14th May 2025 (12 Topics)
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India’s Challenges, beyond Pakistan
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Context
Though India has significant confrontation with Pakistan, New Delhi must look beyond its western neighbour to engage with the complex and evolving global geopolitical dynamics. The rise of multipolarity, great power politics involving the US, China, and Russia, and Trump’s transactional diplomacy demand a recalibrated Indian foreign policy outlook.
Shifting Global Alignments and Power Triangles
- Russia-China Strategic Convergence: Amid India-Pakistan tensions, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin reaffirmed their deepening strategic ties, calling themselves “friends of steel” and vowing to build a post-American order, despite both engaging separately with the US.
- US-China Trade 'Ceasefire': While South Asia witnessed military escalation, the US and China negotiated a pause in their trade war, signifying the fluid and pragmatic nature of global power engagements.
- Complex Power Geometry: These developments mark a departure from ideological camps. Today’s world order is shaped less by fixed alliances and more by transactional, multipolar equations where strategic flexibility matters more than bloc-based thinking.
Trump’s Transactional Diplomacy and Gulf Outreach
- Arabian Peninsula Tour & Big Money Diplomacy: President Trump’s Middle East visit aims to secure over USD 2 trillion in investments and arms deals from Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar—aligning foreign policy with domestic economic objectives.
- Business and Foreign Policy Blurring: Trump’s personal and familial business interests—such as the USD 5.5 billion Qatari golf project—blend with statecraft, underscoring the thoroughly transactional nature of his diplomacy.
- Iran Dealings and Regional Balancing: While courting Gulf states, Trump also engages Iran, holding multiple rounds of backchannel negotiations. This double-track diplomacy enhances US leverage and frustrates traditional US allies like Israel.
Implications for India’s Foreign Policy
- Beyond Pakistan-Centric Focus: While India must enforce red lines on Pakistan-based terror, it must not be consumed by this binary. The world is moving in multiple directions simultaneously.
- Strategic Maturity Needed: The oversimplified lens of “friends vs foes” is inadequate. India must enhance its understanding of triangular and multipolar power plays and invest in domain expertise and negotiation capacity.
- Strengthening Diplomatic Institutions: In a world governed by complex bargaining and shifting alliances, undermining India’s professional diplomatic corps would be self-defeating. India needs skilled diplomacy to pursue strategic autonomy and global relevance.
Practice Question
Q. In light of the changing global order marked by transactional diplomacy and shifting power triangles, evaluate how India should recalibrate its foreign policy strategy beyond a Pakistan-centric lens. What institutional and strategic reforms are needed to engage with emerging global dynamics?More Articles
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