he transformation of contemporary geopolitics is reshaping democratic governance, sovereignty and political accountability across Asia. The emergence of a New Great Game, driven by strategic competition, connectivity projects, resource politics and technological power, is contributing to an increasingly uncertain regional order. This panel examines how these geopolitical transformations intersect with the changing character of democracy and governance in the twenty-first century.
The India–China strategic competition, particularly along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and across the Indian Ocean, demonstrates how territorial disputes, infrastructure development and economic interdependence simultaneously generate security dilemmas and pressures on democratic decision-making. The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and developments in Gilgit-Baltistan illustrate how infrastructure and connectivity can become instruments of geopolitical influence. Similarly, the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) represents an alternative connectivity framework with wider strategic and economic implications.
The panel also considers BRICS expansion, ASEAN centrality, India’s Global South diplomacy, the Belt and Road Initiative, and competition for influence in Central Asia as indicators of an emerging Asian order. Cases from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal further demonstrate how geopolitical competition interacts with domestic political instability, economic vulnerability and democratic resilience.
The panel seeks to examine whether the emerging Asian order will produce greater democratic resilience, strategic uncertainty or new forms of geopolitical governance.