India: "State of mind: What kind of power will India become" , August 1, 2009

In an article titled, "State of mind: What kind of power will India become" published in International Affairs of July, 2009 (Vol. 85, No. 4), Rahul Sagar, Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics at Princeton University, says India’s place in international affairs is shaped by the following four competing visions:

1) Moralists who wish for India to serve as an exemplar of principled action (moral exceptionalism);

2) Hindu nationalists who want Indians to act as muscular defenders of Hindu civilization (martial vigor);

3) Strategists who advocate cultivating state power by developing strategic capabilities (state power); and

4) Liberals who seek prosperity and peace through increasing trade and interdependence (wealth).

EXCERPTS:

**There is growing consensus in India that the pursuit of moral prestige has proved unrewarding. The demanding vision of the Hindu nationalists enjoys only limited public support, and India’s political elite display little willingness to pursue the tough policies advocated by the country’s strategic community. Increasingly, it appears India will, if by default, pursue prosperity and peace, a strategy that promises to transform it to a great commercial power. However, if this quest is thwarted by external threats it is likely that a contrary dynamic will be set in motion, as calls to enhance India’s military power grow louder -- and are heeded more closely.

**The desire to act in a principled fashion (Moralists’ vision) has three implications: First, it implies that India will continue to look sceptically on alliances that threaten its freedom to act and speak as it wishes. A recent example of the diplomatic consequences of this independent streak is provided by the conflict between India and the US over Iran. Even though it shares the American concern about Iran’s efforts to develop nuclear weapons, and has twice voted with the US at the IAEA to refer Iran to the UN Security Council, India has repeatedly affirmed its desire to to pursue an independent policy vis-a-vis Iran, including the option of undertaking major energy projects in that country. A second implication of the desire to act in a principled fashion will be India’s continued leadership of coalitions endeavoring to ensure that international regimes do not undermine the interests of the developing world e.g. in the debate over the principles that should govern the distribution of costs and responsibilities for reducing environmental damage. The third implication of the desire to act in a principled fashion is that India will use civil means to challenge what it sees as discriminatory features of the international order e.g. on the nuclear issue. It is increasingly unclear whether India’s conduct will in fact continue to be shaped by Nehru’s vision. Though his proud defense of Indian autonomy still reverberates in Indian ears, his policies face a growing chorus of crticism from those who wish to see India adopt stances that correspond to its cultural, military and economic potential. The critques have already begun to influence policy and further shifts in the role India conceives for itself in international affairs.

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The full text electronic article of Rahul Sagar is available for purchase. It costs $41.89 plus tax (http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/inta/2009/00000085/00000004/art00009). However, a summary of the article titled, "Indian Foreign Policy in the 21st Century", is available at the website of CASI (Center for the Advanced Study of India of the University of Pennsylvania -- http://casi.ssc.upenn.edu/iit/sagar