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India and the Great Powers: Balancing and Diplomatic Engagement Revisited—Introducing the Special Issue

Document Cited in Related
Published date01 December 2024
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1177/23477970241285199
AuthorT. V. Paul,C. Vinodan
Date01 December 2024
Introduction
India and the Great
Powers: Balancing and
Diplomatic Engagement
Revisited—Introducing
the Special Issue
T. V. Paul1 and C. Vinodan2
The international system is in a state of flux as it has been undergoing unprecedented
transformation during the past two decades. The most significant of these changes
is the rise of new centres of power, in particular China and the relative decline of
the United States and its liberal allies, ushering in a multiplex world order
(Acharya & Buzan, 2019). China, in particular, has made bold moves to replace
the United States as the lead power by 2049, the one-hundredth anniversary of the
Communist Party’s takeover, under its authoritarian leader Xi Jinping. This
Chinese dream faces many challenges, in particular from the United States and its
allies. The new centres of power are yet to gain formal recognition, as historically,
established powers are often reluctant to accommodate rising powers peacefully.
As inter-state relations in the twenty-first century are taking new twists and turns,
most nations are redefining their strategic priorities and relationships to position
themselves in the emerging global system to their advantage. Further, the relative
peace of the post–Cold War order is fast altering with new conflicts and tensions
erupting in various parts of the globe. Established great powers are attempting to
reassert their status in the global economic and security landscape through military
interventions and the creation of new spheres of influence. The ongoing Ukraine
War and the mounting tensions in the Taiwan Straits and the South China Sea are
concrete examples and these, which if not contained, have the potential to escalate
into a dangerous large-scale war involving great powers.
As a rising power, India is on its way to becoming an economic powerhouse
and is currently attempting to obtain its legitimate place in the international
system through various strategies (Paul, 2024). In October 2023, India’s economy
became the fifth largest in the world, surpassing the United Kingdom. In
purchasing power parity measure, India is already the third-largest economy. In
nominal dollar terms, it is poised to become the third-largest economy by 2027
Journal of Asian Security
and International Affairs
11(4) 445–450, 2024
© The Author(s) 2024
Article reuse guidelines:
in.sagepub.com/journals-permissions-india
DOI: 10.1177/23477970241285199
journals.sagepub.com/home/aia
1 McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
2 MG University, Kottayam, Kerala, India
Corresponding author:
T. V. Paul, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada.
E-mail: t.paul@McGill.Ca

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