India occupies a unique role as a bridge between the West and the developing world

We had an engaging interview with John Rapley, a seasoned political economist where he discussed India’s emergence as the “Voice of the Global South,” and emphasised India’s unique role due to its democratic foundations, economic potential, and historical connections with the West. He highlighted India’s importance as a bridge between developed and developing nations, especially as it navigates alliances with both spheres. While acknowledging India’s growing global influence, he also noted the need for the country to expand its economic presence abroad, similar to China’s strategy.

As a political economist with extensive experience in global development, how do you view India’s emerging role as the ‘Voice of the Global South’? What makes India uniquely positioned to lead this dialogue?

As the world’s largest democracy, with historic, cultural and diasporic ties to many English-speaking countries, India occupies a unique role as a bridge between the West and the developing world. On one hand, as the pioneering independence movement, it has led the way for decolonisation across the British Empire, and so occupies a unique intellectual space. On the other, as a democracy with a market economy, it is seen as potentially a rising Western power, and it will want to consider where it wants to be seen to align. Navigating a middle course will be possible, but will require skilled diplomacy.

In your opinion, what specific reforms in international financial institutions are crucial for supporting the interests of the Global South?

It seems unavoidable that in international financial institutions, leverage will reflect a country’s weight in international financial markets. It will come as countries build their financial sectors, deepen their capital pools and widen their access both to foreign markets and overseas investments.

The Global South is facing a number of challenges, including climate change, poverty, and inequality. How can India leverage its diplomatic and economic influence to champion solutions to these issues at a global level?

India should try to lead by example, particularly by getting more ambitious in phasing out coal and investing in renewable infrastructure. As it is, China is leading this revolution, and the election of Donald Trump will now create a vacuum in climate-change leadership at the top of the world economy. If developing countries are not to be completely forgotten, important countries like India will have to magnify their voice. The country has less leverage to bear than China, since it is less trade-dependent and so has less of an economic presence in developing countries. It is nonetheless beginning to show a bit more assertiveness, especially in Africa. It could position itself as an alternative voice for developing countries to China or Russia, which have a more visible diplomatic presence there.

Having spent years working in the Caribbean and South Africa, what parallels do you draw between these regions and India’s development journey? Are there lessons or strategies from India that could benefit other parts of the Global South?

After their independence, many developing countries fell further behind the West in relative terms, in large measure because during this time they were building the bureaucratic and diplomatic capacity that would enable them to play a more assertive role in international fora. But we have seen in recent decades a more confident expression coming from developing countries, and India should be able to play a coordinating role among developing countries in multilateral negotiations.

India’s G20 presidency focused on inclusive growth and development. How do you think this leadership will shape the broader conversation about the Global South in the coming years?

It does not escape notice in Western countries that India has overtaken China both in its population and its rate of economic growth. Being a comparatively less globalised economy, it is not yet attracting the investor interest that other Asian countries have done. Nevertheless, it is acquiring more authority to act as a spokesman for developing countries and may want to embrace that role more openly. To successfully do that would, however, require establishing more of an economic presence in other developing countries, in a way similar to what China or some Gulf countries have done, through trade, investment and aid.

You have witnessed first-hand the evolution of developing nations’ economies. How do you perceive India’s role in fostering South-South cooperation, especially in areas like technology transfer, capacity-building, and infrastructure development?

India’s dynamism and economic weight would seem to make it a natural leader of South-South cooperation, but does it want to play this role? With an economy that, compared to the other BRICS countries for instance, is relatively insular, it does not have an economic footprint in the wider world that would enable it to exert such leverage. Is it prepared to change that or does it prefer to maintain an economic model that limits its international exposure?

You have been engaging with scholars from various regions. What are the global perceptions of India’s leadership in the Global South, especially among academics and policymakers?

To use the boxing expression, India is arguably ‘punching below its weight.’ It plays a significant diplomatic and, increasingly, security role in its immediate neighbourhood. But while it is starting to acquire a greater economic and diplomatic presence in the wider world, including in Africa, the fact that it is a less trade-dependent economy than China has restricted it to a more modest presence. This probably ought to change, but some of the cavalier actions of the government in targeting its political foes in countries like Canada and the USA are somewhat tarnishing its standing.

India has a history of balancing its relationships with both the West and the developing world. How do you think this balancing act will affect India’s ability to serve as a bridge between the Global North and South, particularly on issues like trade, climate, and technology?

This will be a challenge. Western countries will want to see India as an ally in any competition with China, and the country will have to consider how important it is to maintain its non-aligned status amid such pressure.