markets access to both the EU and Mercosur but environmental activists, indigenous rights campaigners, European Beef farmers and small - scale farmers have denounced the trade agreement deal. The creation of such an agreement between two big regional blocs minimizes losses and stimulate sectors to reach its efficiency. This paper aims to identify the challenges and lay a roadmap for the future of the EU – MERCOSUR trade with the current political system in both the blocs. The agreement is in its principle stages and has not been ratified yet, but it is an agreement worth fighting for as it has the potential for development towards higher growth.
Western Sahara is the most populous and largest non-self-governing territories since 1963. The We... more Western Sahara is the most populous and largest non-self-governing territories since 1963. The Western Sahara conflict remains one of the oldest conflicts in the world which is yet to be resolved. The conflict started between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front, who later formed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The two disputants entered into the conflict in 1975 until the ceasefire was signed in 1991. Since then no peace process has entailed in Western Sahara. The aim of the paper is to analyse the unheard rights of Sahrawis including their right to self-determination incorporating different role players at regional and international levels. The paper further reflects on the efforts made by the UN in containing the conflict. The conflict has never been fully resolved due to disagreements on their political and social will. This paper offers the possible solutions to resolve the conflict keeping in mind the best interests of both the disputants.