Opinion | The Method Behind India’s Middle-Power Moment

While it’s true that nations remember the past's injustices, anything short of an all-out war across the globe will only result in geopolitical environment driven by self-interest

In the upcoming week, Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi will host a tableau of India’s international ambitions. The India AI Impact Summit, the first global artificial intelligence summit convened in the developing world, will draw delegations from over 100 countries, more than 100 global chief executives, and at least 15 heads of state and government.

After India, Bangladesh Signs Trade Deal With US: Should New Delhi Be Worried?

'Balanced, Reciprocal Trade With An Important Partner': White House's Factsheet On India-US Deal

US, Bangladesh Announce Trade Deal To Cut Tariff From 20% To 19% Just Before Polls

French President Emmanuel Macron To Visit India On February 17-19

French President Emmanuel Macron and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will be among those in attendance, alongside leaders from Europe, Latin America, Asia and the Indian Ocean, and senior representatives from both Washington and Beijing.

In the days around the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed Seychelles’ president for an Indian Ocean engagement, travelled to Malaysia to deepen a semiconductor partnership, and will fly to Israel to advance free trade and defence‑industrial cooperation even as the Gaza conflict continues.

February’s calendar has been busy, and this activity distils a broader pattern that has underpinned India’s foreign policy over the past decade. This observation marks a transition to the central argument: India consistently employs a middle‑power method, steering between outright neutrality and super‑power swagger.

That method rests on four pillars: strategic autonomy; setting agendas rather than bloc politics; economic hedging through trade corridors and technology coalitions; and a consistent role as first responder and development partner to the Global South.

What It Now Means To Be a Middle Power

In textbook terms, a middle power is a state without the material heft of a superpower but with enough capacity, credibility and connectivity to shape outcomes beyond its borders. In the 2020s, those attributes are less about troop deployments and more about four things: the ability to keep options open between rival camps; the capacity to convene problem‑solving coalitions; resilience in trade and technology networks; and a reputation for reliability in crises.

2023 was described as a “watershed year" by the Ministry of External Affairs, in which New Delhi pursued a “pragmatic and outcome‑oriented" diplomacy amid a world defined by war in Europe, turmoil in West Asia, supply‑chain disruptions and climate stress.

Against that backdrop, India assumed the G20 presidency, hosted more than 200 meetings in 60 cities, expanded its role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS, and intensified engagement across the Indo‑Pacific and the Indian Ocean.

But even with the host of engagements and collaborations, India avoided entering mutual-defence treaties or exclusive security blocs. Instead, it practised “multi-alignment": working........

© News18