Theorising Indian Foreign Policy and Soft Power

Journal of International and Global Studies, 2018

Soft power’s importance has increased in the context of globalisation and the growing disquiet over the use of military power for achieving foreign policy objectives. This paper focuses specifically on soft power in India’s foreign policy and sources of India’s soft power like the Indian diaspora, Indian culture, etc. It also looks at what affects India’s soft power inimically and how to increase its soft power.

The coming of the BJP led NDA government headed by Narendra Modi at the centre had given a dramatic rise to the aspirations of the people of India in general and the researchers in particular because of the political scenario of twenty first century. In international context in the present century the nation-states are trying more to recapture their past glories which they lost in the past nineteenth and twentieth century's. The present international political scenario is marked and is witnessing the shift of the use of traditional political tools and techniques to number of others. In the past centuries the member states had particularly relied upon the use of hard power in order to maintain their position to being a hegemon. But the present century in which the world is turned a multi-polar where the regional powers such as China, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, India along with the European Union have a greater role to play while countering the earlier power holders such as the United States. These regional powers which turned global have been mostly relied upon the use of soft power. In such a context India's soft power approach to world politics need of the hour to be analyzed and evaluated in the most critical sense.

The concept of “Soft power” has aroused a lot of interest , debate and discussion, among both IR scholars and practitioners of foreign policy ever since 1990. Joseph Nye, the eminent former Harvard political science professor is credited with popularising the concept within the lexicon of International Relations (IR). As Prof Gallarotti has succinctly put it , “ .... few scholarly concepts have transcended the ivory towers of academia as vigorously as the concept of soft power, and its corollary smart power.”(Gallarotti :2011) .

Geopolitics, History, and International Relations, 6:1, 2014

Since the early 2000s, in keeping with India’s rise on the world stage, the scholarly and policy communities in India and abroad have witnessed a steady increase in writing on India’s soft power. Many of these assessments are optimistic, placing faith in India’s potential as a civilizational great power with considerable resources arising from its culture, domestic ideology and diplomacy. However, in terms of impact, Indian soft power has fallen far short of expectations. Significant sections of public opinion in the West and in Asia are still not favorable toward India. Moreover, one is hard pressed to identify a significant role played by soft power in India’s diplomatic gains since the early 1990s. This paper argues that India’s inability to capitalize on its soft power resources is the result of three factors. First, the overestimation of these resources by analysts. Second, the lack of sufficient hard power to undergird India’s soft power ambitions. And finally, unresolved elements of India’s identity that tend to undermine its efforts at soft power projection through public diplomacy.

Historia i Polityka

H i stor i a i Pol it y k a • No. 28(35)/2 019 Pa p er s Introductory Issues: Methods and State-of-the-Art In studies in international relations, the category of power is one of the fundamental ones and, like many others, can be ambiguously interpreted (Kuźniar, 2005). Multiplicity of its definitions means that it is difficult to compare its scope and methods of exerting influence, which results in formation of numerous and very diverse classifications of factors building the power of a state (Pietraś, 2006; Fontana, 1993). Even if we define what power is, a large number of its determinants makes it difficult to fully grasp the concept (Wójcik, 2010). Research on the topic of power in its broad sense has a very rich history and resulted in a vast body of literature. A significant portion of publications referenced in the present paper belong to the canon of international relations literature. Among them are the works of H.

Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies

India, the seventh largest country of the world guards a position of extraordinary diplomacy which grades its international relations. The paper speculates into Joseph Nye’s concept of Soft Power, which is a break-through strategy in the world gripped by hard power. The world witnessed two great Wars, which was and is in no way covetable. Thus, to sustain more of individual resources and beget a platform through which it becomes easier to mutually benefit both the sides engaged into the international relations, India develops its strategic soft power. Rich cultural heritage, inspiring spirituality, pioneering educational institutes, international trade makes India a country to pave its way into the global world of importance. The research work utilizes the available data and scrutinizes into the probable areas where India strategically develops its soft power to impress and attract the world utilizing its own resources.

Stratagem, 2018

In the 21 st century, our geopolitical world is undergoing a disruptive transition where power relationships between various nation-states are defining themselves in varying aspects, most prominently in projecting national power. The globalised nature of the political world requires nation-states to invest enormously in both metrics of power-hard and soft respectively. In this geopolitical context, India is poised to play a more vibrant globalist role in international politics. The election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and subsequent ascendance of Hindutva rights into Indian socio-political mainstream, sent shockwaves in Indian socio-polity and in the international community regarding the repercussions such religio-militarist dominance might unravel for India and the globe. Yet, contrary to perceptions, BJP-led India is increasingly viewing the soft power elements of Indian foreign policy as crucial to building a robust international profile for the country. However, perils remain intact to sustainable projection of Indian soft power as social development in India is persistently taking a backseat in priorities of managers of Indian soft power. The binary representation of economic development and culture in Indian soft power may in the term long prove to be far riskier and result in a downward trend of Indian soft power projection.

Abstract- India has used its own potentials and capabilities in terms of culture, religion, economy and politics since Indu-Nimna civilization as means of its soft power. Even though India has successfully applied its soft power within the region; she has not successfully extent its power beyond the region to encompass other states in the world. On the other hand the United States of America (USA) has succeeded to embrace the world although they have a more brief history and un-unique history compared with India. In fact, it is obvious that soft power of the United States is being used throughout the world since the independence concurrently with comprehensive understanding of the current phenomena. Therefore, the main intention of this research paper is to investigate reasons and challenges of India being unable to become a hegemonic power in the world. Apart from that, this anticipates to analyze the practice of American soft power as a successful bench mark according to Joseph Nye’s view as a comparative study together with India.

Harsh Pant (ed.), New Directions in India's Foreign Policy: Theory and Praxis (Cambridge University Press), 2018

This chapter examines the manner in which the study of Indian foreign policy has dealt with power. Drawing on debates over power in the wider international relations literature, the chapter asks of the Indian context: Is power purely based on capabilities or is it relational? Where does power come from? Is power essentially zero-sum in nature or can it be positive-sum? Is the pursuit of power – or power politics – rational and/or legitimate? What are the existing gaps and blind spots in the study of power in the context of Indian foreign policy? Answers to these questions provide a coherent picture of the evolution of the study of power and Indian foreign policy, while also charting a course for future research.