India and the Changing Global Power Structure

International politics, like all other politics, is a struggle for power. The realist and neo-realist theories conceptualize power as the overall amount of capabilities possessed by a state. Accordingly, a distinction has been made between states on the basis of their power within the international sphere. The most powerful state remains at the top and the less powerful states lay at bottom as states run under the system of hierarchy. The main characteristics of power, i.e., military and economic capability and later on the soft power capability have also been added in the power structure. India has been recognized as an emerging power, especially after the unprecedented economic growth and conducted nuclear test in 1998. Today, India's overall power has increased manifold and its influence not just confine to its neighbours but proliferated its trade and security relations outside the region, especially with the major powers. Power manifests itself in many ways. In this context, the aim of the paper is to examine how the concept of power of nation-states has changed with the changing of time and also try to assess how India is repositioning itself in the changing global power structure.