Abstract
With the rise of India and China to potential great power status, there is now talk of the United States, India and China being the three poles in the international system of 2050. This article argues that the three countries are on different power trajectories and that two of these trajectories—those of the United States and China—will lead to a strategic rivalry. On the other hand, India's power trajectory, while faced with conflict at the South Asian level of analysis, may well allow it to play the role of a ‘swing state’.
As a swing state, India could work as a facilitator to get China to work in a cooperative security arrangement to secure energy supplies, maintain freedom of navigation on the high seas, and play according to the rules that make it a status quo power in the international system. In return, India would expect China to settle the border dispute to India's advantage, delink from Pakistan, and be more considerate of India's own quest for securing energy resources.
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