The End of Multilateralism and India’s Re-emergence

• The U.S.’s President, Donald Trump, has marginalized the United Nations and emasculated the collective bargaining strength of the Global South.

• The U.S. is engaging countries with strategic commerce-related bilateral deals that fragment the global order.

• The BRICS Summit in July 2025 failed to reject multilateralism, which required a focus on South-South cooperation.

• The U.S. needs to accept the end of multilateralism and focus on national prosperity and South-South cooperation.

• India needs support in elections and committees for global influence, and needs to specify’strategic autonomy’ for its core interests.

• Trade concessions to the U.S. should be tuned to trade agreements with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

• India’s intrinsic strength is being at the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution, a new chapter in human development.

• Military doctrines are being re-written for reliance on integrated air defense, satellites, missiles, drones, and cyber.

• India is revisiting the way it has framed border issues leftover from colonialism and needs to push this to focus on growth.

• The BRICS Summit in India in 2026 provides an opportunity to revitalise the Global South around cooperation jettisoning the multilateral practice of collective bargaining by the G-77 seeking benefits from the G-7.