In an increasingly interconnected world, a nation’s place is shaped as much by its diplomacy as by its domestic politics. India, like many other economies, is struggling to maintain this balance as shifting geopolitical realities demand a more nuanced foreign policy. Effective diplomacy is not only about advancing national interests but also about securing economic stability and strategic influence. In A World Adrift: A Parliamentarian’s Perspective on the Global Power Dynamic, Manish Tewari, former Union Minister and three-term MP, examines these changing power equations with clarity, urging readers to move beyond textbook theories and media narratives to understand the complexities of an evolving world order.
Examining the growing rivalry between the US and China, Tewari argues that their economic competition continues to reshape the global order, even as many South Asian nations remain preoccupied with domestic concerns. “In a truly bipolar world, the defining trait isn’t who’s first. It’s that the two leading powers are leagues ahead of everyone else,” he observes. Yet Tewari moves beyond the familiar narrative of China’s rise to explore its internal challenges, from the shift from Mao Zedong’s communism to Xi Jinping’s version of it to an economic slowdown and mounting debt.
Even the Covid-19 pandemic did little to slow China’s rise, largely because of its economic resilience. Yet Tewari does not overlook its vulnerabilities. “US-China trade in goods is nearly USD 2 billion a year. This is a major reason why China remains a difficult and very different challenge for the US, and by extension for the global economy,” he observes. For him, despite political rivalry, Washington and Beijing continue to place diplomacy and economic interests above confrontation.
Turning to India’s neighbourhood policy, Tewari criticises the NDA/BJP for its handling of regional diplomacy. He argues that weakening ties with neighbouring countries have created space for China to expand its influence. “An indebted nation and a quasi-failed state that uses terror as an instrument of state policy on India’s western border supported by the invisible hand of China is the proverbial ‘swamp’ of India’s neighbourhood today,” he writes.
For Tewari, despite political rivalry, Washington and Beijing continue to place diplomacy and economic interests above confrontation
Tewari argues that India must strengthen its ties with Bhutan before China expands its influence further. He points to Beijing’s growing engagement through border negotiations, including the 14th Expert Group Meeting. For Tewari, this reflects China’s more effective regional diplomacy. He makes a similar case with Sri Lanka, where years of Chinese investment and strategic pressure have steadily reduced India’s influence. Though recent ties have improved, he warns that India cannot rely on past goodwill alone and must rebuild its neighbourhood policy through sustained diplomatic engagement.
Tewari also examines the Middle East, a region that remains central to the global economy because of its vast energy resources. Reflecting on the weakening of US influence during the Biden years, he argues that Washington’s own interventions have often undermined its long-term interests. “Ironically, the only real victor of the messy decade... from 2003 to 2017 was Iran that strengthened its position and became the lynchpin of the newly emerged Shia Crescent...” he writes.
When Tewari writes, “India’s idea of the Indo-Pacific starts from the eastern shores of Africa and encompasses the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean as well,” he underscores the strategic importance of the region’s Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs). These maritime routes bind India to the Gulf and shape its ties with countries such as Iran. “Differences with the Arab Gulf countries over Iran, a nation with which India continues to maintain political ties, despite opposition from the US, also add complexity to the regional dynamic,” Tewari notes. His larger point is that diplomacy is never merely about dialogue. Rather, it is a contest of interests and ideas, where every decision carries political and economic consequences. In essence, the book is a timely study of a world shaped by shifting alliances and competing interests, reminding us that global influence is built through negotiation, communication, and strategic engagement as much as through power itself.