As India emerges as a significant global actor, diverse states have sought to engage India with divergent agendas and interests. Some states aspire to improve their relations with New Delhi, while others pursue the transformation of Indian foreign policy—and even India itself—to suit their interests. The Engagement of India explores the strategies that key states have employed to engage and shape the relationship with a rising and newly vibrant India, their successes and failures, and Indian responses—positive, ambivalent, and sometimes hostile—to engagement. A multinational team of contributors examine the ways in which Australia, China, Japan, Russia, and the United States have each sought to engage India for various purposes, explore the ways in which India has responded, and assess India’s own strategies to engage with Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Central Asian republics.
This informative analysis of the foreign relations of a key rising power, and first comparative study of engagement strategies, casts light on the changing nature of Indian foreign policy and the processes that shape its future. The Engagement of India should be of interest to students and scholars of international relations, diplomacy, and South Asia.
Table of Contents
Preface
1. The Engagement of India
Ian Hall
2. The US Engagement of India after 1991: Transformation
Daniel Twining
3. Japan's India Engagement: From Different Worlds to Strategic Partners
H.D.P. Envall
4. Russia's Engagement of India: Securing the Longevity of a "Special and Privileged" Strategic Partnership
Lavina Lee
5. India and China: Strategic Engagements in Central Asia
Louise Merrington
6. China's Half-Hearted Engagement and India's Proactive Balancing
Harsh V. Pant
7. Australia's Fitful Engagements of India
Ian Hall
8. India's Engagements with Southeast Asia: Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia
David Brewster
9. Paradigm Shift: India during and after the Cold War
Rajesh Basrur
10. Conclusion: Engagement, India, and the Changing International Order
Nick Bisley
List of Contributors
Index
Reviews
"Of much timely significance, this edited volume by Ian Hall brings together a variety of perspectives concerning how the global system ought to respond to the seemingly assured rise of India within international affairs. . . . The key strength of the volume rests upon the discussion of ‘engagement.'"—Commonwealth & Comparative Politics
"A refreshing attempt to examine India’s foreign policy. . . . Some of the chapters in the volume are clearly outstanding. . . . The Engagement of India is an eminently readable book, lucidly written, well-researched, and it attempts to make a partial departure from the usual foreign policy volumes on India."—European Review of International Studies
"This volume brings together some leading experts to provide an up-to-date analysis of India’s external relations in the age of power transitions that will serve as an essential resource for students, scholars, and practitioners. The Engagement of India fills an important gap in existing literature insofar as it explores the engagement strategies employed by other states to shape the foreign and economic policies of India as a rising power."—Mohan Malik, professor of Asian security, Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies
"India’s rise is often understood only in terms of India’s own policies and actions. The Engagement of India argues convincingly that India’s rise in the international system must also be understood as a dynamic process of interactions between India and other states in a complex international arena. This brilliant collection of essays is essential reading for all those interested in the rise of great powers and in India and its future role in the international system."—Amitabh Mattoo, director, Australia India Institute, professor of International Relations, University of Melbourne and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
"As India emerges as a significant regional, if not global, player, other states seem increasingly interested to 'engage' it. This book explores what those states are doing and whether they are succeeding in it, and also India's reactions to these novel initiatives. Written for both experts and general readers, The Engagement of India makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of India's evolving international relations."—Swaran Singh, professor of diplomacy & disarmament, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Contributors
Rajesh Basrur Nick Bisley David Brewster H. D. P. Envall Ian Hall Lavina Lee Louise Merrington Harsh V. Pant Daniel Twining
About the Author
Ian Hall is a senior fellow in the Department of International Relations at Australian National University. He is the author of The Dilemmas of Decline: British Intellectuals and World Politics, 1945-75 and The International Thought of Martin Wight, and co-editor of Interpreting Global Security.
