‘India As First Responder’: Jaishankar Outlines Nation’s Expanding Global Role

Dr S Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday highlighted India’s evolving role on the global stage, stating that India had growing responsibilities and expectations as a “first responder” in the region. Speaking at the launch of India’s World magazine in Delhi, Jaishankar discussed the need for changes in foreign policy, shaped by shifting global dynamics. “When we speak about changing foreign policy, if there is talk about post-Nehruvian construct, it should not be seen as a political attack. It (the change in foreign policy) didn’t require Narendra Modi to do it. Narsimha Rao started it,” Jaishankar said.

Four Factors Driving Transformation In Foreign Policy

Jaishankar identified four key factors driving the transformation in India’s foreign policy: The Nehru development model and its legacy – Jaishankar explained that the model produced a Nehruvian foreign policy suited to the bipolar world of the mid-20th century. The unipolar era – He noted the shift in the global landscape following the Cold War. Globalisation and interdependence – Over the past 25 years, intense globalization has altered the behavior and relationships between nations. Technological advances – Technology has reshaped foreign policy, state capabilities, and everyday life. “If the domestic model has changed, if the landscape has changed, if the behavioral patterns of states have changed, and if the tools of foreign policy have changed, how can foreign policy remain the same?” Jaishankar asked.
He added, “Today, India is a country of whom there are greater expectations, a country which has greater responsibilities. The idea of India as a first responder will get more frequent. In the expanded neighbourhood region would be an expectation that India be part of an international response whenever wanted.”
“We have to do very much more with the world. It’s for the good of this country that our progress and development will accelerate with a deeper engagement with the world. So my sense for the foreign policy ahead would be to think big, to think long, but to think smart,” he further said.
“In all frankness, (foreign policy) is a mix of the old and new. The issues that we have historically confronted, many of them have not gone away. We have yet to secure our borders. We are still combating terrorism on a very serious scale. There are the hangovers of the past. There are the requirements of the present.”
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