From Chanakya to Modi

Foreign policy does not exist in a cultural vacuum. It is shaped by national experience and a country's view of itself. In the case of India the foreign policy paradigm is as deeply informed by its civilizational heritage as it is by modern ideas about national interest. </p>The two concepts that come and go most frequently in Indian engagement with the world -- from Chanakya in the third century BC to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2020 -- are autonomy and independence in decision-making. There are also four trends that we can trace: messianic idealism realism isolationism and imperial influences -- ideas that have competed with and complemented each other at various points in time.</p>As India pursues modernity and seeks to exercise influence in the contemporary world an examination of the nation in the context of its history and tradition is crucial. Aparna Pande's <i>From Chanakya to Modi</i> explores the deeper civilizational roots of Indian foreign policy in a manner reminiscent of Walter Russel Mead's groundbreaking <i>Special Providence</i> (2001). It identifies the neural roots of India's engagement with the world outside. An essential addition to every thinking person's library<b>.</p></b>