Globalisation as we know it—characterised by chasing the lowest costs of production, including in rival countries’ territory—is at an end. Global commerce and trade, however, is not. Indeed, global engagement and interconnectedness continue to be the bedrock of peace and prosperity in the world and will flourish with an increasingly high premium on trusted connectivity among free and open regions of the world. In large measure, the future global economic and security architecture will be shaped by diverse and resilient trusted interrelationships between the free and open Indo-Pacific and Mediterranean-Atlantic (Med-Atlantic) regions. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, now deceased, articulated a vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region that is not beholden to any coercive sphere of influence. One of the virtues of the ‘free and open’ notion is its adaptability to regional characteristics. Most populations aspire to live in free and open societies and to achieve prosperity from free and open markets. Some nations and regions may choose to articulate the concept of ‘free and open’ as a normative state of being, while others may assign greater weight to being free of coercion, by a malign neighbour, to seek an open path forward. Trusted connectivity across digital or physical infrastructures is built on two pillars. It calls for industry-best standards in execution, and more importantly, the governance by laws and institutions which accord, and are accountable for, individual dignity and freedom. Countries like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea legally and institutionally fall substantially short on the second tenet. Nations adhering to both tenets of trusted connectivity will increasingly devise procedures and rules to prioritise trusted commercial and security engagements among the like-minded. A framework for free and open connectivity is not a one-size-fits-all; rather, it derives its strength and resilience organically, built atop shared regional characteristics and perspectives that continue to evolve. This pioneering volume brings together varied viewpoints—from Japan and Nigeria to Lithuania and India—on regional applications of the ‘free and open’ framework. One of the common themes that thread the essays is the primacy of sovereignty, unencumbered by the pressures of influence-peddling by regional states that seek to impose their heft and power.
A Global Vision of Free and Open Spaces: Creating Connectivity in the Modern World
