Topic: India- The next big hegemony?

Title: The future is now.

Defining Hegemony

Politics is about power. This ‘power’ manifests itself in the form of strategic dominance, economic power, and cultural superiority. Therefore, to gain a deeper understanding of India’s role as the next big hegemony in world politics, it is necessary to understand the avenues in which such hegemony can be established.

India as a Hard Power Hegemony

The first aspect of hegemony relates to the relations and balances of military capability between states. India purchased weapons and equipments worth $17 billion from Russia alone, in the years 2007-2011. India has furthermore test fired its Agni II surface to surface ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead of 1 ton with a range of 2000 km.

India has 80 or more nuclear weapons, and its spending in defence amounts to $46.8 billion, next only to US, China France and Japan. The acquisition of INS Vikramaditya, making it the only Asian region to have two naval air fleets lends considerable muscle to the naval forces as well.

But it is in Military Research and Development that India lacks behind. The obstacles preventing India from developing a more advanced military technology base are primarily technical and economic, stemming from chronic problems with project management. Reduction of the procurement budget to 17%, structural deficiencies in the Prithvi Missiles and the deficiency of indigenous technology substantially hinders India’s ascent in the sphere of strategic hegemony.

India as a Structural Hegemony

The basic idea behind this notion is that an open economy requires a dominant power to support its existence. This section shall focus on India’s position as a global hegemon in the following areas:

a) SLOCsb) The Cyber Spacec) The world economy

SLOCs

Free trade in an open world economy would not be possible without SLOCs. SLOCs in the Indian Ocean Region, which form an important part of the Indian Ocean Region trade have become even more crucial to secure. India is a dominant naval power in the Indian Ocean Region, with a large Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The establishment of ‘project Seabird’ in the western coast and the ongoing development of ‘project Varsha’ in the eastern coast will be a crucial addition to the existing naval facilities. The successful advances in indigenous technology, including the ‘INS Arihant’, India’s nuclear powered submarine and the aircraft carrier ‘INS Vikrant’ will play a key role in securing India’s hegemony in the SLOCs.

The Cyber Space  

It is clear that India not only lacks offensive and defensive cyber security capabilities but it is not capable of dealing with sophisticated malware like Stuxnet, Duqu, Flame, etc. Projects like National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) of India, National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIPC) of India, has etc failed to materialize so far. The National Cyber Security Policy of India 2013 also failed to take off and even if it is implemented it is weak on numerous aspects like violation in general and civil liberties infringement in particular. It would not be wrong to say that India is a sitting in cyberspace and civil liberties protection regime.

The World Economy

The third largest economy in the world poised to grow at 5.7% in 2014, the stability of the Indian economy will determine its preponderance in the global world order. India’s share in the world economy is close to 10% while its share in world trade is 2.07%. With a new government at the helm, agencies like Moody’s and S&P have projected a positive trajectory for India’s economic growth. India furthermore donned a dominant role when in 2009; the G-20 was raised to the level of a forum for leaders. With a foreign export of nearly $300 billion, Indian Corporates have spread their wings in all corners of the world. Increased trade with China and greater interaction with the USA, who continue to be India’s major economic partners will help consolidate its dominance in the global market.

India as a Soft Power Hegemony

Indian philosophy has captivated Western minds since the 1960s; Bollywood has long drawn huge audiences in parts of Asia, Africa, and beyond; India's English-language novelists have often edged out native British writers for the Man Booker Prize; and, of course, yoga studios have become ubiquitous in the United States. Furthermore, India disbursed over $1.5 billion in traditional foreign aid in 2011- second only to China. India’s soft power has rare characteristics when compared with the other great powers of the emerging multipolar world: U.S., China, Russia, Japan and Europe (as a unified entity). Its relatively neutral, non-threatening image will make India a uniquely attractive great-power partner for countries looking to hedge against future fallout between the U.S. and China, and not wanting to antagonize either superpower.

Conclusion

There are significant constraints to India’s ascent as a global hegemon. Regional disturbances and balancing international alliances pose significant impediments on India’s path to becoming the next big hegemony. However, if ingenious technology is strengthened and available resources are used effectively, then India’s path to becoming a global hegemony can very well be realized within the next 10-15 years.