5 min readNov 13, 2026 05:01 PM IST First published on: Nov 13, 2026 at 05:01 PM ISTHistory, from the 5th-century Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta to the recent US-Iran war and the blockade of Hormuz and Bab-el-Mandeb straits, stands as testimony to the fact that a few choke points — narrow maritime routes that can be controlled by territorial armies — define and regulate the global economy. When the Spartans took control of the Bosporus, the narrow waterway which was the lifeline for food and other supplies, Athens simply collapsed.Seven centuries later, Roman emperor Constantine established his capital on the banks of the same waterway, called Constantinople then and Istanbul now. Roman rule lasted for a millennium, until the Ottomans captured the region and controlled the Bosporus until World War I.AdvertisementThe Bosporus is one of the world’s choke points. Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022 and the US–Iran conflict last year, some of these choke points have become a nightmare for the world economy. The blockades imposed by various regional powers, like the Iranians in the Hormuz Strait and the Houthis of Yemen in Bab-el-Mandeb, led to a major energy crisis in many parts of the world.The impact of these developments around chokepoints is not limited to the economy alone. They can cause tectonic shifts in the global power balance. After World War II, global multilateral institutions were created to regulate economic forces. But soon, trade emerged as a new weapon and countries, especially the US, began to use it for coercion. That weaponisation led to the Suez Canal crisis in 1956. President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt decided to nationalise this important trade channel from the British and French stakeholders. A brief conflict ensued, but US President Eisenhower’s intervention led the European powers to back off, and control of the Suez Canal went to Egypt, where it has remained since.That provided a template for how choke points can become weapons of trade for various countries. During the 1990s, when the information technology era dawned, and globalisation acquired momentum, some scholars believed that the political control of trade would end. Walter Wriston, an eminent American financier, predicted in his 1992 book The Twilight of Sovereignty that national governments would grow obsolete in the face of the two emerging forces – global finance and information technology. He concluded that as the multinational corporations stitch global supply chains and establish dominance worldwide, “it will become harder and harder for politicians to unscramble the emerging global economy and reassert their declining power”. This prediction remained a reality for a couple of decades. However, the political leadership soon found its way back into taking control of the global economy and trade. Choke points played a crucial role in that. The current Hormuz and Bab-el-Mandeb crisis stand as proof of that.AdvertisementAlso Read | After elections, more pressure for peaceSuch crises change the power pecking order. The Suez Canal crisis resulted in the decline of Britain and France as global powers and the emergence of the US-USSR bipolarity. Something similar would happen as a fallout of the current crisis too, with new forces emerging and the old fading away.The Suez crisis had brought Charles de Gaulle back to power in France. He made efforts to save Europe and the world from bipolarity. He rejected the Cold War dominance of Washington, DC, and Moscow and advocated the “Third Force” concept. He envisioned Europe – “from Atlantic to the Urals” — as a distinct cultural and geographical entity, “Europe des Patries” (Europe of Fatherlands), and argued that it should have an autonomous voice. He might not have succeeded in his grand vision, but he created an independent foreign policy for France.you may likeInterestingly, at a recent media convention in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about the same issues confronting the world, including the emergence of new powers, new economies and new aspirations and the failure of the existing institutions to adapt to those changing realities. “The challenge is: In a changing world, how do we build an order where new realities find their place, global institutions become more effective, and the spirit of cooperation among nations is reinforced?” he asked, adding, “this is where India’s role comes to the fore”.On an earlier G20-related occasion, Modi talked about “a new world order for the collective well-being of humankind”. De Gaulle attempted and achieved limited success seven decades ago. Given his stature and reputation in the world, Modi can achieve complete success by leading the effort to shape the new world.The writer is national vice-president of the BJP and president, India Foundation