India's Foreign Policy Analysis

Determinants and Compulsions of
India's Foreign Policy

According to J.N. Dixit "Foreign policy of a country is a statement of what it stands for and the role that it takes upon itself and projects to the world at large". It is seldom static. Rather it remains in a state of constant flux. Nevertheless, there are crucial ingredients that remain significant for longer times.

Factors Affecting India's Foreign Policy

Size:
In the first place the size of a state's territory as well as it’s population greatly influences its foreign policy. Generally the leaders and people of countries with small territory and population do not expect their country to carry great weight in international affairs. On the other hand the leaders and people of large
The problems of poverty, health, scarcity that was outcome of British imperialism convinced the country of futility of alignments. Instead it chose to welcome assistance from all the countries.

Security, Defense:
After independence India inherited a weak defence system. Her military was organized on British pattern, geared to serve the interest of an alien country. It was plagued by maladministration, lack of equipments and up to date technical knowhow. Lack of capital to modernize the army led India to pursue her economic interests at the cost of security issues. However, with the passage of time, India took cognizance of these lacunae in her security. Today Indian army is one of the ablest and strongest armies in the world.
Generally under authoritarian system quick foreign policy decisions are possible because the decision making power rests with an individual assisted by his clique. But as the leaders under this system are isolated from the operational environments and the subordinate policy makers provide the information which is perceived by the superiors, there is every possibility of a discrepancy between the psychological and operational aspects of the foreign policy. Further, under this system undesirable opposition can be suppressed through censorship and promulgation of regulations. On the other hand in a country possessing a democratic structure like India, the citizens can freely express their opinion on the domestic as well as foreign policy which naturally leave its impact on the foreign policy of the country. Under democratic system there is very little discrepancy between what the officials want to believe about the state of world politics and the actual position because the subordinate policy makers make available critical and detached information. Within the democratic system itself the difference in a political structure has its impact on foreign policy. For example, under a parliamentary system of government based on co-operation between the Legislature and the Executive, the cordial relations between the two wings have an impact on country's foreign policy. On the other hand under