New Delhi, May 7 The future of globalisation, multilateralism, and geoeconomics will be shaped by policy choices, institutional choices and leadership choices, and India must not approach this era defensively, according to a new report.
Nirupama Rao, former Indian Foreign Secretary and distinguished Indian Foreign Service officer, writes in India Narrative that “we have the capacity — economically, diplomatically, and intellectually — to influence that outcome”.
“Not alone, of course, but as a pivotal actor,” she says.
According to her, conversations like the Asia Economic Dialogue matter precisely because the “assumptions that underpinned global politics and economics for three decades after the end of the Cold War are shifting beneath our feet”.
While geopolitics has entered the bloodstream of economics, trade has become a strategic leverage, technology has become sovereign territory, finance has become an instrument of coercion, and supply chains have become battlefields.
“This is why the theme before us, Geoeconomics Beyond Globalisation, is not rhetorical. It is diagnostic,” Rao notes.
She touches upon three broad themes: why global politics and economics appear so turbulent; whether multilateralism and globalisation are truly in retreat or simply evolving; and what this moment means for India — “not as a passive observer, which we can never be, but as an active shaper of the emerging global order”.
The report stresses that the United States remains the preeminent military and financial power.
China has emerged as a comprehensive economic and manufacturing powerhouse, increasingly assertive and capable of projecting power and demonstrating resilience.
“Russia is militarily disruptive, middle powers are much more ambitious, and the Global South is more vocal. This transition is inherently unstable,” the author emphasises.
According to her, economic policy is increasingly intertwined with strategic competition.
“Trade restrictions, technology export controls, investment screening, sanctions — all these tools, once considered primarily economic, are now instruments of geopolitical statecraft,” she mentions.
Major powers are not merely competing for markets; they are competing for technological primacy, supply chain control and normative influence, she adds.
“India has historically valued multilateralism not as an abstract ideal but as a practical necessity. Rules-based cooperation gives developing countries voice and leverage. Reform, not abandonment, should therefore be our guiding principle,” the report notes.
India today occupies a distinctive position. It is a major emerging economy with global aspirations; it retains credibility among developing countries.
“It participates in Western-led initiatives while maintaining strategic autonomy. It has demographic vitality, technological talent, and a growing diplomatic influence. But India cannot control global turbulence, although it can shape its trajectory. I call it more than a middle power; I call it a pivotal state. This situation, therefore, presents an opportunity but also responsibility,” Rao highlights.
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