Why Change ?
- The collapse and disintegration of the USSR ended Cold War
- The acceleration in the processes of globalisation
- The South Asian region is also full of contradictions, disparities and paradoxes
What were the changes?
1)Change of Foreign policy from idealism[a set of principles and phiosophy] to pragmatism[mixture of both idealism and realism] – Eg : India – Israel bilateral relationship
2)More thrust is given to economic diplomacy – Eg: India – Japan bilateral relationship
3)More emphasis on soft power – making to do what we want by force of attraction rather than coersion..This policy is done through political values, culture etc…
- India started using its Development Assistance Program as an effective foreign policy tool which India employs to earn goodwill and friends of India particularly in developing countries. India’s assistance in capacity building and infrastructure development is much appreciated by the recipient countries as the assistance is invariably non-prescriptive and the priorities are determined by the recipient State
4)Increasing importance to multilateral diplomacy – Eg : BRICS , BIMSTEC etc
5)Much more assertive in nature ..
- Refering to human rights violation in Baluchistan
- India’s stance in South China Sea issue – India have categorically criticesed China alongwith US
6)Disarmament/ Non-Proliferation Nuclear Doctrine : India’s disarmament policy is directed at achieving a world free from weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons; it advocates a universal, non-discriminatory disarmament in a time-bound, phased and verifiable manner; this approach is reflected in the Rajiv Gandhi Action Plan which India submitted at the UNGA in 1998
7)Climate Change: India considers climate change as a global problem demanding global efforts and global solutions. India ratified the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (1993) and Kyoto Protocol (2002)
8)Terrorism: India has been a victim of terrorism for decades; this issue has therefore engaged the attention of India’s foreign policy makers for past several decades . India has adopted a policy of zero tolerance to the scourge of terrorism and condemns it as well as religious extremism and fundamentalism in any form or manifestation. It underlines the challenge posed by terrorism to international security during bilateral meets and at regional and international fora. In 1996, India introduced at UN the Draft Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism and is now advocating its early adoption
9)Global Governance: In India’s assessment the contemporary structures of global governance including UN and international financial institutions such as World Bank, IMF etc have proved inadequate in dealing with the political and economic crisis of present days and therefore the international community deserves new structures of global governance to confront cross-cutting and trans-national challenges. Eg : India seeks UN reform, including reform of UN Security Council