Interests before Ideas. Does Hindu Nationalism influence India’s Foreign Policy ?

• Authors: Iwanek Krzysztof
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

This article seeks to determine whether the ideology of Hindu nationalism has influenced the course of Republic of India’s foreign policy since 2014 (when Hindu nationalists took over power). The conclusion is that while Hindu nationalism might have been and probably was important in certain regards, the broad direction of the policy generally remained the same as during the previous governments. Despite the anti-Muslim stance of Hindu nationalists, India has not changed its stance towards certain Arabic Muslim countries, while building warmer ties with Israel. New Delhi has also not employed any new tactics or solutions – whether bold or conciliatory – towards Islamabad. India’s China policy has not become more aggressive while the ‘Act East Policy’ that focuses on ties in East and Southeast Asia did not employ more references to common heritage than previously. New Delhi also tried to retain it similar cooperation with Russia and the US, though the one with Washington is visible growing (as ideological overtones are not visible in Indian policy on Russia, US and China, sections on relations with these powers were not included in the final version of this article). These conclusions lead the author to believe that India’s foreign policy will largely remain the same even if the Hindu nationalists retain power after the 2019 elections.

Keywords

EN

India; Hindu; Nationalism; Pakistan; India-Pakistan relations; Act East Policy

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Kultur Śródziemnomorskich i Orientalnych PAN
• Journal: Acta Asiatica Varsoviensia
• Year: 2018
• Issue: 31
• Pages: 97-113

Dates

published

2018-12-01

Contributors

author

Iwanek Krzysztof

• War Studies University (Warsaw). Head, Asia Research Centre

References

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