The twenty-first century has witnessed profound transformations in the distribution of global power, challenging the post-Cold War dominance of the Western-led international order. At the heart of this transition lies the growing political, economic, and normative influence of the Global South. Among the emerging powers, India occupies a distinctive position. As the world's largest democracy, one of the fastest-growing major economies, and a civilization with millennia of intellectual, cultural, and diplomatic traditions, India is increasingly shaping debates on global governance, development, security, and international cooperation.
This panel invites scholars to examine India's contemporary resurgence as both a civilizational state and an influential actor within the Global South. Rather than viewing India's rise solely through conventional realist frameworks of military and economic capabilities, the panel encourages interdisciplinary analyses that incorporate historical memory, civilizational identity, strategic autonomy, democratic governance, development partnerships, and soft power. It seeks to explore how India's foreign policy initiatives—from its leadership during the G20 Presidency and advocacy for the African Union's inclusion in the G20 to its engagement through the International Solar Alliance, Vaccine Maitri, Digital Public Infrastructure, and the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor—reflect broader aspirations to reshape global governance in a more inclusive and multipolar direction.
The panel also welcomes critical perspectives on India's engagement with the Global South, including debates surrounding strategic autonomy, South-South cooperation, decolonization of international relations, climate justice, development finance, maritime security, and the evolving Indo-Pacific architecture. Particular attention may be given to the intellectual contributions of Indian political thought, civilizational diplomacy, and indigenous knowledge systems in expanding the theoretical foundations of International Relations beyond Eurocentric paradigms.
By bringing together diverse theoretical and empirical perspectives, this panel aims to foster a deeper understanding of India's role in redefining the political imagination of the Global South and contributing to an emerging multipolar world order. It seeks to encourage dialogue on whether India's resurgence represents merely the rise of another major power or the emergence of an alternative normative vision capable of reshaping international politics in the decades ahead.
