It is becoming clear that America can no longer maintain its status as the only superpower in the world. In the economic field, China has moved ahead of America. In the military field, Russia is moving ahead. America is proving to be no exception to the rule that countries rise and fall, and America cannot stay in first place forever. Therefore, the notions of American Exceptionalism and America First are proving wrong.
The Chinese economy is expected to surpass the American economy this year. The reason for this is that because of the corona pandemic, the American economy is going to contract this year. The American dollar is losing its value compared to the Chinese Renminbi. Russia now has the most advanced weapons in the world. Russia's Hypersonic weapons such as 3M22 Zircon fly so fast and low that they can penetrate a traditional anti-missile defense system. President Putin has claimed that Russia's hypersonic weapons are the most advanced in the world. President Trump says that Russia stole the technology at the time of Obama's Presidency. However, Russia already had this technology at the time of the ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile) Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union. This treaty was signed in 1972. President Obama was 11 years old at that time.
It looks like different centers of power are emerging and the unipolar world is changing into a multipolar world.
America was unable to cope with the corona pandemic. America has the largest number of cases as well as deaths from corona in the world, and America's accusation of the WHO becoming a puppet of China, all show America's decline and loss of power. Similarly, America's inability to control the violence which resulted from the Black Lives Matter movement also shows that America is having great difficulty controlling global as well as domestic events. America's coming out of world treaties and world organizations also sends the message that America is having difficulty in dealing with the world as well as the domestic situations. America's European allies seem to be losing confidence in America's ability and leadership and they are trying to make new alliances and asserting their independence.
Some people in India refuse to accept the fact that America is a power that is on the decline and is losing power and influence. Some agree that America is a declining power. However, they feel that India can still benefit from associating with America because America can contain China and prevent it from becoming the dominant power in the region. They feel that India can benefit from the conflict between America and China. Therefore, they think that India should join the American efforts to contain China such as the Quadrilateral alliance of America, Japan, Australia and India.
America's European allies seem to have taken a different approach. They seem to be trying to explore new alliances. France wants to make an alliance with India and Australia. However, France is making it clear that this will not be an anti-China alliance. Germany is coming closer to China to assert its independent policy. Germany feels that Europe should follow an independent policy toward China that should emphasize cooperation instead of confrontation with China.
Some other countries are trying to form new power centers. Iran, Russia and Turkey met in Iran to explore this. These are very important Euro-Asian countries. Russia wants to form an alliance of the Euro-Asian countries. It feels that in the world history, most of the time, this region played the leading role.
It is obvious that American hegemony is ending and the unipolar world order based on this is changing into a multipolar world order. India should seriously and thoroughly analyze the new global developments and form its policies that are more in tune with the new realities, rather than be stuck with the old mentality. India should also try to define its fundamental interests. I feel that a multipolar world order is more compatible with the fundamental interests of the Indian people.
India should also value its friendship with its time tested and reliable friend, Russia. India should not join any alliance that has the potential of putting India and Russia in opposite camps. India should try to give new meaning to its nonalignment in a multipolar world. India can take on the role of mediator between different power centers and try to maintain a balance of power in the world. In this way, India can help in maintaining peace and harmony in the world rather than becoming a party to the conflict that has the potential to push the world toward a Third World War.