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Copyright of International Relations & International Law Journal / Seriâ Meždunarodnye Otnošeniâ & Meždunarodnoe Pravo is the property of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Advocates of global international relations (IR) present IR as a Eurocentric discipline that should now diversify its theoretical and empirical focus to the non-west. This paper turns this argument on its head, arguing that IR was 'global at birth'. Concentrating in particular on the implications that global IR debate has for our understanding of the historical development of disciplinary knowledge, the article argues that both conventional and critical stances within this debate tend to express a substantialist conception of knowledge formations, one which encourages diffusionist ideas of the spread of knowledge from an origin to a destination, and essentialist representations of specific geographies of knowledge. In order to address this, the paper proposes a relational sociology of disciplinary knowledge that offers a more historically grounded understanding of the ongoing, provisional, connected, and configurational nature of knowledge construction, without losing sight of the hierarchies that inflect this. The article applies this framework to archival work on the intellectual history of international thought in India, offering an approach that allows a global account of the development of disciplinary IR that operates within and beyond imperial frames, encompassing the entangled histories of colonial, anti-colonial, and postcolonial lineages of what became known as 'International Relations' in the 20th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delineates the characteristics of an emerging Southern multilateralism to argue against pessimistic narratives of anarchy and disorder as well as optimistic narratives that celebrate the resilience of the Liberal International Order (LIO). It does this by staging a conversation between a top‐down International Relations literature that explores the contours of global order and a bottom‐up international development literature that investigates the changing role of the Global South in world politics. By highlighting the continuities and discontinuities of Southern multilateralism with it, the paper illustrates the ways in which Southern Multilateralism both challenges the LIO and supports it. The perspective of Southern Multilateralism suggests that countries in the Global South insist on sharing global responsibility with prevailing institutions of liberal multilateralism, neither seeking to overthrow it nor to be co‐opted within it. A subsidiary argument of the paper is that Southern Multilateralism is not homogenous: To that end, it attends to the richness of Southern Multilateralism by directing attention to variations within it. In line with the theme of the Special Issue, this paper focuses on two cases that involve India's presence on the African continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TikTok, one of the most downloaded apps in the world, has been banned in India since June 2020, following military clashes on the India-China border. This article focuses on government narratives of the TikTok ban in the Indian media and situates the issue within the broader geopolitical framework of deteriorating Sino-Indian relations and attempts for digital sovereignty. At a time of strong nationalist discourses dominating the political and social communication in India, it is perhaps unsurprising that the narratives have been seen outside India as protectionism. However, this paper argues that the digital sovereignty in the Indian context is not exclusionary but aims to create a robust digital infrastructure that is critical for economic development and self-reliance. Highlighting the lessons from India, this paper concludes the following: (i) digital sovereignty is a form of discourse which does not imply any specific policy, (ii) digital sovereignty relates to user control over their data, however, the role and limits of the State is not clearly defined and (iii) digital platforms are highly vulnerable to changing geopolitics in which their existence is not determined by user-platform interactions but by international relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among several other countries, India has launched numerous digital initiative programmes aimed at integrating and upgrading various socioeconomic, political and health and social care arenas. One such area is child adoption, where a move away from the analogue system and towards digitalisation began in 2015. The Indian Ministry of Women & Child Development introduced the Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS), a digital adoption formalisation platform, under the Central Adoption Resource Authority, a nodal body that monitors and regulates both in-country and intercountry adoptions. This government initiative centralised adoption data from all over India, including the number of children declared free for adoption and the number of prospective parents registered and seeking to adopt. Against this context, this study aims to map the development of adoption in India through digital systems and the influence of digitilisation on those involved in the pre- and post-adoption phases. Drawing on both Western and Indian literature, as well as observations from an ongoing qualitative study on adoption digitalisation in India, this study discusses the benefits and limitations of digital systems for the people connected to them. The findings provide a comprehensive view of the interaction of technology and society and how this operates in the sociocultural context of adoption in India. Future implications for researchers and adoption social workers and consultants are discussed. Plain Language Summary: The process of adoption in India was largely paper based until 2015. With the launch of the Digital India movement in 2015, newer digital facilities were introduced in various socioeconomic, political, health and social care sectors. Adoption was one such area: the Indian Ministry of Women and Child Development introduced a digital adoption formalisation platform called the Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS). It was established under the Central Adoption Resource Authority, which is responsible for monitoring and regulating both in-country and intercountry adoptions. CARINGS is a centralised database of the children waiting for adoption and prospective parents registered and seeking to adopt. It aims to streamline the adoption process and make it more efficient and transparent. A qualitative study was conducted to explore the impact of digital adoption on those involved in the pre- and post-adoption phases. The study included the perspectives of adoption social workers, adoption consultants, prospective adopters and adoptive parents. The present paper maps the influence of digital adoption in the pre- and post-adoption phases and discusses the advantages and challenges that arise from the interaction of technology and society. The paper concludes by presenting the future implications of digital adoption for researchers, adoption social workers and consultants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing insights provided by the theory of monopolistic markets in economics and Great Power behaviour in the discipline of international