Courtesy: Gateway House
U.S. health secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. called the World Economic Forum a “billionaires’ boys club” imposing totalitarian controls. Indeed, since 1971, the elite platform shaped geopolitics. But its Western-centricism kept out the concerns of the rest. This gave rise to alternative forums, which look beyond financial agendas to the perspectives shaping the Global South. Here are 45 of biggest, half of which began just two decades ago.
Courtesy: Bayerischer Rundfunk
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation turns 75 this year. It has exceeded its original mandate of a collective defence for Europe and is expanding rapidly. From restraining the rise of Russia, it is now seeking non-NATO allies in Asia who wish to restrain China. This requires a nimbler, more dynamic alliance. Can NATO respond to the transformation?
Courtesy: Getty Images
Germany is India's largest trade and economic partner in the EU, but the relationship with France is a class apart, given its strength in military aviation and willingness to be a differentiated member of the West. Must this remain so? If Germany and the EU would be more understanding of India’s democracy and its role in upholding a rules-based order, their relations would be greatly improved.
Courtesy: Narendra Modi/Facebook
India will be president of the G20 in 2023. The world’s most influential economic governance body is facing an existential crisis, where the major powers have fallen out. With geopolitical currents redefining geo-economics, India needs to be ready to emerge as the chief global diplomat.
Courtesy: The Loadstar
The West is using the Ukraine crisis as a watershed moment to weaponize sanctions in a volatile global setting. This infographic shows the extent and scale of Western sanctions against Russia, both public and private, across different sectors, and in a coordinated manner.
In 2021-22, the U.S. overtook China as India’s largest trading partner. This is a significant milestone, and one that Atul Keshap as President of the US-India Business Council, intends to enhance. Keshap is a former ambassador and was the popular U.S. Chargé d’Affaires for India in 2021. He is also the optimist-in-chief for the India-U.S. bilateral. In this interview, Keshap speaks to Gateway House’s Manjeet Kripalani about the changed definition of globalisation, and the unique opportunities for India and the U.S. in a transforming world order.
Courtesy: Twitter - Dr. S. Jaishankar
The EU has been working on an India engagement for two decades now – a strategic partnership and a free trade engagement. It is finally being realised – the outcome of the visit of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to Delhi this month. The upgraded, ambitious partnership Europe’s long overdue pivot to India.
Courtesy: Atlantic Council
The Sino-U.S. contestation is a central tenet of the Indo-Pacific. In this power tussle, the EU strategy for the region provides a new way to engage with partners in the "Third Space" for a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
Courtesy: Gateway House
The Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting held on February 11 is the latest example of growing geopolitical cooperation. Several loci of power have emerged, indicating the end of the post-Cold War western hegemony. China's rise and alliance with Russia hints at a bipolar tendency in this nascent global multipolarity. India must ensure power distribution in Asia by sharpening its diplomacy to achieve its own interest - true multipolarity in Asia.
Courtesy: Shutterstock
Nine great powers and a number of important multilaterals have vested interests in the Indo-Pacific. Given the U.S.-China standoff in the region, the role of new groupings like the Quad and AUKUS is significant. The time is ripe for India to use its position in the region, and convert its humanitarian duties into economic and strategic opportunities in 2022.
