Minilateralism and the Making of Strategic Regionalism: I2U2 as a Bridge between West Asia and the Indo-Pacific

This study analyzes the I2U2 coalition—comprising India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States—as a nascent paradigm of transregional collaboration connecting West Asia and the Indo-Pacific. Based on the New Regionalism Theory (NRT), it says that I2U2 is a new stage in the development of regionalism, when functionality, interdependence, and strategic purpose take the place of geography and formal institutionalism as the basis for order. The research delineates I2U2 as a strategic corridor, amalgamating essential chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz, Bab-el-Mandeb, and the maritime routes of the Indian Ocean into a cohesive network of shared resilience. I2U2 puts the ideas of open regionalism and post-hegemonic collaboration into action in a multipolar world by focusing on food security, renewable energy, and innovation. The study puts up the idea that minilateralism is now the practical form of New Regionalism, changing the way regions are made from territorial integration to strategic connection. I2U2 shows how small, purpose-driven partnerships may create stability across non-contiguous regions by combining development with security and flexibility with functionality. The research contends that these frameworks signify the emergence of strategic regionalism, recontextualizing the ontology of regions as avenues of collaboration rather than demarcations of rivalry.