relations, this paper aims to provide an alternative understanding of India's refusal to join the BRI beyond the immediate bilateral security, domestic politics, and economic considerations in Sino-Indian relations. We argue that BRI is an effort by China to position itself as the leading firm in the market for international development – a space for long dominated by Western development providers. The paper argues that India's efforts to contest the BRI can be seen as a natural outcome of other rising powers resisting China's efforts to monopolize the development market. In doing so, it provides a template of why rising powers compete with each other in providing developmental aid even when cooperation may create mutual benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Notwithstanding India's public stand professing its respect of the sovereignty principle, the imperatives of competitive international relations have necessitated the use of force against its neighbors, thereby undermining their sovereignty. This use of force has been manifested through conventional wars as well as through the sub-conventional use of force such as surgical strikes. This paper examines how India has sought to toe a fine line between pursuing its national interest through the application of military power while being mindful of the broader normative frameworks influencing state behavior since 1947. In doing so, it engages with the interplay of the material and the ideational. Given the time span of the study, it also seeks to shine light on the elements of continuity and change that mark its application of military power through the prism of the sovereignty principle. Furthermore, the paper also pays attention to the recent surgical strikes, features that mark them as being different from previous such actions performed by India, and what this means for India's understanding of the sovereignty principle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Establishing a liberal government in post-Taliban Afghanistan allowed India to fulfil its foreign policy goal, i.e., investment in Afghanistan to acquire leverage for its anti-Pakistan agenda. However, the twenty-year war ended with the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, resulting in the Taliban's rise to power, diminishing Indian influence and reversion of its interests. India halted its investment and diplomatic engagement with the Taliban government due to its previous position, which led India to compromise on its strategic interests outlined in the presence of US forces. To safeguard its strategic interests, India has resumed its diplomatic and economic engagement with the Taliban government at a critical time when other regional states are analysing the US' future course of action towards the war-torn country. Therefore, this paper examines how India evaluates the newly structured regional environment while finding a new role in Afghanistan. It also analyses the implications of India-Afghanistan re-engagement for Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do rising powers engage with international institutions? While this question has remained important, we have very few theoretically grounded, empirical studies that look at this engagement. This paper seeks to address that gap by focusing on India's engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It argues that rising powers engage with the institution's distinctive design, seeking to change features such as the rules for controlling the institution. The issues the institution covers matter: the nature of the issue area can facilitate engagement. For example, in the case of India's engagement with the IMF, the technical nature of the issue arena provided autonomy to the executive and facilitated the process of formulating and implementing its strategy. The Indian executive has engaged mostly with formal rules during the period under review. Contrary to expectations that status-quoist institutions will normally discourage states from seeking change, the paper finds that India expended its resources to influence quota reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of global health diplomacy (GHD), with India emerging as a key player. India's commitment to GHD is demonstrated by its active participation in regional and multilateral projects, pharmaceutical expertise, and large-scale manufacturing capabilities, which include the production and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and essential medicines. India has supported nations in need through bilateral and multilateral platforms, providing vaccines to countries experiencing shortages and offering technical assistance and capacity-building programs to improve healthcare infrastructure and response capabilities. India's unique approach to GHD, rooted in humanitarian diplomacy, emphasized collaboration and empathy and stressed the well-being of humanity by embracing the philosophy of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam," which translates to "the world is one family." Against this background, this paper's main focus is to analyze the rise of India's GHD amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and its leadership in addressing various global challenges. India has demonstrated its commitment to global solidarity by offering medical supplies, equipment, and expertise to more than 100 countries. India's rising global leadership can be attributed to its proactive approach, humanitarian diplomacy, and significant contributions to global health initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every state's foreign policy contains two important elements: (i) hard power, and (ii) soft power. In history, we have seen this since the ancient Roman Empire to represent a hegemon. America has been using both these elements to expand its influence on other countries. In this context, the relationship between India and the Baltic States can be viewed through the prism of soft power diplomacy. This paper analyzes the India-Baltic States relations from the perspective of cultural diplomacy. The relationship between the two is based on freedom, as well as mutual respect of the other's culture, language, and history. This paper traces this relationship to even before India's independence. It discusses in detail the linguistic similarities and cultural exchanges between both sides. The paper also deals with the diplomatic and political relations between the states in question after 1991 that marked the collapse of the USSR. The study enumerates how the cultural exchanges between India and the Baltic States increased many folds in this era as well. Apart from cultural exchanges, trade, interchanges on information and technology, education occupies a considerable part of this interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the features and potential of the emerging strategic partnership between India and Iran. The role of diplomacy in the energy and transport spheres in forming a belt of confidence in the Greater Middle East and Central Asia is discussed. It has been proved that one of the basic features of India's development--exceptional continuity--finds its expression in the balancing policy, particularly in South-West Asia. One of the key players in the region is Iran, which is under US sanctions. However, Iranian foreign policy has retained its commitment to the goals of the Islamic revolution and