A new study asserts that India must not adopt a defensive mindset during this period since policy decisions, institutional decisions, and leadership decisions will determine the future of globalization, multilateralism, and geoeconomics.
In India Narrative, Nirupama Rao, a renowned Indian Foreign Service officer and former Indian Foreign Secretary, writes that “we have the capacity — economically, diplomatically, and intellectually — to influence that outcome. ”
“Not alone, of course, but as a crucial player,” she claims.
In her opinion, dialogues like the Asia Economic Dialogue are crucial because the “assumptions that underpinned global politics and economics for three decades after the end of the Cold War are shifting beneath our feet”.
Trade has become a strategic leverage, technology has become sovereign territory, finance has become an instrument of coercion, and supply chains have become battlefields, but geopolitics has entered the bloodstream of economics.
“For this reason, the topic at hand, Geoeconomics Beyond Globalization, is not rhetorical. Rao says, “It is diagnostic. ”
She discusses three main topics: the apparent instability of world economics and politics; whether multilateralism and globalization are actually declining or simply changing; and what this time signifies for India, “not as a passive observer, which we can never be, but as an active shaper of the emerging global order. ”
According to the study, the United States continues to hold the top position in terms of military and economic strength.
China has become a full-fledged economic and industrial superpower that is growing more and more self-assured and capable of projecting power and showing resilience.
The Global South is more vocal, middle powers have higher aspirations, and Russia is a military threat. The author stresses that this shift is intrinsically unstable.
She claims that economic policy is becoming more and more connected to strategic rivalry.
“Trade limitations, technology export controls, investment screening, sanctions—these tools, once thought to be primarily economic, are now instruments of geopolitical statecraft,” she notes.
The battle between the major powers is not simply over markets; it is also for dominance in technology, control over supply chains, and normative influence, she continues.
“Historically, India has considered multilateralism to be a practical necessity rather than an abstract concept. ” Developing countries gain voice and influence through rules-based collaboration. As a result, the report concludes that reform, not desertion, should be our guiding principle.
Currently, India is in a unique situation. It is a significant developing economy with worldwide ambitions; It continues to be trusted by developing nations.
“It retains strategic independence while taking part in Western-led projects. It boasts a developing diplomatic impact, technological aptitude, and demographic vigor. Although India can influence the course of world turmoil, it cannot regulate it. It’s more than a middle power, in my opinion; it’s a vital nation. As a result, Rao emphasizes that there is both an opportunity and a responsibility in this scenario.