Amit's Blog

  Navigating the Multipolar Maze: India's Geoeconomic Strategy in a Fractious World In an emerging multipolar world, India faces a tightrope walk as the U.S., a key trade partner ($120 billion in 2023), turns "nasty" with sanctions and trade pressures, while China and others vie for influence. Geoeconomics—using economic tools for geopolitical ends—shapes this landscape, with hegemons wielding market access, sanctions, and aid as weapons. India, intertwined with the U.S. for IT and defense, must diversify trade, leverage BRICS and QUAD, and bolster domestic resilience to navigate U.S.-China rivalries. Sanctions ripple beyond targets, pressuring non-sanctioned states like India to comply via trade disruptions or financial exclusion. A multipolar world dilutes U.S. dominance, offering India alternatives like China’s CIPS or Russia’s oil. By hedging strategically, India can balance autonomy with engagement, emerging as a Global South leader. This note outlines India’s prag...

The doctrine of free trade, championed by Adam Smith and David Ricardo, has long been heralded as the cornerstone of global economic prosperity. Yet, the historical and contemporary trajectories of developing nations reveal that protectionism—state-led policies to shield domestic industries and foster economic growth —often serves as a more effective strategy for overcoming structural disadvantages. Free trade assumes a level playing field, but developing nations face technological gaps, capital shortages, and unequal market access. This essay argues that protectionism, when strategically implemented, enables developing nations to build competitive industries, enhance economic sovereignty, and achieve sustainable growth . By examining the 19th-century protectionist successes of the United States and Chile, alongside modern examples from Japan, South Korea, China, India, Brazil, and Ethiopia, and drawing on insights from thinkers like Friedrich List and Ha-Joon Chang, this essay challe...