Posts Tagged ‘Foreign Policy’
Media, Public, National Interest in India: Emerging Trends
The past couple of months have witnessed intense discussion of India’s foreign policy in the country’s media. From the status of India’s nuclear weapon capacity to how pacifist India was ignoring the looming Chinese threat, the media has played an activist role. This is not something entirely new; who can forget the coverage of the Kargil War, dubbed as the war in ‘our living rooms’! The media religiously follows our leaders to General Assembly sessions and other regional Summits, every visit by a Head of State or Government from any part of the world receives extensive coverage in the media. The Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear deal had flooded the media for months.
But the recent trend that I am referring to is somewhat different and relatively new for India. Reporting on foreign policy developments is one thing; directing public discourse on foreign policy is completely different. Ex post facto coverage of issues relating to foreign policy has been the traditional domain of the country’s media but rarely, if ever, has the Indian media attempted to prioritize national interests through reporting and newspaper columns. It is interesting to analyze how and to what extent has the Indian media assumed this new role. Click to continue…
Diplomacy comes to Rescue India’s Foreign Policy: A Case of Tharoor as External Affairs Minister
I have for long held the view that India’s foreign policy lacks diplomacy. India has failed to realize that foreign policy is about protecting national interests while diplomacy is about how these interests are protected; foreign policy is more about objectives while diplomacy is about strategy. Foreign policy has a strong element of continuity; diplomacy is expected to be dynamic. So far India’s foreign policy has sought to achieve most of the traditional objectives that any nation-state aspires for – territorial integrity, augmentation of national power and prestige, carving a leadership role in international affairs. But there has been something amiss in India’s foreign policy. In my analysis what India lacks is the force of diplomacy in communicating her foreign policy objectives to the world and ensuring international support for the same. India has not been able to translate the strengths of her national democracy and economy as stimulants for generating regional and international respect and awe. India has for long aspired for a leadership role but has not been able to project itself as nation whose leadership the region and the world desires; former is the task of foreign policy, the latter of diplomacy.
Fortunately now it appears to me that diplomacy is all set to characterize the next phase of India’s foreign policy. My hope emerges partly from the recent mandate for political stability in the country but primarily from a related development. Shashi Tharoor has been elected as Member of Parliament from Thiruvanathapuram. Click to continue…
India’s Poor Show at Munich Conference
The Munich Security Conference 2009 was a forum for dialogue on global security issues, enthusiastically attended by leaders of over 50 nations. India was represented by National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan, but failed leave an impression, magnifying the shortcomings of Indian diplomacy.
Photo by Harald Dettenborn Click to continue…