THE post-Cold War world is a new world. The old linkages have disappeared and new linkages are still being forged. Reforms, liberalisation and economic progress are now the dominant currency of diplomatic exchanges. Indian diplomacy is also adjusting to a new vocabulary. Having made a slow start, New Delhi is straggling, weighed down by old baggage like the Non-aligned Movement (NAM), G-77 and G-15. It has long seen itself as leader of NAM and Third World countries. But these countries are now breaking ranks, under economic pressures from the developed countries. With shrinking investment budgets, they are going for the best option; and India tends to be second best. At the recent APEC meet, Vietnam was preferred for admission as the next Asian member over India.