–Investment in people and diversified partnerships offer countries such as Guyana greater agency, Professor Acharya says.
SMALL states such as Guyana need not be passive spectators in a world shaped by competition among major powers, world-renowned professor of international relations Amitav Acharya asserted during an impressive presentation on Thursday at Base Camp Ayanganna.
Hosted by the National Defence Institute, Acharya’s talk was attended by the Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, and Chief of Defence Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Omar Khan, among many other distinguished guests.
Acharya’s presentation examined the changing international order and its implications for smaller countries. A Distinguished Professor of International Relations at American University in Washington, D.C., he said investment in people, diversified international partnerships and a broader approach to national security provide important foundations for small states seeking to exert influence on the global stage.
Acharya challenged the notion that the world’s future would be determined exclusively by the United States, China and Russia.
“I’m not saying great powers don’t matter, but they don’t really decide everything,” he said.
The author of some 30 books and hundreds of scholarly works, Acharya described an emerging order as a “multiplex” world: one in which major powers remain influential, but share the international stage with regional organisations, smaller states, businesses, non-governmental organisations, communities and other actors.
A multiplex world gives countries like Guyana greater agency as opposed to treating important national choices as entirely dependent on decisions taken elsewhere.
The practical choices available to smaller states can be seen in a country like Singapore, where education, training and the development of human capabilities are at the centre of its national priorities.
“Singapore invested heavily in human resources,” Acharya said, adding that its investment in people was not merely an economic policy, but part of the foundation of national security and international competitiveness.
While stopping short of recommending that Guyana adopt Singapore’s model, Acharya explained that Singapore’s strategy of attracting foreign investment gave a wide range of actors a stake in its stability and prosperity.
Drawing on approaches used in Southeast Asia, Acharya highlighted comprehensive security and total defence as concepts that involve mobilising national capabilities and public awareness rather than assigning responsibility for security solely to the military.
Smaller states, he argued, can strengthen their position by developing capabilities that complicate an adversary’s objectives, even when they cannot match a larger country’s military strength.
Rather than organising every aspect of foreign policy around a single major power, Acharya argued that smaller states can pursue co-operation according to the issue involved, drawing on different partners’ strengths in areas such as security, trade, technology, climate action and other fields.
“We have so many opportunities to build lots of partnerships, depending on specific issues,” he said.
His discussion of Southeast Asia emphasised the role of regional co-operation in creating platforms for engagement and helping countries navigate major-power competition.
Acharya’s underlying message was that smallness need not mean powerlessness. In his account, the opportunities available to smaller states depend not only on changes in the world around them, but also on their ability to develop people, institutions and partnerships that allow them to act purposefully within it.
Professor Acharya’s presentation was followed by an engaging question-and-answer session, with closing remarks delivered by Brigadier Khan and Prime Minister Mark Phillips.
Both thanked the visiting professor for his presentation and commended the National Defence Institute’s research and training efforts. The event marked the beginning of what is set to become an annual tradition for the institute.
