Emergindindia
Regional Governance Architecture
FES Briefing Paper February 2006
Page 1
New Powers for Global Change?
India’s Role in the Emerging World Order
UMMU SALMA BAVA
India’s Role in the Emerging World Order
FES Briefing Paper 4 | March 2007
Page 2
Summary Till recently, India was viewed predominantly as a poor developing country and had a low visibility on the global political and especially global economic front. However, since the last decade India appears to be writing a dynamic new future for itself. The author examines how India’s emerging economic status in Asia and on a global level is redefining its self-image and its perception, leading to a new political role. She analyses the interests and motives that guide India’s foreign policy and the strategies it has adopted which have the potential to shape the international order. India, traditionally a prominent leader of the South, is transcending that role to play a larger global role which is endorsed by both the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) in their respective Strategic Partnerships with India.
1
India’s Perception of its Role in International Politics
The 21st century is touted to be the Asian age, belonging to China and India. The end of the Cold War and the growing impacts of globalisation are also making India redefine its position and role both at the regional and at the global level. Since the economic liberalisation of the 1990s, which lead to growth rates of 6-7 percent p.a., India's global presence has been steadily visible. Two issues are shaping India’s rise – the political dividend it has garnered as the world’s largest democracy and its growing economic status, which, according to projections, will cause it to emerge, along with China, as a key economic driver of the future. India, the acknowledged leader of the South, is transcending that role to play a larger global role, a development that is endorsed by both the US and the European Union (EU) in
FES Briefing Paper February 2006
Page 1
New Powers for Global Change?
India’s Role in the Emerging World Order
UMMU SALMA BAVA
India’s Role in the Emerging World Order
FES Briefing Paper 4 | March 2007
Page 2
Summary Till recently, India was viewed predominantly as a poor developing country and had a low visibility on the global political and especially global economic front. However, since the last decade India appears to be writing a dynamic new future for itself. The author examines how India’s emerging economic status in Asia and on a global level is redefining its self-image and its perception, leading to a new political role. She analyses the interests and motives that guide India’s foreign policy and the strategies it has adopted which have the potential to shape the international order. India, traditionally a prominent leader of the South, is transcending that role to play a larger global role which is endorsed by both the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) in their respective Strategic Partnerships with India.
1
India’s Perception of its Role in International Politics
The 21st century is touted to be the Asian age, belonging to China and India. The end of the Cold War and the growing impacts of globalisation are also making India redefine its position and role both at the regional and at the global level. Since the economic liberalisation of the 1990s, which lead to growth rates of 6-7 percent p.a., India's global presence has been steadily visible. Two issues are shaping India’s rise – the political dividend it has garnered as the world’s largest democracy and its growing economic status, which, according to projections, will cause it to emerge, along with China, as a key economic driver of the future. India, the acknowledged leader of the South, is transcending that role to play a larger global role, a development that is endorsed by both the US and the European Union (EU) in