Contemporary Debates in Indian Foreign and Security Policy

As a consequence of India's attempts to carve out a foreign policy that is in sync with its rising stature in the international system, the country is dealing with a range of issues that are controversial but central to the future of Indian global strategy. These include India's relations with the US; the idea of a strategic triangle involving Russia, China, and India; India's nuclear doctrine and its impact on emerging civil-military relations; India's position on the ballistic missile defense system; India's relations with Iran and Israel; and India's quest for energy security. On almost all these issues an intense debate exists in the Indian polity and the strategic community: how this debate resolves itself will in many ways determine the direction of Indian foreign policy for years to come.

Harsh V. Pant teaches at King's College London in the Department of Defence Studies. He is also an associate with the King's Centre for Science and Security Studies. He joined King's after finishing his doctorate at the University of Notre Dame (USA). He holds a BA (Hons) from the University of Delhi and MA and MPhil degrees from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi (India). His current research is focused on Asia-Pacific security and defence issues. He has been published on these issues by a number of academic journals and other publications across the world, including the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Journal, Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Asia-Pacific Review, Asian Survey, Armed Forces and Society, Middle East Quarterly, and Strategic Analysis.