dominance in the region. In the past three years, India's policy towards Iran has shown a zigzag development. The paper focuses on the participation of India and Iran in the implementation of the international initiatives like the One Belt and One Road and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), and the prospects for cooperation in the energy sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After becoming the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi made many efforts to consolidate his dominance in South Asia and expand India's influence in the Indian Ocean. The "neighborhood first policy" was highlighted in India's foreign policy. Based on historical and logical research methods and studies in international relations, the paper aims to examine the implementation of "neighborhood first policy" through bilateral relations between India and its neighboring countries. These relationships have been facing challenges from the more profound influence and interference of China as well as frequent terrorist incidents due to border disputes, which threatened regional security. Although this policy connected India with its neighboring South Asian countries, there were still challenges. It can be seen that the "neighborhood first policy" was Prime Minister Modi's effort to nurture bilateral relationships, enhance regional connectivity, and strengthen and elevate India's position in the region. The progress of the "Neighborhood First" policy is expected to continue more successfully in the next phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the incursions, or more accurately, the interventions of the Indian state into what are often called its "Northeast borderlands." It grapples with the specific space occupied by those who belong to this minoritized region in India. Theoretically, it works through conceptions of "sovereignty" and "intervention" to underscore what is at stake for those who lie within the remit of recognized state sovereignty but are nonetheless subject to brutal and invasive "intervention." The article engages Naga author Temsula Ao's writing on questions of "tribal" identity, globalization, and borders to situate India as a postcolonial "settler" state. Finally, it puts her work in conversation with Manu Karuka's notion of "counter-sovereignty" to highlight the ways in which even critical International Relations (IR) theory risks falling into the trap of reifying "sovereignty" and unwittingly giving credence to Westphalian and Euro-centric understandings of sovereignty at the expense of alternative and prior imaginaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a group of four democracies, the US, India, Japan, and Australia, was first proposed in 2007 by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in his 'confluence of two seas' speech that subsequently embarked on the path to the foundation of the group. Quad perceives China's economic growth, which enables her to transform the world order as a threat and aims at containing the growing Chinese assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region. The Malabar naval exercises in the Indian Ocean by the Quad members were one such exercise. This paper, aims to analyze the formation of Quad and will contemplate whether the group is causing confrontation or stability in the Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific regions. The paper will also assess that the Quad is designed to counter China's growing influence in the Asia-pacific and Indo-pacific regions. Containing China is likely to create a confrontation in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to counter China’s rising influence, US is finding more allies in South Asia. As a result, it has been signing various agreements with India to strengthen its footsteps in the region. Due to the mutual interests and shared values of both the partners, they have come close to each other through the civil nuclear cooperation. This is causing a number of concerns for the neighbors as US-India partnership is proving highly beneficial for both of the states at the international arena. India is becoming a source of balancing power for the US to retain its influence in the Pacific and Indian oceans against the rising power, China and its allies. Contrary to this, India is also getting benefit from US in terms of strengthening its military capabilities using the state-of-the-art technologies provided by the US, posing many security implications for the adversaries and neighbors of India. India-US strategic partnership is causing a shift in balance of power in India’s favor which can be dangerous for Pakistan’s security. In this scenario, Pakistan can never afford to remain oblivious of the developments taking place between these two countries because of its security concerns. These developments can undermine Pakistan’s deterrent capabilities and can weaken its position in the Indo-Pak strife over the Kashmir issue. Consequently, Pakistan will have to work with China to strengthen its bond to counter the negative effects caused by the USIndia partnership. Also, it will have to rethink its foreign policy towards the eastern countries and will have to establish cordial bilateral relations with its neighbors. This paper covers all the aspects of bilateral partnership between India and the USA and its implications for Pakistan economically, politically, strategically and diplomatically. This research aims to analyze the emerging strategic partnership between the United States and India and its implications for Pakistan. Moreover, a descriptive-analytical method has been adopted to carry out this research work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores hedging in a theoretical thinking and applies it to the foreign policy of India in an era of growing USA–China power rivalry. In this regard, hedging is defined as insurance seeking strategy under situations with high uncertainty, where rational actors (both middle and small states) will try to avoid taking sides and to pursue room for autonomy in decision-making. While Washington and Beijing dislike middle and small countries' hedging, they both overlook that it is the uncertainties stemming from their own behaviors that push middle and small states to hedge. As uncertainties deepen, most countries in Indo-Pacific region will prefer to use hedging policies to reduce their possible losses. For India, unless USA–China rivalry escalates into a direct military conflict, or unless Washington retreats its commitment to regional security in Indo-Pacific, then India will stop hedging and moving to bandwagoning with China; or if Beijing's actions directly undermine India's vital interests in security, then India's hedging will be replaced by balancing against China. In short, hedging is a passive response, not an active choice; India's hedging strategy is very likely to persist on making ambiguities in the USA–China–India strategic triangle and entanglement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decades, China has rapidly increased its influence throughout the South Asian region, using both its hard and soft power tactics. China has succeeded in eclipsing India's influence and emerged as an important player in the region. China is making inroads in South Asia by making huge investments and constructing roads, highways, railways, sea ports, bridges, power grids, dams, and public