India: Capturing the Zeitgeist of the New World Order

(This essay made it to the top 100 for India's Next Generation Strategic Thinkers National Essay Competition 2025)

Heraclitus once said, ‘Nothing is permanent except change.’ History affirms this through the rise and fall of kingdoms. Amid this shift and the emergence of a new world order, India gains a rare opportunity to expand its influence.

In today’s multipolar landscape, global instability, accompanied by the rise of the Global South, has weakened the pillars of the post–World War II order. The continued domination of Bretton Woods institutions by the Global North and the stagnation in UN Security Council reform have triggered scrutiny of their authority. The UN’s struggle to maintain peace, along with the USA’s obstruction of appointments to the WTO’s dispute settlement body, has further undermined institutional credibility.

The relative decline of U.S. hegemony, accompanied by a global pursuit of strategic autonomy, continues to accelerate this transition towards regional multipolarity. Europe’s external dependencies, Russia’s preoccupation with war, and Japan’s population crisis collectively underscore the struggle of traditional powers.

Under the current Trump administration, the U.S. has taken a more assertive stance, where national interests drive partnerships, reinforcing a global shift towards realism. China is also a major global stakeholder, with an economy that now surpasses the Soviet Union’s at its Cold War peak (World Bank, 2024). The volatility of the world today compels states to strategically balance interdependence with autonomy, diversify supply chains, and prioritize energy security. Within this framework also lies a new technological order and an ideological contest between the efficacy of liberal democracy, led by the United States, and authoritarian models led by China and Russia. In this context, India serves as a stabilising force in the emerging world order — maintaining balance among competing powers like the US, China, and Russia, while bridging global divides.

India’s growth as a nation is at its redemptive stage, reclaiming its place post-colonisation, and at a crescendo phase, steadily rising to its full potential. Over the years, India has continually adapted its policies to meet the demands of an ever-changing world, evident through its transformation — from a closed economy to an open economy and from non-alignment to multialignment. India, hosting one of the most diverse climates, topographies, cultures, and populations, naturally necessitates its foreign policy to also be multilateral. The main challenge lies in balancing domestic policy with global diplomacy, as nations must first put their own house in order before seeking to change the world. Therefore, both internally and externally, India must mould itself to implement its national interests across various domains — political, economic, socio-cultural, environmental, technological, and security — to meet the demands of the times.

The Covid-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of global supply chains causing states to reassert sovereignty and territoriality — reawakening Westphalian principles. Thus, being overdependent on one country means being at its mercy. The amalgamation of these factors with the remnants of globalization has produced a diplomatic landscape where states interact differently across different tracks. India’s relationships with the USA and China are quintessential examples of this manifestation. India’s strategic maneuvering of these relationships is vital for its promise of global leadership. The Indo-Pacific is the region where everything coalesces — home to over half the world’s population, generating around 60% of global GDP, where 40% of the world’s oil and over 50% of global maritime trade passes through vital chokepoints (Press Information Bureau [PIB], 2023). And India is perfectly positioned in the arena likely to define the trajectory of global politics.

The development of India’s relationship with the United States is driven by pragmatism and converging national interests, evolving from estrangement during the Cold War to strategic partnership. For a global superpower, projecting moral leadership is essential to sustaining legitimacy. Accordingly, the U.S. shapes global narratives, claiming credit for ending seven wars — including the Indo–Pakistan de-escalation post Operation Sindoor (UN General Assembly [UNGA], 2025), a claim India refutes. India reaffirmed its stance through the 5-Point Framework with Pakistan, emphasizing accountability for terrorism. The U.S. also contends that India’s purchase of discounted Russian oil funds the war in Ukraine, helping justify secondary tariffs on India, despite itself importing $624 million worth of Russian uranium and plutonium in 2024 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024).These measures triggered capital outflows, prompting India to diversify trade through the India–EFTA and UK–India CETA. Such examples illustrate India’s strategic balance— rigidity over its sovereignty and national interests, yet flexibility in pursuing multialignment and non-exclusive partnerships.

Despite periodic friction, the United States values its partnership with India. Mechanisms like QUAD and Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), promote collaboration in semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), and defence. India’s ongoing Theatre Command reform further strengthens this framework by enhancing jointness and operational synergy across the armed forces. These blocs also serve as balancing tools to help moderate China across the Indo-Pacific. However, such partnerships are most effective when India negotiates from a position of strength — illustrated through the India–US Civil Nuclear Agreement — an approach it must replicate to maintain strategic autonomy amid the emerging world order.

The Indo–China relationship encapsulates the complexities of the new world order, balancing regional competition with selective cooperation and counter-balancing policies. China, the world’s largest trade-surplus economy, enjoys a surplus of around $100 billion over India (Press Trust of India [PTI], 2025).It also holds manufacturing dominance and immense control over global critical mineral supply chains. This economic asymmetry reveals India’s vulnerabilities, driving diversification initiatives such as Aatmanirbhar Bharat and the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM). Strategically, as China’s Belt and Road Initiative enhances its global connectivity and influence across Central Asia and the Indo-Pacific, India counterbalances it through projects like the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor and the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport.

