The world Delhi wants: official Indian conceptions of international order, c. 1998–2023.

This article analyzes India's official conception of international order over the past 25 years, highlighting a shift from liberal internationalism (LIO) toward endorsement of a rules-based international order (RIO) while maintaining fundamental continuity with the 1945 constitutional order. Despite domestic political changes under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, India's order thinking remains reformist, emphasizing multipolarity, respect for state sovereignty, and multilateralism, though it now exhibits unease with liberalism and favors economic protectionism consistent with global trends of deglobalization. India's articulation of the RIO is geographically focused on Asia and the Indo-Pacific, particularly addressing Chinese revisionism, but its limited power and risk-averse stance—exemplified by its cautious approach to Russia's actions in Ukraine and continued reliance on Russian military hardware—may constrain its effectiveness as a partner in shaping a democratic-led international order. The article concludes that while India's identity has shifted from a liberal democracy to a civilizational state in official discourse, this does not signify a fundamental divergence from Western-led order-building efforts, reflecting instead a complex and evolving engagement with global governance.