Toward a Coherent Realism: India, Nigeria, and the Strategic Stakes of Civilizational Alignment

So who are the great powers that liberals need to talk to now? And how ought we talk to them?

Take India. Modi is not a liberal. But he is a civilizational actor—which makes him legible in ways that many Western technocrats aren’t. He is a strategic narcissist who wants to anchor a postcolonial future that vindicates India’s mythic past. That is the lever: prestige, myth, and long-horizon glory. Not morality—but narrative. If the West is to survive the interregnum, it must offer India a stake in civilizational coherence rather than transactional containment. India must see the United States as a partner in its myth, from Hollywood to Bollywood.

To survive, the West must rediscover itself not as a geography or alliance—but as a myth worthy of loyalty, shared across time zones and traditions.

The liberal technocratic approach—lecturing India about democratic values while seeking its markets—has failed spectacularly. It misunderstands what drives Modi and the Indian project. They do not seek Western approval; they seek vindication of India’s rightful place in world history. Our engagement must inspire glory, not bury partners with NGO reports and scolding press releases.