INTRODUCTION

Standard accounts of foreign policy are typically biased in favour of politico-security narratives. However, contemporary foreign policies are both political and economic, and the strategic changes originating from the end of the Cold War are as important in shaping India’s foreign policy as the economic changes underlying globalization. Moreover, foreign policies are a function of the interplay of global and domestic factors. Traditionally these have been kept apart, and the analysis of systemic factors and unit-level variations has proceeded along parallel tracks. If domestic variables and systemic factors would need to be brought together for comprehensive and convincing foreign-policy accounts of states, perhaps one needs to transcend the limits of the prevailing cultures of foreign policy analysis in India. This is needed for two reasons. First, the scope and ambition of a state’s foreign policy are driven primarily by its position in the international system, defined by the nature of distribution of capabilities. Second, the impact of capabilities on foreign policy is indirect and complex, because systemic pressures are mediated by intervening (domestic) variables at the unit level.

Since the very beginning of its journey as a sovereign state, India thought of itself as a great power, regardless of its material weaknesses, absence of strategic reach and depth, manifest lack of an international recognition of its potential power, and the many constraints created by the existing body of great powers to prevent India from breaking into their ranks. The non-aligned foreign policy was in fact meant to compensate for India’s hard-power deficits by opening up a space for its autonomous maneuvering within the Cold War bipolarity of the then existing international system. Non-Alignment was never conceived as a strategy to perpetuate India’s dependence on soft-power resources. It sought to create hardpower capabilities within a limited bounded space, amidst enormous constraints and difficulties, both at the systemic and domestic levels.

However, domestic or internal security considerations were equally, if not more, significant for the Indian state. India’s strategic paradigm of the Cold War era, in fact, emerged out of dual considerations—the external power projection of capabilities of the state on the one hand, and settling the claims of domestic delegitimation through democratic means, on the other.

Indian foreign policy became decidedly realist, and the state came to lean towards socialist policies in the 1970s due to a combination of factors, both regional and international. The unusual hardening oflndia’s threat environment left few options besides heavy reliance on Soviet support. As opportunities for power projection were limited, the pressure of external powers, particularly that of the United States, mounted. The last years of the Cold War period saw the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan that altered the geo-political setting of the subcontinent as never before. The American ploy to counter-balance the Soviet threat by courting Pakistan, which already had an unofficial military alliance with China, and the mutual interactions of the US-China detente and Soviet-China hostilities, put enormous pressure on India and its national security. Till the sudden demise of the Cold War, however, India, did not redefine its foreign and security policies in any fundamental sense. The mistrust of super power alliance politics, intense hostility with Pakistan, and consistent rivalry with China drove her foreign policy moves. Soviet support remained a constant, although India went on espousing a broad-based non-aligned posture, maintaining high priority to West Asian Arab states but displaying a constant lack of interest in East Asian relations.

The end of the Cold War led to enormous and sudden transformations at the systemic level that impacted crucially on the evolving ‘grand-strategy’ discourse(s) of the Indian state. At the end of the Cold War era, new forces are in operation and the predictable formats of foreign policy choices have been drastically altered. This is a period when new power equations are being formed in a uni-polar world that shows multi-polar tendencies, when global and transnational economic relations increasingly herald greater integration, and information technology revolutionizes and penetrates even the most secluded corners of the world. There are new challenges and opportunities. Many of the profound erstwhile prescriptions need to be evaluated in the light of the changes that take place as the post-Cold War era progresses.

At the beginning of the 21st century, India not only aspires to be a global player but is also recognized as a rising power with the potential to play a greater role in the international affairs. The ever-increasing importance of India’s foreign policy therefore brings greater opportunities with correspondingly greater responsibilities, and India’s foreign policy and its relations with the other actors in the global system require meaningful explorations at this transitional phase.

This volume collects essays covering various aspects of India’s foreign policy and relations, analyzing trends and patterns, and focusing on the consistency, continuity and change both in attitude and actions. Individually, each essay is a commentary on the concerned theme it portrays, but taken together, the complete picture that emerges exposes a disjointed, makeshift bunch of policies with mixed results.

The book is divided into four broad sections. The first section has essays on the general aspects of India’s foreign policy, and creates the basis for more specific treatments that follow next. The inclusion of the essays on foreign economic policy and the role of press in India’s foreign affairs is dictated by the overriding significance of these themes in the contemporary epoch. Foreign economic policies are now in many ways the drivers of foreign policy directives, and the press provides an exciting canvas and medium for the formation of most policy decisions in contested domains of foreign relations. The second section takes us to the conventional settings of security and defence -related issues. In the high politics of global affairs, the nuclear and naval powers are key to a nation’s capacity for power projection. As a rising power in world politics, India’s evolving nuclear policy and maritime strategy are vital indicators of present capabilities and future aspirations. How India relates to the existing great powers of the world would decide the success or failure of her foreign policy in the coming years. The crafting of ties with the lone super power of the world, the United States of America, amidst alleged hegemony and new opportunities of partnership, would constitute a major test for India’s foreign policy expertise in general, and her diplomatic corps in particular. India’s calibrated normalization of ties with China, despite a structural rivalry of uncertain magnitude, is the other major foreign policy objective before the foreign policy establishment. Good relations with China would not only reduce India’s security deficit in the subcontinent, but may also be the harbinger for its much touted Look East initiative. Russia, despite its economic difficulties and relative decline, remains the most trusted friend of India, and the most significant defence destination in terms of military technology and hardware. Continued good relations with Russia thus remain a top foreign policy objective. India and the European Union are forging dense political and economic ties. India’s faith in multilateralism converges to a great deal with European Unoin’s (EU) global perspective. The challenges and opportunities of this fledging partnership find a place in this section in recognition of Europe’s continued relevance for India’s foreign policy goals. The final section incorporates a series of essays on important bilateral relations of India. How India connects to her immediate neighbourhood and relates to the more distant areas of the world would decide the character of foreign policy that she is evolving for the time. The geo-politics of the subcontinent, the rise of ethnicity as a major determinant of policy in South Asia, the vision of the Look East thrust, the growing complexities in West and Central Asia, the attractions and silences over Africa and Latin America, the understanding of regionalism and its institutional dynamics, are all crucial issues concerning India’s foreign policy. These issues have been dealt with by the various authors in considerable detail and from diverse perspectives. Throughout the volume, the editors refrained from imposing their prerogatives in influencing the views articulated by the authors and, consequently, the authors are responsible for the views expressed and sources cited.

The Editors