The rise of the Indian superpower

The rise of the Indian superpower

Tuesday 6th September 2011, 12:16am

Foreign affairs experts met recently to discuss the growing strength of the world’s largest democracy. Edward Shawcross has their unexpected answers

Edward Shawcross

1 INDIA IS BECOMING A HARD POWER
India used to be a leading member of the Non-Aligned Movement. Until 1991, its foreign policy was marked by a refusal to enter into military agreements with major powers. The collapse of India’s closest ally, the Soviet Union, forced Delhi to change its position and seek a rapprochement with the US through the 1990s and the early 2000s. Key concessions included the lease of military bases and support for the Star Wars missile defence system. This cooperation led to the 2006 US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement.

The fall of the Soviet Union provided the external catalyst for change, but internal economic factors played their part. India realised that it could only assert itself on the world stage if it had the resources to back it up as a world power. The failure of India’s quasi-socialist economy had become apparent even before the USSR collapsed, and was reinforced by the fall of the Berlin Wall. A capitalist consensus grew out of the failure of state planning and the limitations of autarky. The example of China was seen as one to be emulated; this led to a less idealistic, more realistic approach to foreign policy. Moralism and idealism were shed in favour of pragmatism and realpolitik, what foreign policy analyst and journalist C. Raja Mohan called a shift from the power of argument, to the argument of power. This has manifested itself in a more ambitious foreign policy, such as seeking a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

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