NETWORK18 BUSINESS MAGAZINE SPECIAL
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A world to win: how India can be a global power
Published on Wed, Nov 19, 2008 at 17:14, Updated on Sat, Nov 22, 2008 at 13:17 in India section
Tags: Barack Obama, India
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For the past couple of weeks, foreign policy mandarins have begun dreaming of a larger role for India in world affairs, in the belief that the Obama administration would lean on its shoulders to polish up the US’ tarnished image and frayed relations in various parts of the world.
According to this school of thinking, India’s time has come to take its rightful place on the world-stage as a strategic heavyweight. Such feelings are only understandable. After all, foreign affairs experts like the idea of a moment making history.
Unfortunately, they may be disappointed.
India’s influence will grow not as a muscle-flexing strategic ally of the United States, but as an economic powerhouse of Asia where nearly half the world’s population lives. Much will depend on its ability to contribute to economic thought and development.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh put it eloquently on the eve of his departure for the G-20 summit: “The Indian economy, in fact, has the potential to contribute to global economic growth. My participation in the (G-20) Summit demonstrates this changing landscape of the international economy.”
Foreign policy wonks in the capital could do with a serious dose of reality check. After all, India is not quite a diplomatic duke, at least not yet. Take for instance, the theory that India is now a “swing” state in world affairs. ‘Swing states’ is a term that is used in elections for areas where no one party has overwhelming support. Swing states are where the elections get decided. So the allusion is that India is not completely committed to any one global power. “There is a view among leading foreign policy experts that India is indeed such a force on the world stage. That may be delusional,” says Sundeep Waslekar, president of Strategic Foresight, an international strategic affairs expert based in Mumbai.
There was a time when India was seen as the voice of the developing nations. It was perceived as a friend in West Asia and lent gravitas to the Non Aligned Movement. Foreign affairs experts feel that today India is seen firmly in the US camp. “India seems to swing from one extreme position to the other. Either we will bring down the trade talks or we will run to the US and offer them our air bases to launch military operations,” says one strategic affairs expert. International diplomacy is far more sophisticated and demands that an emerging superpower be able to balance many conflicting interests.
India’s record in central Asia shows that it has found it very difficult to cement its fledgling friendship with the US and Israel without damaging its age-old relations with Iran. Some have suggested that India would play a larger role in resolving conflicts, especially in central Asia. That is unlikely as Obama has hinted that his administration would be open to dialogue with Iran. In fact, even the Bush administration has toned down its sabre-rattling and reached out to Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. That leaves little room for India to get involved in the region. As the new administration in Washington deviates from the foreign policy approach of the George Bush era, India is likely to find itself with less work as a strategic ally.
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