Alternative regional strategy for India: exploring soft power options

As an emerging regional economic power and a vibrant democratic country in South Asia, India stands poised to assume political leadership to preserve peace and stability in the region. This aspiration however, has not materialised due to India’s complex and frosty relationships with its neighbours.

This essay states that lack of a coherent neighbourhood policy based on common values and interests explains the failure of India to shape the destiny of this region.

Key points are that:

• geopolitically, India is surrounded by weak states that pose serious challenges to its national security as well as regional stability
• India is the only country in the region which can bear the responsibility of steering the region to the path of political stability and socio-economic development
• a regional approach will provide the most feasible solution, and it needs to be evolved based on mutual consensus among these countries through regular dialogues and proper institutional frameworks

The paper clarifies that after the end of cold war, India began to embrace its neighbours with soft-power skills, which involved striking a common cord with neighbours on religion, culture, ethnicity and linguistic basis. The most convincing reason for this shift from hard-power to soft-power approach was the growing Chinese influence in its neighbourhood, but the lack of a comprehensive neighbourhood policy strategy blurred India’s prospect to become an effective regional power.

The author concludes with the statement that today, most Indian foreign policymakers feel that any hard power approach vis-à-vis its neighbours in addressing political crises is counter-productive, and are convinced that soft power approach will best serve its ends.