Note 081
India and the world: strategic autonomy explained
Strategic autonomy is the idea that India should decide its own foreign policy on the basis of its own interests, rather than by following the…
Indian Democracy in 100 Notes · Theme 9 of 10
🌏 Foreign policy & democracy
Strategic autonomy, China, Pakistan, the neighbourhood, the Quad, BRICS and G20, trade and tariffs, the diaspora, democracy rankings, climate talks and civilian control of the military.
Note 082
India-China relations: border, trade, and trust
India and China are neighbours, major economies and rivals whose relationship mixes cooperation with deep mistrust. The core difficulty is the border.…
Note 083
India-Pakistan: why dialogue stops and starts
India-Pakistan relations follow a repeated pattern: talks begin, a crisis interrupts them, a limited understanding restores calm, and then the cycle…
Note 084
India and its neighbours: Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives
India's neighbourhood is where foreign policy meets daily life: shared rivers, power grids, roads, fishing waters, migration and security. The official…
Note 085
The Quad, BRICS, and G20: India's many tables
India is unusual in belonging, at the same time, to groups that are often seen as rivals. That is deliberate. Each forum does a different job, and India…
Note 086
Trade, tariffs, and economic diplomacy in 2025-26
Trade became the sharpest test of India's foreign policy in 2025–26, because tariffs are not only about prices. They affect jobs, farmers, exporters and…
Note 087
Diaspora politics: Indians abroad and Indian democracy
More than 35 million people of Indian origin live outside India, according to India's Ministry of External Affairs figures reported in May 2024: about…
Note 088
Democracy rankings: how India is rated, and why rankings are debated
Every year, several international projects rate how democratic countries are. They often reach different conclusions about India, and that disagreement…
Note 089
Climate diplomacy: India's voice in global talks
Climate negotiations are, for India, negotiations about development as much as about the environment. India is a large emitter in total terms, yet its…
Note 090
Defence, security, and democratic control of the armed forces
India has never had a military coup, unlike Pakistan, where the army has taken direct power several times. That is not an accident of culture alone. It is…