External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the global expectation of maintaining a rigid world order from the mid-20th century was “unrealistic” and that power was now significantly “spread out” across multiple dimensions.
The minister reflected on the evolving nature of global governance over the past seven decades while speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2026 – a flagship conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics organized by Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“When we look back at these 70 years, I think the expectation that we can freeze 1945 or 1989 forever was very unrealistic. In fact, look back at 70 years. These 70 years we are discussing how we did it, why it didn’t last, 70 years is 1% of Indian history. Why would 1% of Indian life move for the last time at the Jakar conference? inaugurated Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the state capital on March 5
Jaishankar argued that the international community’s focus on historical frameworks failed to recognize the emerging drivers of global transformation.
“I think this attachment to the past has failed to take into account the forces driving change. If there are two big changes in this decade, one will be technology, but the other will be demographic,” he said.
Addressing changing global power dynamics, Jaishankar said that while much of the current geopolitical analysis remains focused on the United States, the world is moving towards a more fragmented distribution of influence.
“Of course, much of the analysis is focused on the changes in America. I have a feeling that you will have a future that will really be much more multipolar, because no country today has hegemony over so many domains to be the overall hegemon,” the minister noted.
Jaishankar he went on to explain that modern power is no longer defined solely by traditional metrics of wealth or military power, but by specialized regional powers.
“It’s not just a distribution of GDP and capabilities. I think in different domains and parts of the world some will contribute more or have more capabilities. So power in its various dimensions has spread much more,” Jaishankar added.
What is Raisin dialogue?
The three-day 11th Raisin Dialogue will witness the participation of representatives from 110 countries, including ministers, former heads of state and government, members of parliament, military commanders, captains of industry, technology leaders, academics, journalists, strategic affairs experts, experts from leading think tanks and youth.
The theme of the 2026 edition is “Saṁskāra – Application, Accommodation, Progress”. Around 2,700 participants from 110 countries will join the Dialogue in person and the proceedings will be seen by millions of people worldwide on various digital platforms, the MEA said in a press statement.
