WorldPosted at: Sep 29 2026 5:36PM


Jaishankar warns of ‘Hobbesian’ world as global rules erode, says India must diversify partnerships

New York, Sep 29 (UNI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday warned that the erosion of global rules and the growing emphasis on one-to-one deals could push the world towards a more competitive and potentially “Hobbesian” order, saying India would respond by diversifying its partnerships and protecting its strategic interests.
Speaking at the Asia Society during the UN General Assembly session, Jaishankar said the international system is undergoing a fundamental shift, with countries increasingly pursuing sharper definitions of their national interests and negotiating new bargains rather than relying on the assumptions of the old global order.
“The pretense has dropped for everybody. Everybody is openly dealing with everybody else,” he said, describing the trend as part of the world's movement towards multipolarity.
“Everybody is actually going to get the best deal that they can out of a given situation from a much sharper definition of their interest,” Jaishankar said, adding that while countries may or may not like the emerging reality, “once Washington takes the lead on that, it becomes, in a way, a kind of a global fashion.”
On the erosion of global rules, Jaishankar said the problem could not be attributed solely to the United States, arguing that the rules had been weakened over a longer period, particularly in the economic and trade spheres.
“I think the rules have been continuously eroded over a period of time, particularly economic rules,” he said, pointing to a growing gap between market-based trading structures and actual trading practices.
“What it has done over a period of time is that the observance of rules has been corroded,” Jaishankar said.
He said the US was now advancing a different trade template based increasingly on bilateral deals, which could challenge earlier assumptions underpinning the multilateral trading system.
“When the US now sets a new trading template, which is we'll have one-to-one deals... you are striking, in a sense, at the heart of the earlier assumption,” he said.
Jaishankar also cautioned that the consequences of disputes between major powers were often being felt by countries that had little role in creating those problems.
“From the perspective of another country, in this case, let us say India, part of our problem is the complaints may be emanating from some other country, but the reactions are actually visited on us, which is rather unfair,” he said.
Asked whether the emerging multipolar order could descend into a “Hobbesian jungle” dominated by survival of the fittest, Jaishankar said the answer would depend on whether countries developed checks and safety nets to contain escalating competition.
“We'll have to wait and see,” he said, adding that the world could either develop mechanisms to limit such competition or move towards a system where major powers increasingly negotiate individually with countries across the world.
“We could end up with something much more in the direction of that Hobbesian world,” he warned.
At the same time, Jaishankar said he was “not pessimistic about the world”, arguing that countries would have an interest in preserving stability because excessive volatility would carry economic costs.
“I'm just saying, look, it's more competitive, it's tough, a new dynamic will come, a new culture will come, new negotiations, and new bargains would be struck,” he said.
“When the smoke clears at some point of time, you will see the different points will be joined by lines of different lengths, and there will be a new geometry that would come about,” he said.
Jaishankar said India's response to the changing global order would be to maintain relationships with a broad range of powers rather than becoming excessively dependent on any single country.
“We would now try to say, OK, in my relationship, how do I get a right balance between, say, the US, Europe, Japan, China, Russia, Gulf, ASEAN, and parts of the global south,” he said.
He described this approach as “a kind of portfolio management approach”, arguing that diversification could provide greater stability in an increasingly uncertain international environment.
“The more you diversify, and you find common interests, common ground, I think the more of a balancing structure can be created,” Jaishankar said.
He said countries would increasingly seek “stable partners” and “reliable partners” while maintaining multiple relationships as a safeguard against future disruptions.
The ties between India and China are "better" today as compared to a couple of years ago, Jaishankar has said, underlining that as the border issues are resolved, the relationship returns to normalcy.
Jaishankar was responding to a question on India-China relations, which have seen an upswing in recent times, including with President Xi Jinping's recent visit to India for the BRICS Leaders' Summit hosted by New Delhi.
On India-China relations, Jaishankar said the improvement in ties followed the easing of the border standoff, reiterating India's position that the state of the border determines the state of bilateral relations.
“The state or the border determines the state of the relationship. You can't have tension, if not worse, on the border and say the relationship should be normal,” he said.
He said India had consistently conveyed to China that prolonged tensions between the two countries did not serve either side and could instead benefit third parties.
“Don't get locked into a problem which benefits others,” Jaishankar said.
As the border situation moved towards normalcy, he said, “the relationship comes back more towards normalcy” and this also strengthens India's position in dealing with the wider world.
Jaishankar also highlighted the expanding India-Japan partnership, saying Japanese companies were increasingly looking to India as part of efforts to diversify supply chains.
He said Japanese investment in India was growing rapidly, particularly in areas such as semiconductors and advanced manufacturing, with companies looking to use “Indian talent and Indian partnerships”.
On security, he said India and Japan were both maritime and Indo-Pacific powers and that defence cooperation had expanded through exercises and other shared activities.
“Japan also realizes today the value of having more partners than its traditional partners,” Jaishankar said, describing this as part of Tokyo's own effort to diversify its relationships.
He also pointed to growing societal exchanges, including efforts to increase student movement and meet rising demand for Japanese-language education in India.
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