India’s Grand Strategy: Between Regional Power and Global Aspirations

Jacqueline A. Haffner

This article, written by Jacqueline A. Haffner, offers an exhaustive analysis of India’s rise as an emerging power, addressing both its economic evolution and its insertion in the international arena. Through a historical and structural approach, the author studies how the profound internal transformations -especially the economic reforms initiated in 1991- laid the foundations for the country’s current global prominence.

After independence in 1947, India adopted a closed development model based on state-led industrialization and import substitution. This model, although initially successful, led to economic stagnation that became known as the “Hindu growth rate”. Beginning in the 1980s, and more thoroughly in the 1990s, the country implemented a set of market-oriented liberalizing reforms, opening its economy to international trade, attracting foreign investment and stimulating competitiveness.

These reforms have not only boosted the Indian economy – with high rates of sustained growth in recent decades – but have also enabled the country to project itself as a relevant player in the international system. India has strengthened its strategic alliances with the United States, the European Union and Japan, and has taken an active role in organizations such as the G20, the BRICS and the WTO. It has also sought leadership in the Global South, promoting South-South cooperation and presenting itself as an advocate of reformed multilateralism.

The author highlights that, despite economic progress, significant challenges remain, such as social inequality, poverty and the need to improve human development indicators. Nevertheless, India has managed to maintain its strategic autonomy and adapt its policies to a competitive global environment, balancing economic liberalization with the presence of the state in key sectors.

In summary, the GATE Analysis article shows how India has managed to position itself as an emerging power by combining domestic reforms with active international diplomacy. This process, according to Haffner, is part of a “grand strategy” of global rise, which seeks to redefine its place in the world and actively participate in shaping the international order of the 21st century.