Contemporary Debates in Indian Foreign and Security Policy

by Pant, Harsh V.

• ISBN13: 9780230341180
• ISBN10: 0230341187
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-03-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

As a consequence of India's attempts to carve out a foreign policy that is in sync with its rising stature in the international system, the country is dealing with a range of issues that are controversial but central to the future of Indian global strategy. These include India's relations with the US; the idea of a strategic triangle involving Russia, China, and India; India's nuclear doctrine and its impact on emerging civil-military relations; India's position on the ballistic missile defense system; India's relations with Iran and Israel; and India's quest for energy security. On almost all these issues an intense debate exists in the Indian polity and the strategic community: how this debate resolves itself will in many ways determine the direction of Indian foreign policy for years to come.

Author Biography

Harsh V. Pant teaches at King's College London in the Department of Defence Studies. He is also an associate with the King's Centre for Science and Security Studies. He joined King's after finishing his doctorate at the University of Notre Dame (USA). He holds a BA (Hons) from the University of Delhi and MA and MPhil degrees from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi (India). His current research is focused on Asia-Pacific security and defence issues. He has been published on these issues by a number of academic journals and other publications across the world, including the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Journal, Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Asia-Pacific Review, Asian Survey, Armed Forces and Society, Middle East Quarterly, and Strategic Analysis.

Table of Contents

"Pant's excellent, timely review of the critical strategic choices confronting India will be of great interest to scholars, journalists, and policy makers. . . Recommended." - CHOICE

"The volume makes an excellent contribution for teaching courses on South Asian security and foreign policy, as well as for international relations courses that seek to expand the traditional discussion about Great Power politics to include regional and emerging global powers. . . The volume is well written, clearly organized, and very accessible. . . It would be valuable as well for those in the policy community who seek to understand foreign and security policy from the Indian domestic perspective." - Sunila S. Kale, The Review of Politics

"Harsh Pant's lucid volume succeeds in vaulting over older debates regarding India's foreign policy. Pant engages in a fresh discussion on the new challenges that face an increasingly ambitious and influential India. Anyone concerned about the prospects and implications of India's emergence as a global power will learn a great deal from Pant's careful scholarship." - Daniel Markey, senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia, Council on Foreign Relations

"Harsh Pant has not only produced a detailed analysis of key elements of the Indian debate over grand strategy, he offers a tour d'horizon of India's emerging role in a fast-changing world. India is no longer the sluggish state of the past - its dynamic economy makes it possible to imagine new strategic roles and a new relationship with the US, China, and other powers. Contemporary Debates is both timely and provocative, a welcome addition to the must-read literature on rising India." - Stephen P. Cohen, senior fellow, The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC

"This volume constitutes a topical, comprehensive and informed discussion of a set of critical challenges facing India's foreign policy. Given the paucity of scholarship on this subject this work represents a most welcome addition to the literature. It should be of use to academics, journalists, and policymakers interested in the foreign and security policies of an emergent Asian power." - Sumit Ganguly, Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations and professor of Political Science, Indiana University, Bloomington