buildings. China is pursuing a foreign policy that aims to advance its strategic and economic interests while trying to imbalance India's predominant position and contain India within the boundaries of South Asia. This is to prevent the rise of a peer competitor that can challenge or hinder the rise of China as a sole Asian power. This paper argues that the geostrategic situation of South Asian countries is such that they pose threats to India's security by aligning with the extra-regional powers. Hence, China's expanding strategic and security ties with South Asian countries have wider implications for India's security due to the complex and sensitive nature of its relationship with China. The theoretical approach of Power Transition Theory has been utilized to analyze the Sino-India power rivalry and China's growing threat to India's security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While scholars (mainly from the Global North) in International Relations have been turning to a (critical) constructivist agenda in norms research, the field has increasingly become devoid of applying this area of research in understanding the nuclear behavior of deviant states from the Global South. The paper therefore attempts to bridge this research gap by using the case of the India-US nuclear relationship. To do so, the paper: i) identifies the probable convergences of the existing literature on nuclear policy and the research on constructivist norms, ii) highlights India's racial treatment as a Southern nuclear state in academia and policy discourse, and iii) recognizes plausible avenues for the expansion of the Western dominated normative research agenda by analyzing India's nuclear relationship with the US ― with a specific focus to norm contestation and normative change. In bringing together (critical) constructivists and scholars in nuclear politics to further our understanding of how we perceive security of non-western states, this work makes an epistemological and ontological contribution in the field of international security studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term soft power has become a catch-all-phrase for public and cultural diplomacy since Joseph Nye introduced it in 1990. India has had several historical and cultural advantages regarding its influence in foreign countries. While India and Indians enjoyed goodwill in most countries, the sudden interests in India among the policymakers, businesses, and politicians were mainly after the 1992 economic liberalization that had opened the Indian markets to foreign investments. Besides the nation-branding exercises globally, New Delhi employed soft power instruments in countries it deemed to have more significant interests, from traditional allies like Bhutan and Afghanistan to the countries in the West in the last three decades. Nevertheless, how successful has India been in exploiting its cultural linkages and using its soft power in its branding? This question becomes pertinent as, in recent years, India has often received negative press coverage in international media, and on several freedom/democratic indices, its rankings have gone down. As India celebrates 75 years of independence as Azadi ka Mahotsav (a grand celebration of independence), this paper assesses the scope of its soft power as a foreign policy instrument, points out its shortcomings, and recommends the possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the contribution of decolonising states to the nascent international order emerging after the end of World War II. More precisely, it investigates the Indian contribution to the emerging international human rights regime, focussing on two key contributions: the advocacy for a strong supranational authority endowed with substantial enforcement mechanisms for the realisation of human rights and the equally strong defence of a bifurcation of civil-political and socio-economic rights into two treaties. Both contributions have been largely ignored within International Relations – and where they have been acknowledged, they have been subsumed into either narratives of liberal progress (as in the case of human rights enforcement) or Cold War rivalry (as in the case of a separation of the two Human Rights Covenants). In contrast, this paper seeks to shed light on the agency of Indian diplomats and politicians. It shows how their positions were neither simply replications of pre-existing scripts nor bare executions of superpower preferences. Instead, they were responses to the challenges of becoming a post-colonial state in a still overwhelmingly imperial world. Two challenges stood out: the definition of citizenship in light of internal diversity and a widely dispersed diaspora and the challenge of development against the backdrop of highly unequal global economic relations. In this article, I trace the movement of key protagonists between the Constituent Assembly and the United Nations to show how they were engaged in a project of postcolonial worldmaking, which required the simultaneous transformation of domestic and international order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kashmir issue, a source of tension between Pakistan and India has numerous aspects and is termed by many an international dispute. The conflict not only hampered Indo-Pak relations but also precipitated regional instability. This is the reason that foreign policy of Pakistan since her inception remained India centric. Although both states share borders but never remain on same page when it comes to the viable solution of Kashmir dispute. Interests of Kashmiri population will have to be respected to make any decision long lasting. This paper by adopting narrative approach explains number of conflict management techniques to find any feasible solution but all efforts ended with the beginning of new conflict. With the indigenous freedom movement and India's massive military response, Kashmir dispute has entered a new phase. The paper finds that possible viable solution of Kashmir disputes is impeded by Indian stubborn and uncompromising attitude; therefore, mediation by third party is essential. The paper argues that any approach to settle this multifaceted conflict necessitates different but interconnected trajectories or unending interactions and negotiations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Janus.Net: e-Journal of International Relations is the property of Universidade Autonoma de Lisboa, Observare / Observatorio de Relacoes Exteriores and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

