{"id":66750,"date":"2026-02-14T18:40:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T13:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=66750"},"modified":"2026-02-16T12:04:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T06:34:27","slug":"india-foreign-policy-global-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/14-02-2026\/india-foreign-policy-global-order","title":{"rendered":"Reframing India\u2019s Foreign Policy in a Fragmented Global Order"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/ International Relations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In Parliament, PM Modi acknowledged the undergoing structural shift from rules-based multilateralism to power-driven, transactional geopolitics.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Erosion of Multilateralism<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Decline of Consensus-Based Institutions: <\/strong>For decades, institutions like the <strong>United Nations<\/strong> and <strong>World Trade Organization<\/strong> anchored global rule-making through collective decision-making and diplomacy.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, this rule-based order has weakened as <strong>major powers increasingly bypass consensus mechanisms,<\/strong> rendering institutions less effective.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rise of Transactional Power Politics: <\/strong>Multilateral platforms are being supplanted by transactional diplomacy where power and bilateral leverage outweigh collective norms.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The United States\u2019 recourse to unilateral tariffs and a retreat from collaborative frameworks reflects this trend.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rise of Competitive Geoeconomics:<\/strong> China has become the largest trading partner of over <strong>120 countries<\/strong> and has <strong>diversified supply chains <\/strong>and markets. The United States, in response, has prioritised technological containment and supply-chain restructuring.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In this evolving environment, middle powers such as India face heightened vulnerability due to shifting economic alignments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Evolution of strategic autonomy&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Cold War Origins: <\/strong>Strategic autonomy emerged during India\u2019s leadership in the Non-Aligned Movement. It allowed India to avoid bloc politics during the Cold War.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Post-Cold War Transition: <\/strong>After 1991, the doctrine became less structural and more declaratory. India joined the <strong>Quadrilateral Security Dialogue in 2017,<\/strong> signalling alignment with Indo-Pacific security concerns.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India procured the <strong>S-400 system from Russia <\/strong>despite U.S. sanctions pressure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Swing State Narrative:<\/strong> U.S. analysts increasingly describe India as a <strong>\u201cswing state\u201d <\/strong>in U.S.-China rivalry.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Current Policy of India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s current foreign policy is characterised by multi-alignment, economic diplomacy, and strategic flexibility. It seeks to;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Deepen <strong>defence and technology cooperation<\/strong> with the <strong>United States<\/strong> and Indo-Pacific partners.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Maintain <strong>defence and energy ties<\/strong> with <strong>Russia.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Manage <strong>competition and engagement<\/strong> with <strong>China<\/strong> through dialogue and deterrence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Promote the <strong>\u201cNeighbourhood First\u201d policy<\/strong> and regional connectivity in South Asia.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Advocate reform of global institutions to reflect contemporary power realities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India\u2019s approach attempts to<strong> preserve autonomy<\/strong> while expanding partnerships that serve economic growth and technological advancement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Flexible Multilateral Engagement: <\/strong>In a fragmented order, flexible coalitions and issue-based alignments can preserve India\u2019s strategic space.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Platforms such as BRICS provide opportunities to promote economic cooperation, and reform of global financial governance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Diversified Trade Strategy: <\/strong>India\u2019s exports remain concentrated in select markets. Reducing overdependence on any single partner requires deeper trade engagement with <strong>ASEAN, Africa, and West Asia.\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Expanding comprehensive economic partnerships and integrating into global value chains will enhance resilience against tariff volatility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/as-multilateralism-erodes-india-must-reframe-its-foreign-policy\/article70624458.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> In Parliament, PM Modi acknowledged the undergoing structural shift from rules-based multilateralism to power-driven, transactional geopolitics. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Erosion of Multilateralism <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Decline of Consensus-Based Institutions: For decades, institutions like the United Nations and World Trade Organization anchored global rule-making through collective decision-making and diplomacy. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> However, this rule-based order has weakened as major powers increasingly bypass consensus mechanisms, rendering institutions less effective. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Rise of Transactional Power Politics: Multilateral platforms are being supplanted by transactional diplomacy where power and bilateral leverage outweigh collective norms. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/14-02-2026\/india-foreign-policy-global-order \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66750"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66753,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66750\/revisions\/66753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}