Nuts and bolts of diplomacy PSIR Daily current affairs analysis
Nuts and bolts of diplomacy C Raja Mohan
PYQs linkage:
- Write about the growing significance of QUAD. 10(2021)
- Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) perform an important role in India’s strategic balancing act to withstand the dominance of China in Asia. Discuss. 15 (2023)
Theory application: Neo Liberal approach to international relations:
Concepts and keywords:
ideological ambitions, deepening divisions within BRICS, multi-alignment strategy, regional balancer, Chinese Hegemony, multipolar- Asia/World, ‘de-dollarization’, dysfunctional SAARC, ideological alignment.
Important facts:
- Modi’s first foreign visit as PM was to the BRICS summit in Fortaleza (July 2014)
important quotes or statements:
“In an uncertain world, national resilience and state capability are more important than sweeping pronouncements about the world order” C RAJA MOHAN.
-
Brief analysis and key points from the news or editorial:
Challenges for India in multipolar world:
- Trump’s erratic foreign policy decisions upsetting global order
- Difficult for India to navigate between great power rivalries freely ands without cost
- Widening power asymmetry with China
- Russia closeness to China, making India’s position as a regional balancer questionable.
- Trump’s Pakistan policy.
- Deepening strategic alliance between China and Pakistan
- Emerging trilateral cooperation (China, Pakistan and Bangladesh) initiated by China to fill the regional vacuum created by India’s troubled ties with Pakistan and Bangladesh.
- Possible creation of a China-led regional grouping (Potentially replacing dysfunctional SAARC)
Challenges multilateral grouping (BRICS and QUAD):
BRICS:
Challenges
· Deepening divisions within BRICS (China-India) · All nations do not accept it as a significant forum · Despite talk of building an ‘alternative’ global order through BRICS, Russia and China are open to have bilateral deals with USA. · BRICS nations didn’t provide meaningful support to Iran. |
QUAD:
Challenges
· Following America First policy, Trump demanded that allies raise defence spending to 3% GDP. · Trump’s openness to a “big beautiful deal” with China.
|
What needs to be done to secure India’s national interest:
- India should adopt pragmatic approach, consolidating the economic and political opportunities at hand. (Neoliberal prescriptions)
- India needs to focus on accelerating economic reforms at home
- Restoring domestic political unity
- Reclaiming the leadership of the subcontinent
- Strengthening ties with key developing nations.
Practice question (Framing based on PYQs dimensions):
- Question: India’s multi-alignments strategy has its own peculiar challenges in recent times. Comment. 10 Marks
- Read model answers deepanalysis.in