Bargaining with the ‘Empire’

Strategic subordination and dollar dependence in India’s energy transition

Abstract

India’s green transition is framed as a vision of energy security, developmental ambition, and strategic autonomy. We argue, however, that the expansion of renewable energy in India increasingly depends on financial circuits embedded in the US dollar-centered global credit hierarchy. Through a Global Credit View, we surface how the Indian state pursues energy sovereignty through a strategic dependence - building and deploying public institutions that de-risk projects, stabilise revenue streams, and render renewable infrastructure investable for transnational capital. Focusing on critical institutional nodes, we trace how they convert domestic energy assets into financial claims suited to offshore credit markets. This architecture enables rapid scale-up and preserves state-led directionality in institutional terms, yet it also deepens exposure to currency volatility, global financial cycles, and creditor discipline. India’s energy transition, we argue, is therefore not only a techno-industrial project, but also a monetary settlement structured by ‘strategic’ subordination.