Geopolitics in the 21st century is turning upside down with countries once deemed insignificant, now becoming the center of attention. India is no exception to it. About the recent global developments, India demonstrates an avid interest in the formation, collaboration, and support of multilateralism through various institutions, showcasing its enhanced role and success in the global arena.
India’s paramount significance in its adherence to multilateralism (system of cooperation among countries through international organizations) is manifested in the Cold War era when it joined the United Nations, IMF, World Bank, and International Maritime Organization as well as in the post-Cold War era where it has collaborated with organizations like QUAD, SCO, and BRICS.
Resultantly, the world today recognizes and admires India for its part in the genesis, cooperation, and advocacy of multilateral organizations. It is also pertinent to note here that India has not only sought geo-political and strategic success in the multilateral arena, but it also delves into collaboration regarding climate and global warming.
For instance, during the climate summit held in Paris in 2015, Delhi proposed an international treaty-based organization for the promotion and utilization of solar energy. Consequently, the International Solar Alliance (ISA) was launched in 2015 and has inducted 120 countries as its members so far.
In the same patterns, in the G20 summit held in Delhi in September 2023, India proposed the Digital Public Infrastructure that enables the delivery of services up to a societal level. The G-20 counties unanimously welcomed India’s initiative and established the Global Digital Public Infrastructure Repository (GDPIR). This initiative is monumental in a way that it has been determined at that juncture when the major technological powers are focusing on confrontation rather than collaboration.
Additionally, Indian strategic autonomy has reinforced India and its vision of multilateralism whereby its non-aligned foreign policy has galvanized it to establish ties equally with both the West and the East. This balanced approach can be witnessed in Indian affiliation with both SCO and QUAD. SCO is a Sino-centric multilateral organization that is led by China and aims to enhance security collaboration along with economic consensus among member states, whereas QUAD is west-oriented and deals with security concerns_ especially looking into Chinese maritime activities in the Indo-Pacific.
India is also an inaugural member of BRICS, a south-centric economic organization. The success of BRICS endorses Indian endeavors in upholding and preserving multilateral principles. BRICS is now successful in a way that it has 9 permanent members, whereas various emerging economies are eager to seek its membership for their economic collaboration and development.
Further, via the utilization of the BRICS platform, Indian President Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at a recent summit held in Russia and the two Asian giants agreed to manage their border disputes.
Although India is much applauded for its efforts in the promotion, support, and cooperation in multinational organizations at a transnational scale in synergistic development, it exhibits a paradoxical capacity in its region i.e. South Asia. India borders seven countries out of which it has major territorial disputes with four of them that include Pakistan, Nepal, China, and Bhutan.
The irony is that India brands itself a regional hegemon and aspires to lead the region towards shared growth and development; however, it strives the least and even relinquishes South Asian cooperation. South Asia is one of the least unified regions of the world and this very fact negates all Indian assertions of declaring itself a champion of multilateralism.
In order to manifest India’s lapses in the regional sphere, it should be noted that its trade with South Asian countries only accounts for 1.7% compared to 3.8% of its global trade. In addition, whether it is Europe or any other region, it has advanced and progressed prominently due to the enhanced role and substantial influence of its regional organizations.
European Union (EU) and ASEAN both hold key significance in the integration of their respective regions. About South Asia, its regional organization i.e. SAARC is imminent to be labeled a dead organization as its last was held in 2014 and since then it hasn’t made any substantial contribution to regional integrity.
The question arises here is that why SAARC failed and how India is responsible for this failure that has hampered joint regional development. The fact is that the SAARC meeting had to be held in Pakistan in 2015, but owing to geo-political and strategic tension between India and Pakistan, the former refused to attend the summit in Pakistan.
Instead of strengthening the SAARC for regional cooperation, all the member countries, particularly India, are striving for alternative forums such as BRICS and SCO, prioritizing vested interests over regional joint interests. This has not only led to a disorganized region with increasingly overlapping border issues but has also thwarted the countries from exploiting the untapped natural resources that could have fostered prosperity and progress.
For the sake of South Asian progress, prosperity, and integration, India needs to set aside its hegemonic designs and promote joint ventures in economic, social, and cultural domains along with sorting out territorial disputes based on bilateral negotiation. Moreover, India must join hands with the neighboring countries to collectively combat the expanding terrorist activities— through intelligence sharing—a major hindrance in the way to peaceful and cooperative relations.
Last but not least, India requires a prompt re-engagement with the SAARC members to strengthen the institution and promote regional economic integration through the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA). This initiative will help struggling economies gain benefits from the increasingly expanding Indian market, particularly the IT sector, and promote integration among regional actors. Such integration aided by economic interdependencies will reduce border clashes, and regional conflicts, while steering the region toward prosperity and peace.
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The views and opinions expressed in this article/paper are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Paradigm Shift.
He is an English Literature graduate from NUML Islamabad and a Russian Open-Door Scholarship winner for an MPhil degree in Modern Languages. He also works as a freelance columnist.