India’s Multilateralism and the Liberal International Order: Discerning Trends

The article undertakes a critical analysis of India’s approach to multilateralism as a foreign policy mechanism and India’s projection of its self-image in the world order. It observes that despite reflecting broad continuities in its normative assumptions, India’s multilateralism has largely remained layered and complex, responding to systemic shifts in global politics. India’s engagements have been particularly tested by the compulsions of the liberal international order, which remains structurally and operationally biased to the unipolar dominance of the United States. The article investigates the normative leanings and strategic priorities underlying India’s multilateralism and the essential challenges posed by the liberal international order. India’s espousal of justice as non-domination, egalitarianism and non-hierarchy in international order is resisted, which compels India’s variegated multilateralism. The article also argues that India’s practice of multilateralism remains sensitive to the compulsions of its India’s domestic politics. It explores the scope of India-European Union partnership in re-envisioning the current dynamics of the liberal international order.