New Delhi, March 6 — External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said the world is moving toward a more multipolar order and that expecting a mid-20th century world arrangement to remain unchanged was unrealistic. Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2026, he reflected on seven decades of global governance and argued that freezing 1945 or 1989 as permanent templates ignored the forces that drive change. He noted, wryly, that 70 years is only about 1% of Indian history and that life and power structures evolve.
Jaishankar highlighted two major shifts shaping this decade: technology and demographics. He said attention often centers on the United States, but influence is fragmenting across many domains. “You’re going to have a future which will really be much more multipolar,” he said, adding that no country now commands such broad dominance that it can be considered an overall hegemon.
He emphasized that contemporary power is less tied to traditional measures like GDP or sheer military size and more to specialized strengths across regions, with different areas contributing capabilities in different fields. The result, he suggested, will be a world where multiple actors exert influence in distinct domains rather than one dominant power ruling across the board.
