A Global Soft Power Superpower

India's Steady Rise to Become a Global Force has Surpassed Expectations

- MANISHA VCS

During the late 1990s and the early 2000s, there was a major shift in the country's policy goals to factor in soft power for realising the foreign policy objectives. The move gained a concrete shape in the 21st century, with the backing of forces of globalisation and information technology revolution. Later on, the advent and use of social media, and the prominence gained by the Indian diaspora buttressed the country's soft power outreach. Now, Indians occupy crucial posts in top global bodies, with the power to impact global ties.

In the global post-Cold War political scenario, several countries had to effect a tectonic shift in foreign policy and engagements. Against the usual norm of showing off military might and other material means of power, certain nations tend to uphold their cultural and economic base to shape their political values and foreign policies. The consequence: the rise as a soft-power superpower.