India’s Multilateral Gambit and the China Challenge

Shifting geopolitical and geoeconomic order has compelled nations to engage strategically with multiple geographies across the globe. In this fragmented landscape, traditional multilateral institutions are faltering under the weight of great power rivalries, and new forms of cooperation—minilaterals, connectivity corridors, and issue-based coalitions—are gaining traction. As a prominent actor from the global South, India has been at the forefront driving the conversation of convergence of the global order to reform the failing multilateralism. Its multilateral diplomacy is also attracting global attention as a critical component of the contemporary global landscape. However, with tensions erupting in the form of military escalation, such as India-Pakistan, Israel-Iran, Ukraine-Russia, Thailand-Cambodia, Israel-Gaza and the larger dread of the Dragon, India’s multilateral stance becomes further critical. The China challenge cuts across both institutional and geopolitical theatres: from contestation in BRICS and SCO, to contrasting visions of global governance, norms, and diplomacy.

The India story is not just about participation, but about purpose: How does New Delhi intend to reshape norms, build coalitions, and ensure the global governance system reflects the priorities of emerging and responsible stakeholders?

This panel will interrogate the tools, tactics, and trade-offs of India’s multilateral engagement—how it seeks to lead, where it chooses to hedge, and what its growing influence means for a world in flux.

Driving Questions

• How can India counter the possible challenges, in terms of managing the geopolitical and geoeconomic contradictions of multilateral alliances, such as China in BRICS and USA in the QUAD?
• Does India’s multilateral diplomacy exhibit a trajectory of strategic coherence or a coalition of institutional jargons?
• What tangible lessons from India’s G20 presidency can be translated into its leadership of BRICS in 2026—especially as it seeks to reconcile normative leadership with geopolitical divergence within the grouping?
• Given the complex interplay of security and development debates, how do you envision the future of the global South, especially from a realist prism?
• How can India bridge the gap between strategic dependence (on major global powers like USA, Russia, EU, China) and strategic autonomy for a sustainable future?

Programme