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US retreat, Indian reform: multilateralism under Trump and Modi

Abstract:
From early 2017 to early 2021, Donald J. Trump’s disengagement of the United States from international institutions, later amplified by the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, produced a weakening of multilateralism at the global level. The overlapping leadership of Narendra Modi diverged on the issue of multilateralism, producing a dynamic of US retreat and redoubled Indian efforts at reform. Despite their common recourse to populism in their respective countries, the United States and India present disparate cases of how populist leaders engage with multilateralism. Trump prioritized national sovereignty and framed international institutions as an imposition on US freedoms, while Modi envisioned international institutions as an avenue through which to remake multilateralism, elevate India’s reputation, and reap domestic political dividends. Trump’s protectionist and inward-looking policy narratives appealed to communities disadvantaged materially and socially by hyperglobalisation and financial crisis, while Modi’s efforts at elevating India’s profile and engagement in multilateral forums resonated with long-standing elite desires for India to enact leadership in global governance. They drew popular support, too. Finally, China’s rising global influence encouraged India to increase its own influence within existing multilateral institutions and develop new avenues of multilateral action, while Trump’s nationalist response was to turn away, and inward.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Publisher copy:
10.1080/14736489.2023.2180914

Authors


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Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
SSD
Department:
OSGA
Sub department:
Area Studies
Oxford college:
St Antony's College
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0001-5188-9928


Publisher:
Taylor & Francis
Journal:
India Review More from this journal
Volume:
22
Issue:
2
Pages:
139-149
Publication date:
2023-03-15
Acceptance date:
2022-12-23
DOI:
EISSN:
1557-3036
ISSN:
1473-6489


Language:
English
Keywords:
Pubs id:
1322185
Local pid:
pubs:1322185
Deposit date:
2023-01-16

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