Ideas of india 2026: Monica Duffy Toft Flags Global Leadership Crisis at Ideas of India

At the fifth edition of the Ideas of India Summit 2026, hosted by ABP Network under the theme “The New World Order,” global leadership and rising geopolitical fractures took center stage. In a compelling session titled “The World in Ferment: A Question of Leadership,” Professor Monica Duffy Toft, Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, delivered a sharp analysis of contemporary global tensions. Toft argued that former U.S. President Donald Trump has shown a strong preference for tariffs as a foreign policy tool, a strategy she believes risks widening divisions among nations. She suggested that at a time of global volatility, the world’s most powerful country should act as a force for cohesion rather than fragmentation. Highlighting intensifying rivalry between the United States and China, Toft noted that the competition now spans economic dominance, technological innovation, and military capabilities. This multidimensional contest, she explained, is reshaping alliances and redefining global power equations. The discussion underscored the urgent need for visionary leadership capable of navigating turbulence, preventing polarization, and steering the international system toward stability in an increasingly uncertain era.