Context:

• The United States, under Donald Trump, is seen as a symbol of a global transformation where unilateralism is replacing multilateralism.
• The U.S. has sidelined the United Nations and weakened the collective power of the Global South by focusing on strategic, commerce-driven bilateral deals that fragment the global system.
• This power imbalance has become so significant that even the July 2025 BRICS Summit did not oppose it.
• The 31-page BRICS Declaration with 126 outcomes failed to address the erosion of multilateralism or emphasize South-South cooperation.
• Unilateral tariffs are now used as tools to force individual countries into making concessions, rather than fostering global consensus.

The U.S. Shift and Global Power Flux

• The United States under Donald Trump recognizes it can no longer define global frameworks like it did in the mid-20th century.
• Its priority now is national self-sufficiency and containing China's economic influence.
• Over the past 25 years, interconnected trade, financial sanctions, and spheres of influence have become the main tools of global power, replacing multilateral institutions.
• This has left many nations, including India, unsure of how to adapt.

India’s Opportunity Amid the End of Multilateralism

• India, with its growing population and economic potential, must accept that multilateralism is fading.
• To assert its global influence, especially in leading the Global South, India must focus on national prosperity and South-South cooperation rather than relying on UN voting blocs.
• Recent setbacks like losing the UNESCO post to Pakistan highlight the need for India to exercise ‘strategic autonomy’ — balancing between global powers while clearly standing up for its own core interests.

Looking East: Trade and Infrastructure Priorities

• For a self-reliant India (Atmanirbhar Bharat), the focus should shift from the West to the East. Aligning trade agreements with ASEAN countries is key.
• Any loss of exports to the U.S., such as in the steel sector, can be counterbalanced through large-scale domestic infrastructure development — expressways, high-speed rail, data centres, and world-class universities.
• India must aim for growth similar in scale to China’s 2013 infrastructure investments, which fueled its rapid development.

India and the Fourth Industrial Revolution

• India’s true strength lies in its emerging leadership in the fourth industrial revolution.
• India has surpassed the U.K. and Germany in the number of generative AI patents, demonstrating its capacity for innovation and self-driven growth.

Modern Military and Global Leadership

• Military strategies worldwide now emphasize air defence, satellites, drones, and cyber capabilities rather than traditional ground forces.
• India is now positioned to lead globally in all these domains, allowing it to reduce reliance on expensive military imports while gaining flexibility in foreign policy and economic growth through defence technology spin-offs.

Reframing Borders and Building Trust

• India is also rethinking its historical border disputes. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s call for India and China to move past old conflicts has been positively noted by China.
• Diplomatic engagement, as seen with Pakistan over the Indus Waters Treaty, could extend to resolving border issues in eastern Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir.
• India’s strategic wisdom lies in realizing that these issues won’t be resolved militarily, and long-term growth depends on diplomatic settlement.

Revitalising the Global South Through BRICS 2026

• The BRICS Summit in India in 2026 offers a key moment to realign the Global South’s priorities.
• Instead of relying on outdated multilateral bargaining through groups like G-77 to extract concessions from the G-7, the focus should now shift to mutual growth within the South.
• This can be achieved by redesigning tariffs and value chains to channel exports towards rising consumption in developing countries—ensuring affordability while supporting local industries.
• Though it represents a major shift, it mirrors the scale of change multilateralism brought in the 1950s.