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Book Review | Can G-20 propel India to world leader status?

In The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, Samuel P. Huntington argues that Western dominance is rooted not in the superiority of its values but in its capacity for organised violence. In the current context of several international territorial conflicts, often a response to the Western-imposed nation-state model, India finds itself at a crossroads, burdened by multiple albatrosses around its neck — historical, internal and external.

T.V. Paul’s The Unfinished Quest: India’s Search for Major Power Status from Nehru to Modi delves deeply into the 2020 Galwan Valley incident, where Chinese PLA soldiers breached the LAC in eastern Ladakh, leading to a violent confrontation with Indian forces. The book raises critical questions about the motivations behind China’s actions: Was this incursion a strategic landgrab exploiting India’s preoccupation with the pandemic, or a calculated response to India’s 2019 decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional autonomy, incorporating Ladakh as a union territory? Paul uses these questions to explore the broader geopolitical challenges shaping India’s rise on the global stage.

Paul defines status as “collective international recognition of an actor based on its valued material and/or non-material attributes”. While all permanent members of the UN Security Council, except China, have expressed support for India’s inclusion as a permanent member, full status accommodation remains elusive. India continues to operate in an “almost great power” mode, reflecting the gap between its aspirations and the recognition it seeks within the global order.

The book is structured around key themes — “The Pursuit,” “Hard Power,” “Soft Power,” “The Great Powers,” “The Neighbours,” “State Capacity” and “Future” — to analyse India’s ongoing quest for major power status. It raises critical questions about the strategic vision of India’s leaders: Why have successive leaders believed in India’s destined rise as a major power despite its tangible weaknesses in military, economic, technological, and demographic resources compared to the great powers? Did they rely on intangible soft power — culture, diplomacy, leadership in international institutions and advocacy for the Global South — to compensate for material shortcomings?

Paul further interrogates why India’s bureaucratic and political elites have not consistently prioritised creating a powerful developmental state capable of leveraging the country’s demographic dividend. The book neutrally examines our internal challenges, such as institutional inefficiencies.

Paul critiques the domestic factors that impede progress, including an electorate that prioritises caste allegiances over developmental performance. While the Narendra Modi government has strengthened welfare programmes with direct delivery mechanisms, these initiatives, though necessary, function as temporary cosmetic solutions rather than address the structural issues underlying persistent poverty and unemployment.

The book also highlights India’s prominent role in the G-20, which is emerging as a potential alternative to the UN Security Council for addressing global challenges. India’s leadership within the G-20 represents a significant opportunity for a status boost.

The book could have could have addressed several contemporary debates, such as the status implications of renaming India Bharat. A deeper examination of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor as a challenge to China’s BRI could provide crucial insights. It also needed a more thorough analysis of the role of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind as well as a research into reasons behind the spread of illiberal values among India’s youth.

Dr Shubhda Chaudhary is a foreign policy analyst and founder of Middle East Insights Platform

The Unfinished Quest

T.V. Paul

Westland

pp. 280; Rs 699


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