Where does India stand in a world of 'choke points'? EAM Jaishankar weighs in

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has argued that India’s growing economic scale and future growth prospects make the label of a ‘middle power’ inadequate, as countries navigate a global order increasingly shaped by control over critical resources, financial systems and strategic dependencies.

Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi on Wednesday, Jaishankar described the emerging landscape as a “world of choke points”, where countries can use their control over resources and financial mechanisms to exert pressure on others. He said countries would need to define their own interests and policies before negotiating arrangements with one another.

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“More than a middle power, in a way, we are powers in the middle. What would really define a middle power? To use the Prime Minister's words, the countries who have the power to empower,” Jaishankar said.

‘Middle power’ an inadequate label for India

Jaishankar said India’s population, economic size and growth potential made the conventional description of a middle power restrictive.

“Would India be a middle power? It's not a comfortable description because if you are the most populous country in the world, you have a GDP of $4 trillion, give or take, and you have a lot of growth ahead of you, staring you in the face, then the middle power somehow seems to be limiting itself by that definition,” he said.

He said countries occupying the middle of the global power structure would increasingly have to assess their interests independently, frame their own policies and then work out arrangements with one another.

“The middle powers would now each apply their own mind, stake out their own interests, figure out their own policies, and then reach arrangements with each other,” Jaishankar said.

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Finance, sanctions emerge as strategic choke points

Jaishankar said the weaponisation of economic and financial leverage was becoming an important feature of the changing global order, extending beyond control over critical materials such as rare earths.

“It's also today a world of choke points, and you know the tendency to weaponise. We tend to think of rare earths as an example, but the fact is even finance is a choke point. I mean sanctions are a choke point. I mean, people are weaponising their grip on finance or on the US dollar,” he said.

He said global competition would increasingly depend on what countries could offer one another and the agreements they could negotiate to advance their respective interests.

“The point, I think, is we are moving to a world where the competition is going to be, to some degree, who has what to bring to the table, and then deals among them saying, you know, you do this, I do this. Let's develop this together. Let's trade this for each other,” he said.

Despite the changes underway, Jaishankar cautioned against taking a pessimistic view of the evolving international order.

“But I still think we should not have a pessimistic view about this process of change,” he added.