Notwithstanding the geopolitical turbulence and heightened security hotspots across the globe during the opening weeks of 2026, the security landscape for India will remain much the same as it was in 2025 with greater uncertainty in the neighbourhood. Limited in its bandwidth to influence global security events such as those continuing or unfolding in Ukraine, Iran and Venezuela, India will have its plate full navigating a slippery regional security landscape.
Notwithstanding the significant successes in Operation Sindoor and the almost complete contraction of the menace of left-wing extremism, the snowballing political crisis in Bangladesh has sent India’s security establishment into a tizzy over what will come next. On another front, the slowing pace of the India-U.S. security cooperation and the lukewarm approach of the U.S. to collaborative security in the Indo-Pacific, coupled with the thawing of U.S.-Pakistan relations, point to the need for a rethink in India’s approach to a multi-front security threat. To top it all, America’s “retreat” from the global scene and a seeming willingness to cede security space in the Indo-Pacific to China have serious security ramifications for India despite a mild thaw in India-China trade relations.
