Recent Trends in Indian Foreign Policy

Recent Trends in Indian Foreign Policy--by Walter Andersen

This article was very interesting to me. It was interesting because it provided information without being too specific. I think if the author had gone too much farther in depth or to much more length than he did, it would have been too far over my head. Some of the information was still difficult to grasp, but I think I was able to catch some key points about the trends in Indian foreign policy.

India's foreign policy has changed in recent years and their is a growing importance of economic matters in foreign policy. There are also many recent developments in and future prospects for Indian foreign policy. India, in the past focused its foreign policy around security concerns related to threats from Pakistan and China. In recent years, relations with China has improved greatly. Yet the foreign policy focuses on India and China are quite different. India's focus it to the south towards the Indian Ocean. China's focus is towards the east. The two powers are potential competitors for influence in Southeast Asia which leads to a potential for economic competition. While border disputes are not as prevalent today, there is still reason to believe that they are not over completely between India and China.

There are many changes in Indian foreign policy. One of these changes is for India to focus more around economic considerations--to enhance the country's access to foreign investments, high technology, and global markets. The efforts to improve relations with countries such as the United States and members of the EU will hopefully generate more rapid economic growth. This can offer India the trade investments and high technology. A third change is that India has a more generous approach to neighbors in South Asia. A desire to encourage increased economic interaction will benefit India in many ways.

There are problems that India faces in regard to foreign policy. One is the tension with Pakistan over Kashmir. This tension has the potential to absorb India's diplomatic capital as well as scare off investments. Also, India needs a stable government in order to give some consistency to policy changes that are necessary for increased globalization. The tension between economic reform and populist temptations also may prove to be a threat for India. The author states that in order to achieve the objectives India intends to achieve, "India needs to convince other countries that it will deal with them on its own merits and not necessarily in the context of the Indo-Pakistani relationship."