Border tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) remain perennial, but the new contention lies across the Indo-Pacific. Most of the oil imported by both countries passes through critical maritime chokepoints such as the Strait of Malacca. This ‘Malacca Dilemma’ drives both nations to pursue competing maritime strategies— China’s ‘String of Pearls’, stretching from Gwadar to Hambantota, Kyaukpyu, and Djibouti, and India’s ‘Necklace of Diamonds’, spanning from Chabahar and Oman to Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Andaman–Nicobar Islands. Alongside initiatives like QUAD, India seeks to balance China’s influence across the Indo-Pacific. India’s embassy in Afghanistan (Ministry of External Affairs [MEA], 2025) helps stabilise the China–Pakistan axis, while its longstanding partnership with Russia serves as a moderating influence in its relations with China — with Moscow even advocating India’s inclusion in the UN Security Council (UNGA, 2025).

Despite competition, both countries continue to cooperate through blocs like BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to counterbalance the Global North, exemplifying the new world paradox. At the Summit of the leaders of the SCO in Tianjin, 2025, leaders of both countries met and expressed commitment to a mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question, proceeding from their overall bilateral relations and the long-term interests of the two peoples — representing the core philosophy of the new world order.

Economically, India has become the fourth-largest economy in the world (nominal GDP, IMF, 2025), with a 6.5% GDP growth rate (S&P Global Ratings, 2025), making it the fastest-growing major economy, contributing about 15% to global growth (IMF, 2023). Hosting the world’s largest population, India also possesses immense demographic dividend potential. However, this also magnifies inequalities in education, technology, health, and skilled labour—structural gaps that must be addressed for sustained growth. Programmes like the National Education Policy, Skill India, and Digital India aim to reduce these gaps. Also, initiatives like the National Sports Policy 2025 and the Online Gaming Act 2025 open new opportunities. Such efforts must also be matched by structural reforms like reducing non-tariff barriers, building infrastructure, and expanding Special Economic Zones like GIFT City to attract private and foreign investment.

India’s diverse art and culture, architectural marvels, and cuisine continue to amplify its soft power. The Indian diaspora acts as cultural bridges and representatives providing significant remittances and global engagement, while educational institutions like the IITs and medical services make the country a global hub for education and medical tourism.

India’s domestic experience with diversity, plurality, and federalism serves as a template to lead today’s multipolar world. With the United States’ dismissive rhetoric on climate change at the 2025 UNGA, India could assume a leading role in global climate governance. Through the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, India positions itself as a global first responder. Its leadership of institutions such as the International Solar Alliance (ISA), the Global Biofuel Alliance, and the International Big Cat Alliance underscores its commitment to renewable energy, sustainable development, and biodiversity protection, while Vaccine Maitri, which supplied nearly 300 million doses to more than 100 countries (PIB, 2025), advances its vaccine diplomacy. India also advocates for climate equity, urging developed nations to meet their finance commitments. Therefore, India has reinforced itself not only as the Voice of the Global South but also as its moral and developmental anchor, further amplifying the concerns of developing countries in platforms such as the UN, G20, and BRICS.

Technologically, India’s digital transformation through Aadhaar and UPI (Unified Payments Interface) has enabled it to leverage digital public infrastructure as a diplomatic tool. UPI, emblematic of India’s growth, is now being used in eight countries. ISRO’s missions, like Chandrayaan-3, which landed on the Moon’s south pole, make India an increasingly significant stakeholder in space policy discussions. India is also advancing towards technological sovereignty through the Digital Personal Data Protection Act and national missions on AI, quantum computing, and supercomputing. Technology centered around AI could be the x-factor propelling India to rise above others. On this front, with over 800 million internet users (IAMAI and Kantar report, 2024), India hosts one of the world’s largest open data ecosystems — crucial for its own domestic machine learning and AI model development. By harnessing AI responsibly, India can create sustainable and inclusive AI ecosystems driving domestic growth.

India can further expand its global influence by taking the initiative in areas where leadership vacuum persists despite implicit consensus. The world is witnessing a renewed arms race, with global military expenditure reaching its highest level in history in 2023 (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute [SIPRI], 2023). The inevitability of Mutually Assured Destruction still looms large, maintaining global balance. However, emerging technologies, like the U.S. Global Dome low Earth orbit project, threaten this equilibrium by granting a disproportionate interception advantage and first-strike capability. Developments of this nature, along with anti-satellite tests and increasing space debris, heighten the risk of Kessler Syndrome. With its enhanced standing in space, India could build on the 1967 Outer Space Treaty by advocating for a comprehensive global agreement banning destructive capabilities in outer space. Undersea cables, one of the critical pillars of the new world, remain largely overlooked — carrying approximately 99% of the world's international internet data and communications (International Telecommunication Union [ITU], 2024). Like the NCMM, India needs to invest in a National Undersea Cables Mission and could also proactively lead an International Undersea Cables Alliance or initiate a global agreement for its protection. By 2030, global water demand is projected to exceed supply by nearly 40% (World Economic Forum [WEF], 2023). Recognizing the urgency, India launched initiatives like Namami Gange Mission, aimed at river rejuvenation and conservation. Moreoever, since 97% of the Earth’s water is saline (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], 2024), scaling up its National Mission on Desalination, could help India play a pivotal role in addressing water security challenges. India could also call for an International Alliance for Desalination Advancement.

Though Indian politics today may appear right-leaning, its structure is inherently pluralistic and constitutionally accommodative by design — and must remain so for any government seeking to come into power. The new world order remains in flux; what is true today may not be tomorrow. Here lies the opportunity for India to cement itself as an adaptive and dynamic leader through strategic multialignment, counter-balancing policies, and an inclusive outlook. Embodying the foundational philosophy of ‘Unity in Diversity,’ India’s initiatives and advancements across sectors reflect a shared realization by the government and the people, uniquely positioning India to capture the Zeitgeist of the New World Order.

Meyitir Imsong,

Signal Angami, Dimapur.