Evolution of India’s Neighbourhood First Policy

Spanning seven decades of India’s independent history, this book offers a comprehensive exploration of the evolution of India’s Neighbourhood Policy. It examines the ideational and strategic choices of successive Indian Prime Ministers, highlighting how their leadership styles, ideologies, and decisions have shaped India’s engagement with South Asian neighbours.

Anchored in India’s colonial legacy, hegemonic aspirations, and strategic autonomy, the book adopts a holistic lens, treating the neighbourhood as a unified strategic construct. It delves into the interplay of geopolitics, realism, and diplomacy that have defined India’s regional approach, offering a nuanced understanding of its foreign policy trajectory. It stands out for its dual focus on historical continuity and individual agency, uncovering patterns in India’s neighbourhood policy across shifting geopolitical landscapes. Employing rigorous qualitative research and triangulating data sources, it examines the strategic dimensions underpinning India’s policy and the pivotal role of Prime Ministers and their leadership styles in shaping its contours.

This book is an essential resource for scholars, researchers, journalists, and students of international relations, South Asian studies, and global politics. Academics will find it a invaluable for understanding India’s neighbourhood diplomacy and its broader implications for regional and global dynamics.

Saroj Kumar Aryal is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, University of Warsaw. His expertise includes small states in international affairs, regional security dynamics in South Asia—particularly India-China relations—India’s foreign policy, area studies, and regional security complexities.

Manish Jung Pulami is a PhD researcher at the Osaka School of International Public Policy, The University of Osaka, Japan. His areas of expertise include Nepal's Foreign Policy, Indo-Pacific and South Asian Geopolitics.