"India's great-power aspirations face scrutiny amid domestic and global headwinds"
Great Power
a state capable of shaping the international system across multiple theatres through hard and soft power.
Strategic Autonomy
India's doctrine of avoiding formal alliances to preserve diplomatic flexibility with all major powers.
The concept of a great power — a state capable of shaping the international system rather than merely responding to it — has structured global politics since the Westphalian order of the 17th century. Historically, great-power status has rested on a combination of industrial strength, military capability (including nuclear deterrence), technological leadership, and the capacity to project force across multiple theatres. The post-Cold War era briefly suggested that economic interdependence and multilateral institutions might supersede this logic, but the resurgence of geopolitical rivalry — visible in the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the sharpening US-China rivalry, and the weaponisation of trade and technology — has reasserted hard power as the organising principle of world politics.
India's aspiration to great-power status predates Independence. Nationalist leaders envisioned a restored India occupying a special place in world affairs, and at Independence India was among the world's larger economies with functioning political institutions. However, the decades that followed saw India fall behind the East Asian developmental states and China, partly due to statist economic policies and a Cold War alignment that placed it on the losing side of the superpower contest. The economic reforms initiated in 1991 reversed this trajectory, generating rapid growth, attracting foreign investment, and transforming international perceptions of India from a developing country into a rising power with a credible claim to shaping the Asian balance.
The post-reform optimism, however, has been tempered by structural underperformance. Productivity growth has slowed, manufacturing has not achieved the depth required for industrial-power status, investment in research and development remains modest relative to technological leaders, and the next wave of structural reforms has stalled. This has widened the gap between India's geopolitical ambitions and its economic foundations.
Scholars of international relations distinguish between great powers — system-shapers that can influence war and peace across multiple theatres — and middle powers or almost great powers that possess several great-power attributes but not enough to be decisive system-shapers. India is increasingly placed in the latter category by serious analysts. Its attributes are formidable: continental scale, the world's largest population, a nuclear arsenal, and an economy of approximately $4 trillion (the fifth-largest globally). Yet it trails the United States (~$31 trillion) and China (~$20 trillion) by a wide margin in aggregate GDP, and its per capita income remains below $3,000, reflecting deep structural constraints on translating size into capability.
The essential attributes of great-power status — as articulated in contemporary strategic literature — include: (1) industrial and manufacturing depth sufficient to sustain prolonged conflict; (2) technological leadership, particularly in dual-use and frontier technologies; (3) military-industrial self-sufficiency rather than dependence on imported platforms; (4) the ability to project force beyond one's immediate neighbourhood; and (5) the diplomatic capacity to build and lead coalitions. …
What is the significance of Indo-US defence deals over Indo-Russian defence deals? Discuss with reference to stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
How does India's foreign policy reflect its strategic autonomy? Discuss with examples.
India's foreign policy at the beginning of the 21st century is driven more by economic interests than by political ideology. Illustrate with suitable examples.
The term 'strategic autonomy' in the context of India's foreign policy refers to which of the following?
Which of the following is/are cited as structural constraints on India's transition to full great-power status?
1.Heavy dependence on imported military technologies and platforms.
2.R&D investment as a share of GDP significantly below that of the US, China, and South Korea.
3.India's membership in BRICS, which limits its ability to align with Western technology partners.
4.Per capita income well below that of other aspirant great powers.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Assertion (A): India's strategic autonomy doctrine has allowed it to participate in both the Quad and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation simultaneously.
Reason (R): Strategic autonomy requires India to avoid all multilateral security engagements to preserve diplomatic neutrality.
Which of the following is correct?
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