While decoding the journey of the last Seventy-five years as a sovereign, independent nation, the foreign policy of India offers interesting paradigm shifts in focus and tectonic change in strategy, for academic inquiry, intellectual debate and strategic thought. Situating India in the larger discourse of contemporary foreign policy choices and challenges reveals a trajectory of gradual evolution from a nascent post-colonial state, embracing liberal pluralism to an emerging global power pursuing proactive policies based on pragmatic realism in the twenty -first century. At the stroke of the midnight hour on the eve of independence, India as a newly independent state had articulated the Nehruvian idealist vision based on transformative ideas to shape the post-war world order. But gradually it veered towards a more pragmatic approach to confront a world increasingly shaped by realism. The present paper strives to analyze the dynamic character of the international and domestic milieu that shaped India's foreign policy after independence. It further delves into critically examining the objectives and principles of India's foreign policy, which determined the transformative assertion of an emerging power in the global arena in the present century. The paper aims at presenting a nuanced interpretation of various political, ideological, and strategic rationales ofIndia's foreign policy by contextualizing it in the backdrop of its post-colonial predicaments and the contemporary geopolitical and geo-economic challenges in an increasingly globalizing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India and Africa have been sharing a multidimensional relationship of cooperation and friendship since the ancient civilizations. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new possibilities and opportunities for India to leverage its soft power diplomacy towards Africa. The paper's main focus is to analyze how India has made soft power part of its foreign policy and examine India's relationship with the African continent through health diplomacy. A literature search was done in major databases, such as Web of Science, Medicine/PubMed, Scopus, OVID, and Google Scholar search engine to gather relevant information. Through humanitarian assistance and geopolitical influence, India had won the support and heart of Africans. Besides, India has become a global healthcare provider in the African continent through its global health diplomacy and vaccine diplomacy. India has achieved impressive gains through its soft power diplomacy and has become a compassionate and benevolent actor in the African continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the process of planning, adapting, and implementing a brief, instrumental, school-based mentoring curriculum originally developed in the United States, in three cities in India. India has the world's largest population of young adults aged 10-24 years, a developmental period associated with heightened psychosocial stressors and the onset of mental health issues, as well as a dire shortage of mental health professionals. Moving services that are typically provided by highly skilled professionals to individuals with fewer credentials or less formal training (e.g., from psychologists to mentors) can increase access to adolescent mental health services. Yet, transferring programs internationally is accompanied by unique barriers including cultural differences, and should be guided by an established framework. In this paper, we discuss the formation of a research-practice partnership designed to generate applied knowledge through emic cultural perspectives. We describe each stage of the program adaptation process within the Cultural Adaptation Framework (Fendt-Newlin et al., 2020), including our decisions to strategically adjust, remove, or retain content from the original mentoring intervention. Although program delivery was prematurely discontinued due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we provide a brief synopsis of lessons learned through the international partnership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores India's policy and strategy engagements in Central Asian Republics with the aim of fostering close proximity in the field of economic development, security and political cooperation. It focuses in particular on actions, ways, directions, vision, achievements, methods, which play an important on the bilateral and multilateral cooperation between them. Because the geopolitical competition already has begun for the natural resources and energybetween the major powers (Russia, USA and China) and regional powers (Turkey, Iran, India and Pakistan)in the postcold war period which is known as „New Great Game? in Central Asia. In this dynamic geopolitical environment, India's policy with the regionshould reflect on the economic development, geopolitical engagement including strategic interaction, advantage, political support, mutual cooperation. Whereas India's engagement with Central Asia can provide an opportunity to be a part of a multilateral cooperative system particular, in security and trade ties. In this context, India should strive close to Russia, South Korea and Japan which emphasis close proximity, continue to engage in a resurgence policy to maintain geopolitical space with the proper diplomatic channel. Thus, this article has been divided into two parts, the first part of the paper has examined a comprehensive analysis and used level of analysis for explaining the foreign policy between India and Central Asian Republics. And another part has discussed the policy and strategy engagements of India with the Central Asian region in the 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rising convergence between India and the United States, as well as their strategic interests, have been evident since the end of the Cold War. Over the last decade, the Indo-US strategic partnership has strengthened not only in the areas of defence, arms cooperation, counter-terrorism collaboration, ballistic missile defence, drones, nuclear technologies, space, and cyber technology, but India has also emerged as a prominent strategic partner of the United States in the areas of cyber and homeland security. India is becoming a pompous regional player who wants to be the regional hegemon as the Indo-US Strategic Partnership grows. As a result of the Indo-US strategic cooperation, the discrepancy in conventional and nuclear weapons between India and Pakistan could exacerbate the South Asian arms race and destabilise Pakistan's security environment. Pakistan must implement a proactive foreign policy in order to gain from the changing global and strategic environment. For Pakistan's economic and security, an alliance policy with regional and extra regional nations would be more prudent. Under the shadow of the US-India cooperation, this paper briefly emphasises the potential security threats to Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India and Myanmar being neighbours have had close ties with each other and the bilateral relations between the countries is strong. Myanmar - had been on the headlines due to two main reasons - its struggle for democracy and its mismanagement of the Rohingyas. Ever since the escalation of the conflict, international news agencies have been reporting on it extensively. Indian media had been placing the migration plight on the headlines. Media not only plays the role of communicating information to the public, but it at times aids in framing the government policies through trial balloons Occasionally, media sets certain agendas that will help the government in tweaking its existing policies or draft new ones. This paper tries to find out if the media aided in setting an agenda in formulating India's foreign policies - principally migration/refugee policy with respect to Myanmar and the Rohingyas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of the devastation caused by COVID-19, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and vaccine research and development (R&D) have been occupying a prominent position in the field of global health diplomacy (GHD). Most countries, international organizations, and charitable organizations have been engaged in the R&D of COVID-19 vaccines to