India: Charting a New Course?

Abstract

The specter of irrelevance in the emerging world order haunts the Indian state. Mainly because of flawed and short-sighted policies, the country is besieged by a legion of problems, none of them easily solved. With the end of the cold war, many of the familiar moorings of India's foreign policy have been sundered. The nation finds itself adrift. If India is to play a role commensurate with its size and economic potential, its leaders will have to demonstrate considerable dexterity in tackling the new challenges on the domestic front and abroad. Failure to do so may well result in India's permanent relegation to the status of a crippled giant.