A new global order is emerging, though much of its shape is still uncertain. At the very least, many would agree that while the U.S. will remain a great power for many decades to come, its share of global power will decline relative to other rising powers. These other powers, such as China and India, will catch up and play a more active and important role in global affairs. While many analysts have focused their attention on a possible rivalry between China and the U.S., few have paid adequate attention to the dynamic emerging between China, India, and Russia and the possibility of a coalition among them born from their desire to alter the status quo.
On the surface it seems that China, India, and Russia are ill-suited to a partnership. Despite being members of the “BRICS” club, there are many substantive differences between the three countries, particularly between China and India, that will impact how they relate in the decades to come.
Tensions between China and India are obvious. While India is a democracy, China remains an authoritarian regime. Of course, the importance of regime type in interstate relations is debatable. States with different regime types are not necessarily doomed to troubled relations; there is nothing inherent in regime type that inhibits cooperation. Still, many would agree that India, to some degree, sees non-democratic China as a threat; whether or not such a threat perception is grounded in reality is a different issue. The perception alone impacts their relations.
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