India’s global profile is rising. By the end of this decade, India will be the world’s third-largest economy. Diplomatically, it is also far more active as a member of key multilateral groupings. Arguably, India’s foreign policy today plays a bigger role in domestic politics than at any time since the Nehru years.

All of this is changing how Indians think about world affairs, leading to an increasing number of young people studying International Relations. In fact, over the past 25 years, there’s been a visible expansion of Indian universities offering IR courses. The discipline itself evolved from the margins of political science to the heart of it.

For decades, IR theory has remained anchored in Western experiences and epistemologies. But does that lens still suffice? Or is there a need to think through new, perhaps more rooted, ways of conceptualising power, order, and change?

In this episode, I speak with Atul Mishra, Associate Professor of International Relations at Shiv Nadar University, in India. Atul is a refreshingly original voice in the world of International Relations. His perspective is incisive, anchored in rigorous theory, yet deeply informed by empirical realities.

Our conversation begins by tracing his personal and intellectual journey before turning to bigger questions: What is theory for? Who is it serving? And does IR theory need to become fragmented accounting for culture and civilisation experiences? In other words, is there a need for an Indic IR or an IR with Chinese characteristics? From there, we take stock of the global order and the state of the idea of liberal democracy. Are the ideas of liberalism passé amid the rising tide of authoritarianism and under the weight of present-day realpolitik?

As always, I hope you enjoy the conversation. Please like, share, and rate the episode. And if you’d like to support the show or the work I do, feel free to reach out to me.

• - Atul’s Substack IR Wire

  - Atul’s Lecture on What is a liberal democracy?

• About: The Great Power Show is a bi-weekly podcast featuring candid conversations and thought-provoking interviews with leading scholars, thinkers and practitioners on the geopolitical and geo-economic changes shaping our world.