Is QUAD becoming irrelevant in a G2-shaped world?

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, was conceived with a clear strategic purpose: to act as a balancing coalition against the growing assertion of China in the Indo-Pacific. It brought together four democracies — India, the United States, Japan and Australia — all of whom, in varying degrees, were concerned by Beijing’s expanding military footprint, economic penetration and geopolitical ambitions. The idea carried symbolic appeal. Here were four major maritime powers, geographically straddling the Indo-Pacific, ostensibly united by shared democratic values and common strategic anxieties. But in international politics, symbolism alone is never enough. The central question today is whether…