1526 1 BIG PICTURE: ASEAN has opted for non-alignment, but India failed to grasp that the ticket to the big game would depend on how a nation handles economic engagement. PTI MK Bhadrakumar Former Ambassador THE politics of adjustment is commonly associated with the political economy of a nation — about rectifying internal imbalances that are consequences of policies relating to its economic growth and social and political advancement. It seems reasonably safe to make the assertion that such an adjustment process also becomes necessary in the foreign policy arena during periods of tremendous economic difficulty, fractious political disputes and radical transformation of the international system.