From Reluctance to Readiness: India’s Foreign Policy and Diplomatic Strategies in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

India has gone from being a reluctant global player after independence to an emerging player in the post-Cold War period, and finally to taking its place as one of the major powers within a remodeled multipolar architecture. India employs a unique blend of hard and soft power, aimed at ensuring that its presence and significance in the future arena of international politics and global power (re)structuring will not merely be tangential. This is especially seen in its behavior within international organizations and forums. This chapter describes the blend of foreign policy strategies employed by India and explains them in the context of historical and current influences and motivations. It also details India’s ambitions, applied strategies including economic statecraft and strategic autonomy, as well as the conceptual underpinnings of Indian diplomacy, the impact of societal variables including the role of the diaspora, and the performance of the foreign service. The chapter concludes that India has moved from being a regional power to having the potential to be a global power, but whether its ambitions are attained depends on its success in dealing with regional security issues, its progress in engendering trust in the states in its neighborhood, as well as its ability to sustain domestic economic and social gains.