Independent India’s foreign policy, according to Shivshankar Menon, has gone through three geopolitical phases and their transitions. From 1947 to the 1960s, a bipolar Cold War world; from the early 1960s to the mid-1980s, rapid changes in its neighbourhood such as China falling out with the Soviets and moving to the U.S. side; and the post-Cold War world when the U.S. emerged as the sole superpower in a unipolar world order. Menon, who was the Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser and Foreign Secretary, is exploring these phases in their historical context to tell the story of how India weathered the geopolitical storms of the past in his book, India and Asian Geopolitics: The Past, Present. Shivshankar Menon outlines the story of India and its quest since independence in a changing Asia and traces changes in India’s foreign policy, maps its present-day challenges and suggests prescriptions for future. The book attempts to capture modern India’s navigation of regional geopolitics to pursue its foreign policy goals.
As India seeks to find its place in an increasingly complex world, it becomes important to reflect on the nation’s policy choices throughout history to understand where it stands today. Menon traces the evolution of Indian foreign policy as a response to Asia’s changing geopolitical landscape, steered significantly by rising China. Through comprehensive and engaging analysis, the book aims to answer the question, ‘How should India’s foreign policy evolve to tackle current and emerging strategic challenges?’ The uniqueness of India in aspects like geography, history and culture, positions India as major actor in Asia. Wise choices and policies according to changing geopolitics particularly in Asia enabled India to actively engage in the world.
Menon sees primary role of Indian foreign policy to be aiding India’s domestic transformation into a prosperous nation. Such approach largely repudiates more expansive foreign policy projection of India as great power shaping international order. Strategic autonomy and multipolar world order, are seen as best instruments for India to maximise its choices. Menon argues that continuity in Indian foreign policy under different regimes should be seen as a response to structural imperatives of geopolitics. These long-term geopolitical drivers include geography, demography, and economics. The narrative of India’s rise is in no less measure predicated on its demographic dividend. India cannot decisively shape global order in its favour without significant economic clout. It was post-liberalisation spurt in economic growth that made others take note of India’s growing importance.
The book begins with exploring geography and topographical features of Indian subcontinent which made it major crossroad of Asia. Interconnectedness of subcontinent within the region and engagements with rest of world is explored chronologically. Menon establishes the subcontinent as ‘self-contained geopolitical unit’ which is ‘pivot of the Indian Ocean’. He also brings forth how with help of demography, resourcefulness and historical legacy, India’s behaviour and economy changed in the world. The ideologies and visions of leader influence policies of a state and Menon affirms this by referring to quotes from leaders like Nehru and Indira Gandhi. India’s independence and China’s revolution in 1949 altered engagements within Asia and Nehru saw Asia as a ‘potential political, economic and strategic space’. He knew that India’s foreign policy and domestic policies are linked and identified decolonisation, reshaping of subcontinental borders and Cold War as trends that would shape India.
The book is divided into two parts where first part with eight chapters traces past events while second part with five chapters paints the present, through a geopolitical lens. The first half of the book covers historical evolution of India’s engagement with Asia from independence to 2000s. Arranged by decade, these chapters capture in nuanced manner the interrelation between changing geopolitical situation in Asia and calibrated Indian responses. The first part of the book, roughly covering period from decolonisation to globalisation, is more historical in its treatment and broadly follows chronological framework. This is history of decolonisation and emergence of new nation-states in Asia, world war, dynamics of the US-USSR-China triangle, end of cold war and globalisation. Breakup of Pakistan, tacit US-China concert against USSR and Indochina wars are part of this story. India entered world stage as independent country in radically new geopolitical environment.
Haunted by specter of nuclear war and dedicated to pursuit of a just international order, Indian foreign policy as steered by Nehru in 1950s was primarily about building area of peace. Indira Gandhi faced domestic crises in 1960s and challenging external environment in 1970s. What “Nehru the peacemaker and Indira Gandhi the security seeker” had in common was pursuing Indian interests while operating under structural geopolitical constraints. Menon has praise for PM Narasimha Rao, who fundamentally transformed Indian foreign policy away from Nehruvian roots and set tone for India’s engagement with the world.
