Has India Just Rewritten the Global Order_

Has India’s dramatic turn on the world stage upended the global balance of power? At the September 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, India’s PM Narendra Modi stood alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, signalling a new willingness to work with the West’s biggest rivals, and potentially marking one of the biggest shifts in international politics since the Cold War.

For decades, the United States and its Western allies have dominated global politics through economic, military, and institutional power. Yet cracks in recent years have facilitated China’s meteoric rise, Russia’s military resurgence, and the Global South’s growing challenge of Western hegemony. Against this backdrop, India, once seen as a reliable Western partner through its participation in the Quad, is now forging closer ties with Moscow and Beijing, raising questions about the future balance of power. But does Delhi’s 'pivot' truly mark the end of Western dominance, or is the reality is more complex. While Russia and China gain credibility by pulling India closer, today’s multipolar world remains fluid, with shifting alliances and overlapping interests. All of which make Modi’s overtures to Beijing and Moscow especially significant, as India’s tilt could weaken the rules-based international order, especially if it legitimises authoritarian governance. Ultimately, as the world’s largest democracy, India’s choices carry immense symbolic and strategic weight—making this summit a potential turning point in the evolution of global politics.

*VIDEO CHAPTERS*
00:00 Introduction and Titles
00:58 The West in World Politics
02:05 The Emergence of Western Domination
03:15 Growing Challenges to Western Power
05:37 India’s Pivot Towards China and Russia
07:07 India, Russia, and China Strengthen Ties
09:09 Is Western Power Really Weakening?
12:29 Towards a New World Disorder?

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