Journal UNISCI/Revista UNISCI nº49 (Enero/January 2019) Special Issue on Indian Strategic and Foreign Policy Making, Shantanu Chakrabarti (coordinator)

Antonio Marquina: Editor´s Note/Nota Editorial
Selected Bibliography/Bibliografía Seleccionada

Indian Strategic and Foreign Policy Making

Identifying levels, structures and agency in post-cold war Indian foreign policy

Shibashis Chatterjee and Sreya Maitra
Abstract: A narrative of India’s foreign policy would unambiguously outline its ascendance as a deserving major power in world politics. A theoretical, structure-agency reading of foreign policy however reveals a complex interplay of factors behind India’s rise; evolving material capabilities and power, and normative and ideational forces. From its inception as a sovereign state, India envisioned itself as a great power even though there were considerable obstacles to this. Despite India’s meteoric rise in the post 1998 period, it has not succeeded in translating its material preponderance into either strategic consensus or astute leadership of the sub-continent. The chief argument of this article is that India serves as a test case for the foreign policy of a state being compulsorily structured by the complex interaction of systemic forces on one hand, and agential actions on the other.
Key words: India, Foreign Policy, Ideational, Structure, Agency, System, Global.

Dharma: The moral aspects of statecraft

Pradeep Kumar Gautam
Abstract: In the 21st Century, with an emerging polycentric world order, the moral aspect of statecraft as in the concept of dharma from the Indian tradition needs to be given due importance. Power relations as seen so far in the 20th and 21st century are unlikely to lead to a better and peaceful world. The article first traces the roots of morals in ancient Indian traditions of statecraft and its global potential. The article further argues that peace and security can be realised by incorporating the concept of dharma in statecraft. As an example, the article relates Indian traditions in the concepts and ethos in just war tradition to show how dharma is to be understood in case of political use of force in an era of nuclear weapons and emerging technologies. To generate a healthy and fruitful debate, in the conclusion, the paper suggests ideas rooted in Indian traditions that may help to end the institution of war.
Key words: Dharma, Ethics, Statecraft, Kautilya, Force, Just war, Technologies, War.

Indian approaches to security and conflict resolution

John Doyle
Abstract: This article analyses the inter-relationships between India’s approach to conflict resolution at the global, regional and domestic levels, with a view to clarifying the most consistent positions of the Indian state. At the global level, while there have been some strategic silences reflecting realpolitik, India remains a strong support of UN peacekeeping and critical of armed intervention for humanitarian purposes. At a regional level traditional security approaches dominate. There is a rhetorical commitment to regional integration as a means of building better relationships with neighbours, but India’s actions reflect a model of security and conflict resolution based on deterrence and military power-projection. At the domestic level India has a long tradition of managing internal conflicts through state formation and elite co-option. However, in the North East and in particular in Kashmir and in the Maoist conflicts there have been missed opportunities to de-escalate, when the positive conflict resolution experiences in other domestic cases have been crowded out by a highly securitized response.
Key words: India, Security, Conflict Resolution, Strategy, Kashmir, Maoist.

India´s engagement with the global economic order

Sanjana Joshi and Samridhi Bimal
Abstract: India, the world’s largest democracy, is today the world's sixth-biggest economy and is widely referred to as the “bright spot” in the global economy still struggling to the recover from the 2008 crisis. Economic liberalization and internationalization initiated in the 1990s has steadily gained traction leading India to move from being a marginal participant to a deeply engaged partner in the global economic order with an active and visible presence. India’s “increasing weight in the global economy” is also dramatically transforming its political and strategic importance in the evolving post-Cold War world order.
Key words: India, Global Economy, Engagement, Strategic Partnerships, World Order.

The evolution of India-US relations and India´s grand strategy

Stephen F. Burgess
Abstract: The evolution of India-US relations and India’s grand strategy over the past two decades is a result of changing power balances and an affirmation of structural realism. The end of the Cold War and the emergence of unipolarity opened the way for the US superpower to engage with India and for New Delhi to move away from Moscow and towards a partnership with Washington while maintaining an autonomous grand strategy of a rising power. In the past two decades, China’s rise as a major power in Asia has introduced propelled the partnership. Domestic politics also has played a role in the growing partnership, with the growth of capitalism and nationalism and the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a dominant political force. These factors have driven interest in the US partnership to counter China and its growing partnerships in South Asia and the spectre of encirclement.
Key words: Grand strategy, Strategic Partnership, Structural Realism, Non-alignment, Major powers.

“Regimes”, Regional cooperation organizations and the promise of “proto-regimes”. Indo-Russian relations in the 21st...

