India Is Reimagining International Institutions For The Emerging World Order

“Rules-based” international order is a commonly used phrase in global diplomacy to signify that the world runs through a set of institutions, that offer predictability and shared understanding. Those on the winning side of the Second World War ended up designing international institutions that suited their needs and retained their ‘right to remediate.’

The world is now recognising the need for reforming multilateralism. On its part, India has also tried to create more space for itself, not reconciling with merely following the rules agreed upon by a few.

This process has been more obvious in the geopolitics domain, with India’s spirited diversification through initiatives such as the G20, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), BRICS, Quad and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

However, another side of India’s efforts to shape international order has gone unnoticed. Since the Narendra Modi government assumed power in 2014, India has consciously worked on creating its institutions, in due collaboration with like-minded partner countries. These institutions are domain-specific, and narrowly defined to achieve specific objectives and to address specific problems or objectives common to humanity.

While India’s new generation of international organisations may be nascent, they signal PM Modi’s intention and ambition of India taking a central role in bringing the world, especially the global south together, to drive shared prosperity.

A key feature of India’s conceptualisation of the new world order has been the relentless focus on the environment and biodiversity. The new institutions that India has brought to life have all been focused on environmental themes, demonstrating a civilisational ethos, which treasures coexistence and inclusivity.

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) was the first such international organisation conceptualised and set up by India. India partnered with France on the sidelines of the 2015 Conference of Parties (COP) summit of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), setting up the ISA to drive practical solutions to address the challenges posed by climate change.

The ISA is headquartered in Gurgaon and has made steady progress in bringing the benefits of solar power to poor and vulnerable economies around the world.

The setting up of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) was announced by PM Modi at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit in New York. Headquartered in New Delhi, the CDRI is set up as a multi-stakeholder organisation, promoting research and knowledge sharing in the area of disaster resilience. The CDRI seeks to develop disaster-resilient social and economic infrastructure, a key requirement for climate adaptation.

India’s presidency of the G20 heralded the formation of another environment-focused international organisation in the form of the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA), where the US played a key partnership role. The GBA was announced during PM Modi’s visit to the United States in June 2023 and the detailed announcement was made later in September at the G20 Leaders’ Summit. The GBA seeks to promote the use of biofuels driving environmental sustainability.

The most recent entrant to this club is the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA). The IBCA will also be headquartered in India. PM Modi first mooted this idea at the Global Tiger Day celebrations in 2019, reaffirming his intent in April 2023 on the commemoration of 50 years of India’s Project Tiger. The IBCA was formally approved earlier in January this year, aiming at a secure future for big cats and the preservation of the habitats in which these animals exist.

Apart from the fact that India’s reimagination of the global order is based on positive themes of cooperation and conservation, these initiatives also seek to partner with other international agencies, donor organisations and global experts, to drive the stated outcomes.

These institutional arrangements seek to work on very specific issues rather than merely positioning themselves as think tanks or strategy houses. These organisations are distinguished by their action orientation, scale of ambition and diversity of imagination — an ethos that aligns closely with PM Modi’s domestic policy action in his two terms.

This rethinking of the international institutions is important, as a key criticism of the current global governance is that it has become too bloated and too confrontational while prioritising performative optics over substantive outcomes.

In contrast, the India-helmed institutions have a clear action bias, with an ability to bring very diverse groups of countries together, glued together by a singular interest.

With these institutions coming to life, India also gets to host international organisations, which would otherwise not be possible in the current system dominated by the United Nations and its affiliates.

These organisations will all have international secretariats, which will allow diplomats from participating countries to work in India in a cooperative multilateral setting, hence affording a better option to appreciate India’s values and interests.

A multipolar world order will need different countries to rise to topical leadership positions. With PM Modi’s Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, India has made an early start.