In today’s rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape, nations are forced to navigate an increasingly complex and precarious set of global alignments. The world is not yet fully multipolar, but we are seeing more nuanced forms of engagement that can be described as “multi-multi” behaviour.
These include “multi-alignment” – entering conditional, context-specific partnerships while maintaining strategic loyalty – and being “multi-regional” – leveraging the growing influence of regional blocs in global and regional affairs.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Indonesia’s president-elect Prabowo Subianto are two leaders navigating this shifting landscape through a “multi-multi” strategy.
Anwar’s foreign policy approach has often been described as a balancing act. His visits to China, which showed Malaysia’s commitment to strengthening economic ties with a key partner, were swiftly balanced by engagements with the United States at the UN General Assembly and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit.
But his strategy goes beyond US-China dynamics. Recently, he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India, then quickly visited Pakistan to meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, highlighting a broader regional balancing strategy. Still, focusing solely on these balancing acts would overlook Anwar’s broader vision, which extends beyond diplomacy as usual and seeks to reposition Malaysia in a world rapidly embracing multipolarity.
Rather than focus on short-term gains, Anwar is playing the long game, aware that the global order is undergoing a profound shift. His foreign policy seeks to position Malaysia as an active participant in this transformation by engaging with emerging economies set to dominate global growth. Joining Brics is a significant step in this direction, as Anwar aims to strengthen ties with the world’s rising economic powers.
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