ensure timely affordability and accessibility to all countries. Concomitantly, the World Trade Organization (WTO) provides some provisions and enforcements regarding copyrights, patents, trademarks, geographical indications, and industrial designs. Given these safeguards, it is considered that intellectual property rights (IPRs) have become major barriers to the affordability and accessibility of vaccines/medicines/technology, particularly to the developing/least developed countries. Realizing the gravity of the pandemic impact, as well as its huge population and size, India has elevated this issue in its global health diplomacy by submitting a joint proposal with South Africa to the World Trade Organization (WTO) for a temporary waiver of IPRs to ensure timely affordability and accessibility of COVID-19 medical products to all countries. However, the issue of the temporary waive off had become a geopolitical issue. Countries that used to claim per se as strong advocates of human rights, egalitarianism, and healthy democracy have opposed this proposal. In this contrasting milieu, this paper is aimed at examining how the TRIPS has become a barrier for developing countries' development and distribution of vaccines/technology; secondly, how India strategizes its role in the WTO in pursuant of its global health diplomacy? We conclude that the IPRs regime should not become a barrier to the accessibility/affordability of essential drugs and vaccines. To ensure access, India needs to get more engaged in GHD with all the involved global stakeholders to get strong support for their joint proposal. The developed countries that rejected/resisted the proposal can rethink their full support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's coastal cities have been playing a pivotal role in international relations through culture, commerce, and connectivity since the hoary past. In modern times, coastal cities such as Mumbai (formerly Bombay) on the Arabian Coast and Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) on the Bay of Bengal have been active actors in international affairs. While Mumbai has been the hub of international trade and commerce, Kolkata has been the junction of cultural bonhomie with Bangladesh and Southeast Asian countries, which gained more traction due to cross-border movements of technology, information, education, trade and finance, and artistic tools bolstered by the New Economic Policy beginning in the early 1990s. Indian states and metropolitan cities are enhancing their positions in international affairs with tangible gains. Mumbai is referred to as India's financial capital and the home to the headquarters of great global business houses and financial organisations. Similarly, Kolkata is known as the cultural capital of India (Sri Aurobindo, Tagore, Shanti Niketan, Bengali folk art and culture etc.) and a destination for foreign tourists, artists and curious researchers. This paper examines the growth and impact of city diplomacy in India through the prism of federalism in advancing local interests in international politics. It attempts to assess the role of Indian cities from a comparative perspective in the conduct of city diplomacy from economic and cultural aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's foreign policy, as in the case of any other sovereign state, aims at protecting and promoting the country's 'national interest.' Strategic autonomy, which has been its defining value and goal, remains at the core of India's global engagements. India maintains political, diplomatic, economic, strategic, science and technological, and cultural relations to achieve a stable, secure, peaceful, and prosperous India. The largest 'democracy' in the world, India, joins hands with the EU, the largest cluster of 'democracies' in the world. This article provides a chronology of India–EU interactions from the inception and intent to explore their strategic partnership. It examines India–EU strategic partnership significance, and differences, and highlights whether the strategic partnership 'strategized' enough or not. India and the EU are two quite exceptional entities in the world; thus, their strategic partnership is really a 'true strategic alliance'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India has been engaging the South East Asian nations actively as a result of its 'Look East Policy' started in 1990. India and ASEAN have mutual interests in a wide range of areas which include Commerce, Tourism, Foreign Affairs, Renewable Energy and Telecommunications, Agriculture, and Renewable Energy. It indicates the deepening and strengthening friendship of India and ASEAN. In this context, the present study attempts to throw light upon the evolution of Indo-ASEAN relations from a historical perspective. It dwells upon the developments that took place after the end of the Second World War and subsequent tectonic shifts in the geo-political equations across South East Asia. The study provides an account of the key events that shaped the Indo-ASEAN relations over a period of time. It also discusses the challenges posed to this relationship in the backdrop of China's emergence in Asia and makes policy suggestions to deal with these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Korean War, major powers such as the United States, Soviet Union, and China were solely driven by their own security interests. Consequently, their policies towards the crisis prioritized their own security and power maximization, leading to their alignment with one side and intensifying the conflict. While the United States sided with the South, China and the Soviet Union sided with the North. In contrast, India took a unique approach during the Korean War. India, which was heavily involved in the crisis as a proactive peacemaker, adopted a stance based on morality, neutrality, and favorability towards the Korean people. This approach was very different from the major powers who were focused on their security and power interests. The question that arises is: why did India take a different stance than other major powers? What explains India’s role as a peacemaker that focused on morality and neutrality in the Korean War when other major powers were focused on power and security maximization? To answer these questions, I draw on the existing literature that suggests the ideas generated domestically can profoundly impact foreign policy. Based on this, I argue that India’s active role in seeking peace during the Korean War and its unique approach to resolving the Korean crisis was largely influenced by principled ideas such as non-interference, neutrality, rejection of power politics, and Asian unity rooted in its historical experience during the independence movement. To evaluate my argument, I employ four case studies related to India’s involvement in the Korean War and demonstrate how the principled ideas discussed above influenced India’s active but neutral and unbiased peacemaking role in resolving the Korean question at a time when major powers’ security maximization actions were intensifying the crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As cyberspace gets advanced, its significance has increased making it a key element of national power. In response to heightened cyber threats and vulnerabilities, states may seek to achieve their national objectives through digital means. As a result, strategic policies, dedicated