Abstract
India is regarded by many observers as a rising power in global and regional affairs. Other states, especially the USA, are, at least relatively speaking, on a declining power trajectory. The USA, which, until recently, was the leading state in the international system, is increasingly ceding its leadership role in order to focus on its “America First” foreign policy. This entails pulling out of treaties, denigrating allies and institutional norms, and starting trade wars. These developments lead to the question of how India is reacting to this global shift. Using hegemony as an analytical framework and a y-centered case study as the methodological foundation, this chapter analyzes India’s foreign policy ambitions in recent years. To approach this analysis, it is first necessary to examine the specific and preeminent rules, norms, and institutions of the current order in South Asia. The second step of the analysis focuses on the underlying factors influencing Indian foreign policy. Results from the analysis reveal that India’s foreign policy is neither fully challenging nor completely supporting the USA and the existing arrangement of rules, norms, and institutions in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia. Indian foreign policy initiatives are contingent on Indo-Pakistani relations and the development of an ever-increasing US-China competition.
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Jacobs, D.L., Kessler, P.B. (2021). Charting a Course Through Stormy Seas: Indian Foreign Policy and the Global Hegemonic Shift. In: Böller, F., Werner, W. (eds) Hegemonic Transition. Palgrave Studies in International Relations. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74505-9_11
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