The post-election government in New Delhi—which could see Modi’s return to the helm—will have to confront serious regional and global foreign policy challenges.
In Indian politics, there are neither permanent friends nor permanent enemies. Both the BJP and Congress Party are doing the election math that would lead to a winning coalition.
BRI recipient states undergoing democratic transitions are asserting greater influence over the direction of China’s efforts. This is likely to continue as long as China’s flawed business model remains unchanged.
At the very moment when secularism is on the ropes in India, its defenders appear to have abandoned it.
India and Taiwan are keen to cultivate closer economic and cultural ties, but doing so will require concrete actions and political commitments.
Real change will come only when the Pakistani polity begins to believe that the costs of the policies pursued by its army far exceed the benefits accruing to Pakistan as a country.
India’s recent anti-satellite test was a warning to China and will only exacerbate the rivalry between the two countries. India must prepare for a long-term space competition.
The upsurge in Hindu nationalism ushered in by Modi’s government is reshaping Indian society, secularism, economics, and diplomacy.
The ordinary voter still views Modi as a compelling leader who is personally incorruptible. Modi’s pitch this election season is simple: He needs more than a single, five-year term to undo 65 years of corruption and administrative rot.
Prospects for a sensible neighborhood policy can’t rest solely on having single-party governments at the center and ‘responsible’ chief ministers in the border states. India needs a measure of political consensus on regional policies.