Fareed Zakaria - OP Jindal Distinguished Lecture - A New Star Rises: India’s Potential and Promise

Why It Matters

Understanding the shift away from U.S.‑led liberalism and India’s ascent reshapes investment strategies and foreign‑policy planning, signaling a redefined global economic hierarchy.

Key Takeaways

• Global power shift from US dominance to multipolar emerging markets.
• India’s economic share grew from 5% to ~50% of world economy.
• US has become world’s most protectionist industrialized nation.
• Liberal international order faces erosion, requiring reconceptualization in the coming decade.
• India’s demographic and tech strengths position it as new global star.

Summary

Fareed Zakaria opened the OP Jindal Distinguished Lecture by framing the world’s current tectonic shift: the post‑World‑War‑II liberal order, built by the United States and Britain, is eroding, and a new multipolar reality is emerging. He traced the historical arc from Franklin Roosevelt’s vision of free trade and collective security to today’s U.S. turn toward protectionism, noting that tariffs now rank highest among industrialized nations.

Zakaria highlighted hard data: emerging markets that once accounted for roughly 5 % of global GDP now represent about half, with India’s share climbing dramatically. He contrasted the 1990s, when China contributed just 2‑3 % of world output, with today’s landscape where India, China, Brazil and Indonesia drive 60‑70 % of global growth. The United States, once the world’s lowest‑tariff economy, now imposes the highest rates, signaling a retreat from the liberal internationalist principles it once championed.

The lecture invoked historical precedents, citing William Gladstone’s 19th‑century liberal foreign‑policy ethos and Woodrow Wilson’s League of Nations as early expressions of a values‑based order. Zakaria noted that even Britain, the prior hegemon, occasionally violated its own ideals but still maintained a liberal hegemonic stance. He praised India’s own trajectory—its demographic dividend, burgeoning tech sector, and recent Padma Bhushan awarded to Zakaria—as evidence that a new star is rising on the global stage.

The implications are clear: policymakers and investors must recalibrate for a world where the United States no longer guarantees a free‑trade, rules‑based system. India’s growing economic weight offers both opportunities and responsibilities, prompting calls for new multilateral frameworks that can accommodate a more diverse set of power centers while preserving stability.

Original Description

Fareed Zakaria will deliver the upcoming OP Jindal Distinguished Lecture - A New Star Rises: India’s Potential and Promise at the Watson School of International and Public Affairs. He is a renowned journalist, author, and political commentator, serving as the host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS and as a columnist for The Washington Post. Zakaria’s work focuses on international relations, global economics, and U.S. foreign policy. He is the author of several best-selling books, including The Future of Freedom, The Post-American World, and Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World. Widely recognized for his insightful analysis of global affairs, Zakaria is considered one of the leading voices in international journalism.