1st Edition
India’s Great Power Politics Managing China’s Rise
This book examines India’s foreign and defence policy changes in response to China’s growing economic and military power and increased footprint across the Indo-Pacific. It further explores India’s role in the rivalry between China and the United States.
The book looks at the strategic importance of the Indian Ocean Region in the Indo-Pacific geopolitical landscape and how India is managing China’s rise by combining economic cooperation with a wide set of balancing strategies. The authors in this book critically analyse the various tools of Indian foreign policy, including defence posture, security alignments, and soft power diplomacy, among others, and discuss the future trajectory of India’s foreign policy and the factors which will determine the balance of power in the region and the potential risks involved.
The book provides detailed insights into the multifaceted and complex relationship between India and China and will be of great interest to researchers and students of international relations, Asian studies, political science, and economics. It will also be useful for policymakers, journalists, and think tanks interested in the India–China relationship.
List of figures
List of Contributors
Acknowledgements
Part I: India and China’s rise
1. India’s Great Power Politics: A Framework for Analysis Jo Inge Bekkevold and S. Kalyanaraman
2. India in China’s Grand Strategy: Change and Continuity from 1949 to Present Jo Inge Bekkevold
3. India’s Response to the China Threat Since 1949 S. Kalyanaraman
4. India’s China Policy under Modi: Growing Co-operation, Enduring Disagreement, Increasing Rivalry Sunniva Engh
Part II : China’s Rise and India’s Neighbourhood Policy
5. India’s "Neighbourhood First" Policy and the Chinese Challenge: The Cases of Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka S.D. Muni
6. India and the Emerging Sino–Iranian Partnership John W. Garver
7. India and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation P. Stobdan
8. Cultures of Pluralism in India’s Soft Power Strategy Constantino Xavier
Part III: India and the Great Powers
9. India, the United States and the Indo–Pacific Region Jayant Prasad
10. India’s US Policy under Modi: Alignment and Strategic Autonomy Redefined Harsh V. Pant
11. The Changing Geopolitical Landscape of India–Russia Relations P.S. Raghavan
12. India and Japan’s Grand Bargain in the Context of China’s Rise Rohan Mukherjee
Part IV: Concluding Observations
13 Indian Strategies on China: Past, Present and Future Jo Inge Bekkevold and S. Kalyanaraman.
Index.
Biography
Jo Inge Bekkevold is Senior Adviser at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies. He was previously a career diplomat, with several postings to East Asia.
S. Kalyanaraman is Research Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.
"An excellent volume on the multidimensional relationship between China and India and the emerging patterns of conflict and cooperation between the two rising powers. A must-read for anyone interested in the geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific, past, present and future."
– T.V. Paul, James McGill Professor of International Relations, McGill University, Canada
"This examination of Delhi's long record on balancing and befriending China offers important insights into the making of India's great power relations."
– C. Raja Mohan, Director, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore
"A volume of incisive essays, most opportune in the 70th year of the establishment of diplomatic ties between India and China."
– Sujan R. Chinoy, Director General, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi
"This is a multi-faceted and very rich compilation of Indian responses to China's rise, with contributions from leading scholars."
– Jonathan Holslag, Professor of International Politics, Free University of Brussels