Hari Vasudevan
Abstract: The concept of ‘proto-regimes’ is a useful analytical tool in investigating various quasi multilateral organizations which have come up during the post-Cold War period. ‘Proto-regimes’, according to the scholar, have emerged as the post-1991 scenario in international affairs. We have witnessed activities where regional and trans-regional organizations, focused on cooperation between actors, have taken shape, and seek to impinge on sovereignty of states through common commitments but in a strongly qualified manner. At issue are also values initiatives of new Russia under the Putin presidency that privilege engagements within a sharply delimited cultural range – values that endow Russian policy with a degree of introversion or “nationalism”. The article analyses the evolving relations between India and Russia in recent decades in terms of greater multilateral involvement within the conceptual framework of proto-regimes.
Key words: Russia, India, Proto-regime, Regional, Europe, Cold war.

India-China relations reconsidered: A realist perspective on India´s border dispute with its neighbour

Jayanta Kumar Ray
Abstract: India’s relations with Communist China have evolved through various twists and turns. India’s lack of realist approach and naiveté about emerging global politics helped China in gaining an upper hand over India in achieving regional dominance particularly displayed through the bilateral disputes over the border determination. While the defeat of 1962 is a distant past, it has continued to wield great influence over India’s overall approach towards China. This article, thus, goes for a reappraisal of the border issues which have and still continue to influence Indo-China relations.
Key words: India, China, Communism, Peoples’ Liberation Army, Border.

India and Israel: From an interloper to an insider?

Priya Singh
Abstract: Since the time of its creation (1948) and thereafter, Israel has been a thorny issue in India’s foreign policy. Apparently, the two nations have had no bilateral disagreements, yet Israel continued to be a ‘pariah’ till 1992. Even though informal backchannel contacts were maintained between the two nations much before the formalization of ties, yet it is only from 2014 with a new government assuming power in India that relations between the two nations have acquired a degree of urgency and intimacy. In its attempt to comprehend the significantly altered nature of relations between India and Israel, the article provides a short historical framework before delving into contemporary times, focusing on the “real” character of the rapidly evolving relationship. The objective of the article is to critically understand the internal dynamics of the Israeli state, uncovering the various fault lines that remain, despite having acquired international legitimacy and acceptance and in an attempt to both comprehend and question India’s changed stance.
Key words: Interloper, Insider, De-hyphenation, Ruptures, Contested Space, Ethics and Realpolitik

India-Pakistan relations: What lies ahead?

Smruti S. Pattanaik
Abstract: This article delves into the history of dialoguing to highlight how the respective national narratives have shaped bilateral ties and have defined the expectation from each other. It also needs to be underlined that the important stakeholders on India Pakistan dialogue are the most challenging aspect for the bilateral relationship between the two countries. While there are several other security, political, economic and civil society stakeholders, the dominant factor is that the relationship has been deeply securitised therefore any forward movement in the bilateral relations is seen from the prism of security. In this context it is important to look into the history and how it has shaped the perception of the two countries and their narratives about each other.
Key words: Pakistan, India, Dialogue, Democracy, Islamist, Ideology, South Asia, Terrorism

India´s regional strategic outlook and influence via Afghanistan

Nasreen Akhtar
Abstract: India’s regional security outlook has significantly changed owning to the post 9/11 world politics and the post-Taliban developments in Afghanistan. The regional strategic layout in South Asia has been dominated by the two rivals, Pakistan and India. Both have sagaciously projected their multifarious strategies in Afghanistan. More recently, India’s two traditional rivals, Pakistan and China have strengthened their strategic partnership which would undermine India’s role and influence in the region but India’s gigantic investment in Afghanistan has strengthened India’s endeavors to protect its ‘regional strategic outlook’. The U.S which is fighting against terrorism in Afghanistan has granted a greater role to India in ‘peace building’ process and ignored Pakistan’s long partnership against war on terrorism in Afghanistan, because Pakistan, according to the U.S, has failed to control and curb Taliban and militants in Afghanistan. India, however, has become the U.S. ally and has defined its policy vis-à-vis the regional powers, Pakistan and China.
Key words: Strategy, India, Afghanistan, Taliban, Pakistan, Security, Terrorism, United States, China, Iran. Politics, Power, CPEC, Interest, Partnership

