Power and Principles

Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on power shifts, global diplomacy and why the age of rigid alliances may be over

- JENNIFER H. CUNNINGHAM

INDIAN EXTERNAL AFFAIRS Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar says a new world order is emerging—one that's less defined by rigid alliances and more driven by national self-interest. And he believes his country is ready for it.

“The change in America’s stance is very fundamental to the world order,” Jaishankar told Newsweek during a recent visit to its New York office, where he spoke with President and CEO Dev Pragad and Editor-in-Chief Jennifer H. Cunningham.

“I would say, you are seeing the emergence of a post-alliance thinking. It’s not that the alliances are going to go away tomorrow, but the alliances are not going to be the fulcrum around which world politics revolves.

“You have the rise of China. You have the rise of India. You have Russia.... So yes, I think we are heading for a much more individualistic world, in a way, where countries will pursue their interests more vigorously, not necessarily as collectively as before.”

As the world’s most populous country and a top-five global economy, India is asserting itself as a key diplomatic player. Jaishankar pointed to the Quad alliance—which includes the United States, India, Japan and Australia—as an example of India’s evolving role in regional security and its strategic positioning in the Indo-Pacific.