organizations, collaborative cyber efforts, and similar initiatives seamlessly integrate into the state system. With this perspective in mind, this article explores both internal and external cyber threats, and the measures to mitigate them in India. The article will delve into three major themes- India's domestic cybersecurity concerns, external digital threats, and its participations in global cyber affairs. As the article intends to focus chiefly on India's digital strategic interests, it concentrates on the military cyber activities, cyber doctrines, command structure, and related areas. While the article also briefly discusses on India's domestic efforts to combat cybercrime, it additionally examines India's intentions to expand its role in global cyber affairs/politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper inquires theoretically into how leaders act and react to the state role of rising power through the case study of India. It brings together role theory and leadership trait analysis, and contends that there is a puzzling interplay between rising status and leaders' characteristics. We project that leaders' traits and styles condition how they enact roles. India and its leaders offer a suitable case for investigating this issue. Since the economically unstable early 1990s, India has gone through a relatively successful era of global emergence. Thus, we examine the relationship between India's roles and the leadership profiles of Prime Ministers Atal Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh and Narenda Modi, specifically their belief in the ability to control events and the need for power. We find especially in Vajpayee and Singh that their traits can help explain India's foreign policy roles and in Modi (first term only) a leader vulnerable to contextual winds. We argue that the interplay of leaders' traits and roles, as expressions of both material and social dimensions, helps assess how they make sense of their country's rising within both the regional and international systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Indo-Pacific" concept was first initiated by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007. By 2017, U.S President Donald Trump echoed this concept with implications for a new strategy towards the wider region as the "Indo-Pacific" rather than the "Asia-Pacific". With its strong rise in recent years, India is expected to hold a prominent position in the new milieu. Through recent moves, India aims to develop an "independent, self-reliant" foreign policy as an important player in the strategic space of the "Indo-Pacific" region. This paper is to analyze India's vision and policy adjustments in the context of a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contemporary international relations, the term 'Indo-Pacific' has started acquiring tremendous significance. The very conceptualization of Indo-Pacific is perceived from multiple vantage points, however, the geo-strategical dimension appears to be dominating. Almost all the major powers have started reorienting their policies towards the region. India has also welcomed the Indo-Pacific construct, as it opens up an array of opportunities by expanding India's sphere of interest to the Pacific. This renewed orientation of the new spatial construct inevitably compels India to relocate its priorities in terms of responding to the changing regional balance of power equations as well as addressing the plethora of traditional and non-traditional security concerns in the extended neighborhood. India, therefore, needs to opt for a more pragmatic approach to effectively engage in the region without jeopardizing its national interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India was the first country in South Asia to establish diplomatic relations with the European Economic Community (EEC). Once, the country was one of the top beneficiaries of the EEC development assistance. However, this article traces the evolution of development policy with India and how the relationship has evolved between the two partners over time. Particularly, the discussion focuses on the development cooperation between the European Union (EU) and India from 1957 to 2020. A major shift took place in 2004 when the EU and India became strategic partners, and India is the only country from South Asia that has established a strategic partnership with the EU. The study also explores the founding principles of the relationship between both partners. The qualitative research method is applied here in the empirical setting to explain the crux of diplomatic relations and development cooperation. Likewise, we found here, through the latest results, that EU–India relations were established and strengthened in the past decade. The EU also concluded some trade negotiations, but the complete free-trade agreements (FTAs) are still in the dialogue phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India’s relations with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have seen an effective change in the last few years. The change reflects the ‘energetic’ foreign policy of India and its increasing dynamism in global politics. The Latin American and the Caribbean region, so far overlooked by India, is increasingly becoming one of the focal points of its various foreign policy overtures. This article draws attention to the growing significance of the Latin American region for India both in terms of resources and a political-diplomatic partnership. Given the recent setbacks of the pandemic, followed by the Ukraine war and the rising tensions between the United States and China, Latin American countries are looking for strategic partners without aligning themselves with any power. While India has growing relations with some LAC countries and has signed several strategic partnerships, it needs to engage with the region much more. Several economic factors favour an increased engagement. Positive perceptions about India in the region also help. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Economic & Social Research is the property of Abant Izzet Baysal University, Faculty of Economics & Administrative Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Eurocentric critique of the International Relations discipline has brought welcome attention to non-European international thinkers, and anti-colonial or anti-imperial thinkers in particular. Frequently these thinkers and associated movements are rightly described in thematic terms of emancipation, equality, and justice, in opposition to the hierarchical worldview of empires and their acolytes. Notwithstanding the broad validity of this depiction, a purely oppositional picture risks obscuring those aspects of 'non-European' international thought that evade simple categorisation. Drawing upon archival material and historical works, this article applies approaches offered by global intellectual history to the works of late colonial Indian international thinkers, exploring the mixed registers of equality and hierarchy, internationalism and imperialism present in their writings. Concentrating on three 'sites' connected by the common themes of diaspora and mobility: the plight of Indians overseas in East Africa; the concept of 'greater India'; and the international political thought of Benoy Kumar Sarkar, the article complicates the internationalism/imperialism divide of the early twentieth