India, Dec. 31 -- Emerging multipolar world could be India's moment

As the world enters a new year, it is becoming increasingly clear that South Asia's existing models of regional cooperation are no longer fit for purpose. Institutions such as South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) - and even The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec, an association of seven countries in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal) - were products of a different geopolitical moment, one defined by relatively stable multilateralism, predictable great-power leadership, and modest regional ambitions. That world has now decisively ended.

The year 2025 will likely be remembered as a...