India Ranks Fourth on Geopolitical Power Index

Further getting a maximum 10 (-) for military power – with a negative trend line due to its overextended armed forces in Afghanistan, the Middle East and the Korean peninsula , the U.S. rates 9(-) on culture because of the powerful worldwide influence American popular culture exerts, from McDonalds and Hollywood to Google and Facebook. The U.S. was noted to lead the world in technological innovation (9).

China was noted to rank high on economy (9+) and geography (9), on account of its strategic north Asian location – though its ageing workforce gives it a negative trend line on population demographics (8- ). Beijing does particularly badly on governance (2) owing to oppression of freedoms by the Communist regime, now under increasing pressure from surging pro-democracy movements in the Middle East. China, however, scores well (7) on culture with its unified Confucian traditions.

In the rising global balance of power between the U.S., China and India, the U.S. remains the pivot. President Barack Obama has termed the India-U.S. relationship the “defining partnership” of the 21st century. The GPI findings highlight this as the “triangle of power” between three of the top four ranked nations – the U.S., China and India – will play out over a range of unstable geographies: South-central Asia, the Middle East and the South China Sea.