The U.S. established and extinguished multilateralism, Pg6

Key Highlights:

• The U.S. has marginalised the United Nations, weakening the collective bargaining power of the Global South.
• The BRICS Summit 2025 failed to challenge this shift, instead issuing a long declaration without substantive resistance to unilateralism.
• The U.S. now prefers bilateral commerce-based deals over global consensus mechanisms.
• India lost the UNESCO Executive Board vice-chair election to Pakistan, highlighting limitations of current multilateral strategies.
• The article calls for India to shift focus to South-South cooperation, infrastructure-led growth, and strategic autonomy.
• Upcoming BRICS 2026 Summit in India offers a chance to recast the Global South’s future beyond G-77 dependency.

Detailed Insights:

• The U.S., under Trump, is reversing 75 years of multilateral diplomacy, replacing it with power-centric bilateralism that weakens global institutional frameworks.
• Trade wars and sanctions now serve as effective tools for global influence, replacing traditional UN-based consensus.
• India’s strategic autonomy must be clearly enunciated, positioning it as neutral in global power contests while advocating for its core national interests.
• A continental-sized India should adopt an East-facing economic strategy — enhancing trade ties with ASEAN and infrastructure-led consumption as growth drivers.
• India’s advancements in GenAI patents reflect its readiness for the fourth industrial revolution, enabling endogenous growth and tech-driven well-being.
• Evolving military doctrine — with satellites, drones, cyber and integrated defence systems — enables leaner defence spending and increased foreign policy flexibility.
• India’s engagement on border issues (e.g., Ladakh, Indus Waters Treaty) shows a pragmatic shift towards long-term diplomatic solutions over military stalemates.
• The BRICS 2026 Summit is an opportunity for India to lead a post-multilateral, cooperation-based Global South, focusing on restructured value chains and shared prosperity.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Strategic Autonomy: A nation’s ability to pursue its own national interests independently in foreign policy.
• Fourth Industrial Revolution: The fusion of technologies blurring the lines between physical, digital, and biological domains (e.g., AI, GenAI, IoT).
• GenAI Patents: Patents related to Generative AI technologies; India’s growing count signals innovation leadership.
• South-South Cooperation: Collaboration among developing countries in political, economic, and technical domains for mutual benefit.
• Bilateralism vs Multilateralism: Bilateralism emphasizes country-to-country deals; multilateralism involves cooperation among multiple countries through international institutions.