SVG
Commentary
Wall Street Journal

As India Rises, the G20 Reveals a Shifting World Order

China and Russia seethe, Europe shrinks, and America dithers.

walter_russell_mead
walter_russell_mead
Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, India, on September 9, 2023. (Ministry of External Affairs of India via Flickr)
Caption
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, India, on September 9, 2023. (Ministry of External Affairs of India via Flickr)

Global gabfests rarely produce significant results, and last weekend’s Group of 20 summit in New Delhi was no exception. The carefully drafted and painfully negotiated declaration will be forgotten as quickly as all its predecessors. The war in Ukraine will rumble on exactly as if the language on the war had not been tweaked to favor the Russian position. The invitation to the African Union to participate in future G-20 summits won’t change the way the world works.

But even if the G-20 summit was no landmark in world history, it reflected three important continuing shifts. One of them works to America’s advantage. The other two will be more challenging to navigate.

Read the full article in the Wall Street Journal.