Mohan Kumar

Bracing to negotiate with a protectionist America

The Trump presidency will impact geopolitics most profoundly, starting with the transatlantic relationship and the future of the Nato.

FILE PHOTO: Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump gets on stage to deliver remarks during a rally at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada, U.S. October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo (REUTERS)

Published on Nov 06, 2024 07:16 PM IST

Delaware summit: The Quad thrives

The Quad summit is taking place at a critical time and must ensure it gets its messaging right, striking the right balance between deterrence and assurance.

(FILES) US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrive for their meeting during the Quad Leaders Summit at Kantei in Tokyo on May 24, 2022. Biden will host the leaders of allies Australia, India and Japan in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware on September 21, 2024, for talks focused on tensions with China, the White House said on September 12. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)(AFP)

Published on Sep 19, 2024 07:15 AM IST

A new compass guides India’s foreign policy

With growing global uncertainty, India has started to favour a more fortified policy of multi-alignment. The PM’s recent visit to Ukraine signalled not just shrewd strategic balancing but also that India is not devoid of options

Prime Minister Narendra Modi received by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on his arrival at Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv on Friday. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval are also present. (ANI Photo) (Narendra Modi Website)

Updated on Aug 28, 2024 09:19 PM IST

In Bangladesh’s implosion, opportunity for New Delhi

India does have the opportunity to craft a Bangladesh policy independent of who is in power in Dhaka, one based on structural factors like people-to-people ties, economic and investment flows, and linguistic/cultural links.

Border Security Force (BSF) personnel walk past a mural of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh's founding father and parent of the country's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the India-Bangladesh border of Petrapole about 100km north east of Kolkata on August 6, 2024. (Photo by Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP) (AFP)

Updated on Aug 06, 2024 08:43 PM IST

Fractured verdict reveals polarised French society

France may be headed for an unstable period in its political history. It will have profound ramifications in the EU and beyond

Participants wave French national tricolors during an election night rally following the first results of the second round of France's legislative election at Place de la Republique in Paris on July 7, 2024. (Photo by Emmanuel Dunand / AFP) (AFP)

Published on Jul 08, 2024 09:16 PM IST

Building on the gains in the foreign policy realm

Evoking respect is the necessary first step to eliciting a neighbour’s trust, not the other way around. A strong and prosperous India is bound to evoke respect.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at a meeting, in New Delhi, Monday, June 17, 2024. (PTI Photo) (PTI)

Published on Jun 27, 2024 08:27 PM IST

Sino-Russian axis set to divide the world further

It is clear that the Sino-Russian axis is here to stay, and this will fragment the world order even more than it has done so f

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting in Beijing.(via REUTERS)

Published on May 17, 2024 11:14 PM IST

Macron and the spectre of an Atmanirbhar Europe

In areas like tech, innovation and critical minerals, India must offer itself as a serious partner to the EU so that our own “strategic autonomy” is enhanced.

France's President Emmanuel Macron. (AFP)

Published on May 09, 2024 10:09 PM IST

Is this the beginning of the end of WTO?

WTO Ministerial Conference fails to make progress on key issues like fisheries subsidies, reflecting serious divisions among 166 member countries.

Delegates attend the 13th World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi of February 26, 2025. The world's trade ministers gathered in the UAE on February 26 for a high-level WTO meeting with no clear prospects for breakthroughs, amid geopolitical tensions and disagreements. (AFP)

Published on Mar 04, 2024 09:29 PM IST

The M&M factor in Indo-French relations

Common strategic goals, business interests and personal chemistry between leaders seem to be driving the relationship

PM Narendra Modi and France’s President Emmanuel Macron (AFP)(HT_PRINT)

Published on Jan 29, 2024 08:00 AM IST

Indo-French partnership gets Republic Day boost

What sets the Indo-French relationship apart is that it is a partnership devoid of any contention and one characterised by irreversible excellence

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris on July 14. (AP)

Published on Dec 25, 2023 10:00 PM IST

How cascading turbulence may impact foreign relations

The outsized influence of geopolitics on diplomacy, foreign and security policy has been the dominant feature of the past few years, and it is likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future

Smoke rising from the Gaza Strip due to Israeli bombardment on October 29. (AFP Photo)

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Published on Oct 30, 2023 09:24 AM IST

Reminder from Gaza: Unipolar moment is over

While the US is still the preeminent global power, it will struggle to simultaneously tackle three fronts – West Asia, Ukraine and China

U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu(REUTERS)

Published on Oct 13, 2023 10:24 PM IST

India transitions into a leading world power

India’s alacrity to secure a consensus has resurrected the G20’s credibility and signalled its transition from being a balancing world power to a leading power

G20 members agreed to a Green Development Pact, which they hope to achieve through mainstreaming the Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) (PTI)

Published on Sep 11, 2023 07:59 AM IST

France needs to look inward to quell violence

France will bounce back. But it is in the abiding interest to look at the structural reasons for recent events and take remedial measures without delay.

