ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

Articles by Kishan S RanaSubscribe to Kishan S Rana

The Ministry of Home Affairs and Indian Democracy

Governance by Stealth: The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Making of the Indian State by Subrata K Mitra, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2021; pp xxv + 476, price not indicated.

Centre–State Cooperation in Handling Foreign Affairs

Indian states engage with foreign countries on the rigorous logic of our constitutional provision that foreign affairs is exclusively a “union” subject. This has conditioned state participation in external activities, especially in marketing abroad, or assisting with exports and foreign direct investment, and acting as foreign bridge-builders.

China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ Revisited

The Belt and Road Initiative, China’s foreign policy hallmark, faces problems over magnitude, mismanagement, and excessive indebtedness for the recipient countries. Notwithstanding its opposition
to China–Pakistan projects traversing Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, India’s hopes for using Chabahar port investments in Iran can be valorised only via China-built rail and road links to Afghanistan and Central
Asia. Incipient India–China cooperation in Afghanistan might provide a platform for an Indian reassessment.

Indian Foreign Policy

India’s foreign policy management and delivery critically need improvement. Going beyond incremental improvements, straightforward and clearly delineated foreign policy objectives should be developed. Coordinating with non-state actors, nurturing relations with neighbouring nations, and a diplomatic overhaul should be the key elements of India’s foreign policy.

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