Context: Finlandization is in news in context of Ukraine-Russia conflict. What is Finlandization? It refers to the policy of strict neutrality towards Moscow (Russia) and the West that Finland followed during the decades of the Cold War. The principle of neutrality was rooted in the Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (or YYA Treaty) that Finland signed with the USSR in …
India’s adverse Human Rights record: The U.S. State Department’s Country Report on Human Rights Practices recorded “significant human rights issues” in India. It includes extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, violence against minorities, unjustified harassment of journalists, and censorship and blocking of websites. India is rated poorly by the U.S.-based Freedom House which called it ‘partly free’. Sweden’s …
India’s foreign policy in 2021: Relations with the US and its allies: India took active engagements with the U.S. and went beyond familiarisation with the new government to increased commitment to Quad and acceptance of AUKUS and formation of the ‘western Quad’, with the U.S., Israel and the UAE. Relations with Russia: Major agreements were signed with Russia, despite the …
Context: India is pioneering the concept of digital public goods. This provides India an opportunity to take its made-in-India digital public goods to hundreds of emerging economies across the world. Examples of India’s Digital Goods: Children have access to QR-coded textbooks across state boards and languages Economically disadvantaged have access to the public distribution system Beneficiaries of …
China’s has advantage over India in terms of hard power (economic power + military power) as well as soft power What is soft power? Soft power, a tool of foreign policy, is a mix of cultural, policy and political influences based on power of attraction. It is the ability to persuade others in a peaceful means. …
What is Nehru’s version of NAM? He believed that world problems are interlinked, and it is for One World that free India should work. He was opposed to ideological confinement imposed by two power blocks. This was visible from India’s opposition to American weapons in Pakistan from 1954 and the creation of western-led military blocs …
Summary: In COP26, by offering to do more than what was expected out of it, India disarmed its critics from the Western countries while voicing the concerns of the South. India should do the same in protecting its geo-economics interests without sacrificing its geopolitical interests. Why India is standing alone at WTO? Criticism on India’s …
India’s Geopolitical Vs Geoeconomics interests – UPSC GS2 Read More »
Summary: India is not using International Laws to further its interests. Need is to promote International Law in Foreign policy. What are the examples of non-usage of international laws in India? After Pulwama attack of February 2019 by a Pakistan-based terror outfit, India struck the terror camps in Pakistan. However, in its justification for this action, India did not invoke …
Need to use International Laws more effectively – UPSC GS2 Read More »
Achievement of India’s foreign policy: Nuclear diplomacy: The NDA made India nuclear in 1998, initiated strategic discussions to resolve nuclear differences, leading eventually to the India-US nuclear deal under the UPA. Gulf diplomacy: Openings towards the conservative Gulf states created by the UPA have been remarkably broadened. Integrating West with the East: The India-US Malabar exercises resumed …
Achievement of India’s foreign policy – UPSC GS2 Read More »
What are the likely impacts of COVID on India’s foreign policy? Impact on Regional Supremacy: India’s Supremacy at the regional level (in South Asia) will decline in the future. India’s traditional primacy in the region was built on a mix of material aid, political influence, and historical ties. The Pandemic has reduced India’s ability to …