External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar  raised significant concerns about the growing influence of liberalism in global politics and its connection to democracy. In a recent statement at the Munich Security Conference 2025 and highlighted India’s democracy and said “i would challenge the equation of liberalism in a kind of international way with democracy.”

“I do think different societies have their own culture, their own values, and their own way of doing things. And the idea that there is some kind of one truth and one judgment and norms, and that should be propagated, evaluated, and judged, I think that is the one issue that we are facing in politics today,” Jaishankar said.

“And it is done by people who do ratings, it is done by newspapers. So there is a reaction in many parts of the world to self-appointed custodians, people who never fought an election, nothing to do with politics, actually telling the world what is right and what is wrong in democracy. And I think, for me, it’s inevitable… it will be challenged,” he added.

Jaishankar also raised concerns about the double standards often observed in global politics.

“Secondly, look, every country has its mainstream politics, with its outliers. If you want examples, how do Western countries search for outliers in those societies? If I look at what Western ambassadors do in India, if my ambassador did a fraction of that, you would all be up in arms. I think there is a double standard,” he said.

The 61st Munich Security Conference, taking place in Munich, Germany, began on February 14 and will conclude on February 16.