century, showing how ostensibly opposed scholarly communities sometimes competed over similar forms of knowledge and ways of ordering the world. This offers a framework by which the contributions of global intellectual history can be applied to the study of international political thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The administration of President Moon Jae-In introduced the Republic of Korea's 'New Southern Policy' (NSP-K) in 2017 to pursue a more diversified foreign policy by fostering stronger diplomatic and economic ties with Southeast Asia and India. However, the 2022 presidential election resulted in the victory of Yoon Suk-yeol and a shift in administration. President Yoon has expressed the need to deepen South Korea's engagement with ASEAN and India to reduce reliance on China and adopted a new 'Strategy for a free, peaceful, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region' built on the 'Global Pivotal State' (GPS) Initiative. This article provides a brief overview and assessment of South Korea's NSP-K under the Moon administration, examines its transition under the new Yoon administration, and analyses policy implications within the larger geopolitical context, especially concerning South Korea's ability to establish an independent agenda as a middle power amid growing Sino-American tension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's conception of its peaceful role in international affairs, which evolved during the Nehruvian era, is not an end in itself, but rather a wholesome strategic choice consistent with its economic development and great power ambitions. Despite emphasising a radical shift in foreign policy, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi deemed it essential to prioritise peace in international relations, particularly with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. The Abraham Accords, involving the UAE and Bahrain, have created a new geopolitical environment that affirms India's conception of security through peace and permits engagement in key areas while ensuring economic gains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 21st century, India significantly enhanced its engagements with the Gulf region driven by domestic economic and security considerations. New Delhi followed a policy of strengthening bilateral ties and maintained neutrality on intraregional disputes, tensions, and rivalries. Hence, the Gulf policy followed the fine print of a multialigned foreign policy, a concept frequently used to describe the post‐Cold War shifts in India's external relations. However, given the transitions in the regional security scenario both because of regional developments and systemic factors, India's multialigned policy in the Gulf faces serious challenges. The Indian response reveals that despite different regional and international factors pulling in different directions, the Gulf policy continues to be guided by multialignment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'Neighbourhood First Policy' is the anchor point of India's general foreign policy since independence in 1947. Subsequently, the Neighbourhood First Policy has evolved, was debilitated, and has been reformed under the various prime ministers of India. Based on preferences and perceptions about the South Asian neighbourhood, the Neighbourhood First Policy has been implemented differently. This article aims to analyse the Neighbourhood First Policy of India under four different prime ministers (Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Inder Kumar Gujral, and Narendra Modi). The article investigates the pretexts behind each premier's way of handling the Neighbourhood First Policy followed by an empirical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of bilig: Journal of Social Sciences of the Turkish World is the property of bilig: Journal of Social Sciences of the Turkish World and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

India has used civilizational discourses as part of its foreign policy to articulate its rise and rightful place in the world order. This article primarily examines India's civilizational arguments in south Asia. India's civilizational arguments in the region demand scrutiny as the neighbourhood is a theatre of contestation between territorial India and the claims of its civilizational space. Analysing historical accounts on Indian civilization, official documents and domestic narratives in India about south Asia, the article makes three points. First, India's civilizational articulation oscillates between two paradigmatic and contrasting representations of Nehruvianism and Hindutva variants. Second, it is argued that despite the ascendancy of Hindutva 's civilizational symbolism since 2014, India's south Asia policy shows no paradigmatic change. Finally, it points to how the Hindutva project may be detrimental to India's self-image and dealings in south Asia. The article argues that while there is no official corroboration of Hindutva 's claims in India's south Asia policy, the increasing salience of the domestic discussions around Akhand Bharat (undivided India) invites complications for India in its neighbourhood. India's Hindutva -driven civilizational claims raise anxieties of an Indian cultural hegemony in an asymmetric region splintered across territorial and nationalistic lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the challenges India faces in upholding its aspiration of becoming a democratic world leader while holding the G20 presidency, given its nonchalant approach toward the erosion of democracy in Myanmar. Despite claiming to be the "mother of democracy," India's indifference toward the ongoing civil war in Myanmar and the increasing proximity of its military leaders with China contradicts its aspirations of becoming a world leader. As India marches toward fulfilling its role as a democratic global power, persistent violent attacks on democracy and rule of law in its eastern neighborhood pose a direct threat to its strategic and economic interests in the Indo-Pacific region. The article sheds light on the implications of the military rule in Myanmar for India during its G20 presidency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managing order transition in the Indo-Pacific is as much about negotiating the character of regional order as it is about mounting balance of power challenges or establishing countervailing institutional arrangements. For this reason, members of the Quad have expressed ambitions to deliver shared security on the basis of collective identity and values—though at times more in discourse than in practice. This article argues that India is actively contesting and, in some ways reconfiguring, the legitimating narratives of the Quad as an Indo-Pacific 'security community'. Under the leadership of Narendra Modi, India has approached the socialising imperative of liberal identity cues selectively and ambivalently. More widely, India has declined to pursue an overt, collective strategy of Chinese containment and has propounded distinctive visions of regional security provision. India's vision for liberal order in the Indo-Pacific stands apart from the 'security community' that the other Quad partners have enunciated in their foreign policy discourse, with consequences for the future of order transition in the Indo-Pacific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]