Opinion

Opinion | Diplomatic Relations Are Not Personal Friendships. Confusing the Two is a Costly Mistake

In geopolitics, relationships exist between nations, not between leaders. These relationships are built on hard interests like trade, defence, resources, technology, and long term strategic alignment. They are never meant to rest on personal chemistry between two individuals. When diplomacy is personalised, it becomes fragile. Friends can fall out and reconcile. Countries cannot afford that luxury. When personal equations sour, nations pay the price.

India learned this the hard way.

The current strain in Indo US ties is not accidental. It is the result of over personalising a strategic relationship. The sour equation between Donald Trump and Narendra Modi has only added pressure to an already complicated bilateral dynamic.

Until 2014, India maintained a careful, arm’s length relationship with the United States. It was practical and transactional. Strong on business, cautious on optics. Less spectacle, more substance.

Post 2014, that balance changed dramatically. Formal diplomacy gave way to public displays of bonhomie. Handshakes became hugs. Working meetings turned into grand roadshows. Optics replaced outcomes. Despite all the spectacle, India gained little of strategic value. No major trade advantage. No decisive technology transfers. No meaningful shift in India’s leverage. What did change was the projection of Modi as Trump’s closest ally, a personal image boost rather than a national gain.

To its credit, India’s recent course correction has been sensible. Increased oil purchases from Russia since November and a measured, centrist response to the US action in Venezuela reflect clarity and confidence. The Ministry of External Affairs appears to be thinking independently, pragmatically, and with strategic restraint.

The larger problem lies elsewhere.

The American electorate chose a bully as President. He targets smaller and weaker nations that lack the capacity to retaliate. This behaviour is enabled by a global order where the United Nations has become largely ineffective, unable to protect vulnerable countries or enforce accountability.

Power without responsibility always extracts a price.

Unfortunately, it will be the people of the United States and their economy who will eventually pay the cost for the abrasions inflicted across the world, repeatedly and unapologetically, during Trump’s tenure.

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