India-Bangladesh relations in a changing world

Sreeradha Datta
Abstract: India’s regional security outlook has significantly changed owning to the post 9/11 world politics and the post-Taliban developments in Afghanistan. The regional strategic layout in South Asia has been dominated by the two rivals, Pakistan and India. Both have sagaciously projected their multifarious strategies in Afghanistan. More recently, India’s two traditional rivals, Pakistan and China have strengthened their strategic partnership which would undermine India’s role and influence in the region but India’s gigantic investment in Afghanistan has strengthened India’s endeavors to protect its ‘regional strategic outlook’. The U.S which is fighting against terrorism in Afghanistan has granted a greater role to India in ‘peace building’ process and ignored Pakistan’s long partnership against war on terrorism in Afghanistan, because Pakistan, according to the U.S, has failed to control and curb Taliban and militants in Afghanistan. India, however, has become the U.S. ally and has defined its policy vis-à-vis the regional powers, Pakistan and China.
Key words: Strategy, India, Afghanistan, Taliban, Pakistan, Security, Terrorism, United States, China, Iran. Politics, Power, CPEC, Interest, Partnership.

Connectivity as influence. India´s policy in central Asia in the era of the ‘new...

Anita Sengupta
Abstract: Central Asia has been identified as the emerging economic battleground between the United States, Russia and China. Although Central Asia is a significant part of the Belt and Road Plan India faces connectivity challenges regarding land routes to Afghanistan and Central Asia and is a relatively low-key power even after becoming a formal member of the SCO. It is in the backdrop of these complexities, both in terms of the emergence of transcontinental logistic spaces and numerous ‘Silk Road’ strategies that India would have to negotiate its own logistical space in Central Asia.
Key words: Belt and Road Initiative, China, Russia, Central Asia, Connectivity.

India´s West Asia policy in the Modi era

Kingshuk Chatterjee
Abstract: It goes on to explore case studies of India’s most important relationships in the region during the Modi era – Saudi Arabia, Israel and Iran – to highlight the continued significance of bilateralism in India’s ties with the countries in the region. The foreign policy of India towards the countries of the Middle East is not, however, predicated on the region being a region. Between themselves, the Gulf countries account for 15 per cent of India's total foreign trade. The GCC countries were, collectively, India’s second largest trading partner, and constituted the largest single origin of imports into India and the second largest destination for exports from India. It can be defined as the India’s Trademark Bilateralism in ‘West Asia’. Both India and Iran began to liberalise their economies in the 1990s. Iran was particularly helpful in its attempts to the address the question of India’s energy security as well, when it proposed Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline. It holds immense strategic and economic significance for India and Afghanistan.
Key words: West Asia, India, Iran, Gulf, Energy, Petroleum.

India, ASEAN and Indo-Pacific geopolitics

Subhadeep Bhattacharya
Abstract: The term Indo-Pacific carries different significance for its participants. For USA, the term signifies the extension of Pentagon’s strategic focus from the Asia-Pacific to the Indian Ocean region amidst the ‘rise of China’ in this vast maritime domain. While for both India and ASEAN Indo-Pacific ‘geo-strategy’ is an opportunity to establish their centrality in the geopolitics of the region. US- sponsored Indo-Pacific naval strategy is China-centric in character looking for partnership with India and ASEAN to counter China ‘threat’. India invests in her naval potentials since lately with same objective. However, India cannot afford to engage in overt anti-China mission led by USA. Thus, she opts for her traditional strategic approach of ‘to engage to contain’ vis-à-vis the Asian giant through multilateral engagements led by ASEAN which is beneficial to ensure tranquil Indo-Pacific region, important for commercial interests of both, as against aggressive strategy of USA.
Key words: Indo-Pacific, Asia-Pacific, India, ASEAN, China, Geopolitics.

Terrorism

Global threat forecast 2019

Rohan Gunaratna
Abstract: The global terrorist and extremist threat is likely to persist in 2019 as the Islamic State (IS) go through a phase of re-adaptation and de-centralisation. The group has established clandestine and underground structures to survive in Iraq and Syria. Its ideology is still intact and continues to be propagated in cyber space. In the provinces, groups, networks and cells which have pledged allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi are radicalising Muslims and conducting attacks. Harnessing both the physical and virtual space, IS continues to present an enduring threat worldwide. Although the apex of IS leadership and many of the directing figures are on the run and might be eliminated in 2019, the penultimate leadership enabling the fight and supporting the infrastructure will continue to operate in the shadows as they become agile and more cunning. The IS and Al Qaeda-centric threats are likely to remain given the lack of an effective global counter terrorism plan and strategy, the continuance of superpower and geopolitical rivalry, and the failure to resolve the underlying causes of extremism and terrorism.
Key words: Islamic State, Al Qaeda, Counter terrorism, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Communal clashes, Ideology, Clandestine networks, US military withdrawals.