The events of the last few days — large scale rioting, destruction of public property and anger towards law enforcement — bring back painful memories of 2005. (AFP)

Published on Jul 03, 2023 10:14 PM IST

Lessons from G7, Quad: Summitry remains key

Indian diplomacy faces two challenges: Ukraine and China. India’s participation in summit diplomacy will help it acquire some leverage to tackle both.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, on the sidelines of G7 Summit, Hiroshima (Mofa Japan twitter)

Updated on May 22, 2023 08:23 PM IST

What’s behind Europe’s balancing act with China?

Given Europe’s prevarication and desire to protect its interests in China, it is hard to avoid the impression that for now, China holds most of the cards.

A flurry of visits from the EU serves to burnish Xi’s foreign policy credentials, coming as it does soon after his visit to Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin. (Reuters)

Published on Apr 27, 2023 06:32 PM IST

Macron scripts a narrow win on pension reform, but jury on legacy still out

Macron may have scripted his political survival for now, but his quest for legacy will be decided by the reaction from the streets, which remains unpredictable

People stage a protest against the retirement bill in Paris, Monday, March 20, 2023 (AP)

Published on Mar 22, 2023 07:38 PM IST

Ukraine war: A year on, no end in sight

The prospects for dialogue and diplomacy have never seemed more distant than they are now. This is because both sides, rightly or wrongly, are hopeful of military gains and have scores to settle

It is fair to describe the current military situation as a “frozen war” characterised by a stalemate. (AFP)

Updated on Mar 07, 2023 07:55 PM IST

The China challenge will shape India and the world

It always gets worse before it gets better. So, brace yourself for 2023 even while remaining cautiously optimistic.

Engagement with China is necessary and unavoidable, but vigilance at the border will strain our resources. Can the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Delhi in mid-2023, chaired by India, be a moment for détente in Sino-Indian ties? (Shutterstock)

Updated on Jan 09, 2023 06:49 AM IST

Xi’s actions will impact international relations

In a world characterised by what the French philosopher Edgar Morin so presciently described as a polycrisis, China’s actions will touch every aspect of international relations. China is living up to the fact that we live in interesting times.

Xi Jinping will persist with his zero-Covid-19 strategy, the campaign against the tech companies, the commanding heights of the State in the Chinese economy and the war against inequality (AP)

Updated on Nov 21, 2022 08:19 PM IST

All major powers face two-front challenges

Like the US, Russia and China, India is also facing two-pronged challenges. but there is enough wiggle room. To be effective, India’s foreign policy must be pragmatic. till now, Delhi has done well in coping with the geostrategic challenges of Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine

The unipolar moment may have passed, but as the pre-eminent power, the US still has the wherewithal to determine the contours of the global strategic landscape. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Updated on Oct 19, 2022 08:05 PM IST

India’s trade policy faces a fork in the road

For India, the challenge is this: How can it simultaneously play a role in shaping a WTO which allows it adequate policy space, while devoting its limited resources to bilateral free trade agreements and plurilateral economic arrangements

The most important function of WTO — negotiating multilateral agreements based on consensus — has been defunct for some time. (Shutterstock)

Updated on Jul 08, 2022 08:50 PM IST

For Macron, the real challenge starts now

While Macron’s first task will be to win the June parliamentary polls, he will also have to co-opt disgruntled voters; neutralise Le Pen’s flock, and unite France behind his political, economic, and social agenda

French President Emmanuel Macron and French first lady Brigitte Macron celebrate with supporters in Paris, France, April 24, 2022 (AP)

Updated on Apr 25, 2022 05:57 PM IST

The political landscape in France has shifted irreversibly to the Right

In the context of how close this presidential race has become, the importance of the televised debate cannot be over-emphasised. Macron may well end up winning but he has his job cut out for him.

In 2017, there was a run-off between Macron and Le Pen in the second round, which the former won handsomely. The run-off on April 24 may thus seem like a repeat of the last elections in 2017. (AP)

Published on Apr 11, 2022 08:29 PM IST

The war in Ukraine has upended the existing world order

Given the precarious and evolving geo-strategic environment, India has, so far, avoided pitfalls and managed things well

Locals clean up debris from the cultural centre destroyed in shelling earlier this month, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in the village of Byshiv outside Kyiv, Ukraine, March 24, 2022 (REUTERS)

Updated on Mar 25, 2022 12:54 PM IST

The Sino-Russian joint statement is a crucial geopolitical development

The joint statement issued by China and Russia, following the visit of President Vladimir Putin to Beijing for the Winter Olympic Games inauguration could well be a game-changer

The countries declare they are “world powers”. China is, in fact, a global power. The newsworthy point is that Russia is back with a vengeance on the world stage, and China strongly supports this. (REUTERS)

Published on Feb 15, 2022 06:57 PM IST

Geopolitics reigned supreme this year

There is a symbiotic link between a country’s successful foreign and security policy and its trade and investment strategy

The fact is that India in 2021 still did a lot more balancing than leading. But balancing it did with some finesse (Wikimedia Commons)

Updated on Dec 30, 2021 08:38 PM IST

ByMohan Kumar

A new template for trade

The old trading arrangements are collapsing. India will need to embrace FTAs; an early deal with the EU could serve as a template

For India, the stakes are high, and having walked out of RCEP, success with the EU will help us regain credibility as an open and outward-looking economy. India must also be fully prepared to deal with new issues such as sustainable development, digital trade and labour standards (Hindustan Times Media)