The Emergence of India as the Major Indo-Pacific Power and its Implications for the American Hegemony

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. student in Political Science, Faculty of Law & Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan, Iran.

2 M.A. in International Relations, Faculty of Law & Political Science, Khwarazmi University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Recently, many analysts have charted the rise of great power competition over the global distribution of power amidst the current flux and emerging dynamics which are reshaping the global order (and themselves are largely driven by governments and security actors). Currently, India is a major power in the Indo-Pacific region by the virtue of its GDP and military power. By utilizing library-method of data collection and a descriptive-analytical research method, this article seeks to examine the implications of India's emergence as a great power for the American dominance over world order. The paper proposes the hypothesis that the emergence of new powers weakens unipolarity, thus, leading to a bipolar or multipolar world order. The paper further argues that over the short-term horizon India will further entrench its status as a regional hegemon in the Indo-Pacific region, whilst over the long-term horizon it will emerge as a great power in the international order. The results obtained indicate that India is gradually taking over the power share of the larger countries, namely China and the US, and reshaping the regional power balance in its favor. India's growing power may prima facie seem to pose a challenge to the US-led world order, which is currently in need of new comprehensive arrangements that reshape the balance of power internationally. However, it should be noted that India’s strategic outlook which is based on cooperation and partnership with the US for containing the rise of China, which in turn implies that its regional leadership initiative could ultimately strengthen American hegemony in the Indo-Pacific.

Keywords

Defense Economics and Sustainable Development
Volume 8, Issue 28
September 2023
Pages 83-116

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