Modi’s India isn’t choosing between Russia, China or the U.S.—and that’s the whole point. Salvatore Babones and John Bruni explain why neutrality is India’s greatest power move.
Modi’s Global Power Move: Refusing to Pick a Side
India’s Real Power Is Saying “No”
India under Modi is quietly rewriting the global rulebook. While traditional powers expect alignment—either with the West or against it—India’s greatest strength lies in its refusal to be boxed in. As Prof. Salvatore Babones tells Dr. John Bruni, this is more than stubbornness—it’s a strategy.
India is making power moves by not making a move—refusing to sanction Russia, declining Western-led military entanglements, and sidestepping China without provoking open war.
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The Delhi Doctrine: Independence Above All
This new approach—sometimes referred to as “multi-alignment” or the Delhi Doctrine—prioritises national interest over global allegiance. It’s a diplomatic judo move: engage everyone, commit to no one.
Babones argues that unlike Cold War-era nonalignment, which was passive, today’s India is assertively neutral. It actively shapes outcomes without playing favourites.
Soft Power with Strategic Punch
India’s neutrality doesn’t mean inaction. Through diplomatic summits, vaccine diplomacy, tech collaboration and military self-reliance, India is building global goodwill—and leverage.
Rather than lecturing others on democracy (like the U.S.) or imposing authoritarian models (like China), India presents an alternative: a messy, real-world democracy that values order and independence over ideology.
Why It Matters
India isn’t a fence-sitter—it’s building a new fence. In an era of multipolar power, the most valuable position might be the one between the poles. If the West doesn’t recognise this, it risks losing the world’s largest democracy to a new kind of power bloc—one India leads on its own terms.