The second part discusses evolving geopolitical situation in current context and looks at contemporary Asia and highlights China and its interface with others, including India. The focus is about India interacting, influencing and being influenced by Asia; this ‘broader’ Asia—vast continental land mass and even larger maritime universe. It is a geography in which outside powers—Europe, US, Russia—are key players integral to its geopolitics. This Asia always was connected to wider geographies and is now more connected than ever before. India’s own story is inseparable from this ‘broader Asia’ and is ‘most successful’ only when most connected to it. It devotes significant space to impact of globalisation, China’s rise, breakdown of old order after 2008 financial crisis and India’s policy options in Asia marked by return of great power politics. Menon recognises benefits globalisation has brought to Indian economy. This part starts with globalisation, its two-faced nature and its influence on Asian geopolitics. He discusses how we are living in an ‘age of anxiety’ as globalisation enabled progress in economy and living conditions but also created inequality and deprivation along with benefitting radical groups making world less safe. Globalisation also caused rise of China and its power projection inland as well as in maritime domain. Menon points out projects like Belt and Road Initiative by China through which China ‘develops economic, military and political leverage in its Asian periphery’. He illustrates how a multipolar world economy arises along with possible internal and external balancing that are evident due to globalisation. The book provides a detailed narrative on power politics in Asia with special focus on China. Menon opines that ‘we are witnessing a long-term paradigm shift in US-China relations where the tariff war is only one symptom’. Menon describes security situation and Indo-Pacific and enlists three possible geopolitical futures in Asia; a regional order centred on US or China, a multipolar, open, inclusive concert of powers or a region of several powers with varying capabilities. Menon shares his view that neither China nor Asia is ready for China centred order.
The moment dividing globalisation phase from current realities was 2008 financial crisis. If China was biggest beneficiary of globalisation decades, India and some others did not do badly either. As globalisation phase ended, China’s rise transformed balance of power in Asia. China’s rise, along with others, made world economy ‘multipolar’, but it still remains unipolar in military terms with US predominant. China’s rise has provoked strategic responses from other states in the region. Menon details bridging role of India, Panchsheel Treaty and India- China relations. The mid-1960s where domestic politics in India entered new trajectory with Shastri and Indira Gandhi’s rule along with events like signing of Tashkent Declaration, US engagement and Vietnam War, ASEAN, NPT etc are given special focus as separate chapter followed by story of Bangladesh, US-China rapprochement with Nixon’s visit to China and geopolitics of West Asia from 1973 oil crisis.
The book narrates views of East, West and Central Asia from India’s perspective as any situation in these regions would subsequently affect security of Indian subcontinent. Menon explores security cooperation between countries including scenarios like US seeing India as potential counterweight to China through QUAD, China involving itself in South Asia as balancer and India’s engagement with West Asia against radicalism. Rise of China and India-China relations is given special emphasis as far as Asia and India is concerned. With China projecting its soft and hard power along with ‘wolf warrior diplomacy’, US-China relations will significantly affect Chinese behaviour. In such scenario, Menon agrees that India should expand its role as security provider in maritime sector. He suggests fresh outlook towards Indian foreign policy and its theoretical foundations by incorporating intellectual, practical policies and workable grand strategies for India in Asia. In current geopolitical scenario, Asia is central to world security and prosperity with territorial claims, rising power, naval build-ups along with increased contestation in maritime space. This shows rapid and possible power shifts in the world. Menon says that history is a map and successfully provides a structured chronological map of the transforming Indian foreign policy with special emphasis on its neighbourhood from an Indian perspective. The book also puts forward consequences and challenges with thought-provoking suggestions for policy-making. Indian foreign policy has largely been flexible, readapting itself to changes in geopolitics. If in 1955, Nehru opposed Zhou Enlai’s proposal for a permanent Afro-Asian Secretariat saying it would create yet another bloc, in 1961 — after CENTO (Central Treaty Organization) and SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization) were formed as part of the Cold War alliance building — non-alignment became the Non-Alignment Movement under the same Nehru’s watch. When ties between China and Pakistan deepened and China moved to U.S. side, India chose to tighten ties with Soviet Union. After disintegration of Soviet Union, India opted for integration with global economy and transforming ties with the United States. Currently, India is facing another major transition. China has already risen as major power. Other countries in Asia, including India, are rising. The more India rises, the more relations between India and China will shift away from cooperation to competition. India-China relations have slid into crisis with 2020 Galwan clashes.
World affairs are today in-between orders and that much more anarchic. For India, this means enormous issues and the book is at its most valuable precisely here. China finds itself secure on its land frontiers and therefore free to reorder its maritime universe. The balance of power with India has shifted China’s way since ’80s. Finding answers through this conundrum is India’s key foreign policy challenge. Menon builds a credible, chronological narrative of transformation of India’s foreign policy and maps its present-day challenges with prescriptions for its tasks in an impassioned way. Menon is at his most insightful when he looks inwards at India. He finds it adrift in terms of vision because of violation of fundamental principle that external status, power and recognition must follow, not precede, success in building a stable and prosperous India. The book concludes with an afterword in which Menon writes about India’s destiny stating that India should ensure safe, prosperous and dignified life to every Indian with opportunity to realise their potential as citizens are future of India.
Menon’s long diplomatic career and his grasp over geopolitical and diplomatic history are well-reflected in his writing. India and Asian Geopolitics should be considered an essential read for anyone concerned with India’s role in emerging world order. The book provides for excellent account of making of new world order and is complexly woven discourse on how India has seen itself, Asia and great powers for past 75 years. It is timely and insightful and gives clear understanding on geopolitical structure of Asia from past till present day and is a piece of historical erudition and insights in lucid manner which makes it an immensely readable book, important for students and practitioners of Indian foreign policy.
