India's foreign policy toward Israel is a subject of deep dispute. Throughout the twentieth century arguments have raged over the Palestinian problem and the future of bilateral relations. Yet no text comprehensively looks at the attitudes and policies of India toward Israel, especially their development in conjunction with history. P. R. Kumaraswamy is the first to account for India's Israel policy, revealing surprising inconsistencies in positions taken by the country's leaders, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, and tracing the crackling tensions between its professed values and realpolitik. Kumaraswamy's findings debunk the belief that India possesses a homogenous policy toward the Middle East. In fact, since the early days of independence, many within India have supported and pursued relations with Israel. Using material derived from archives in both India and Israel, Kumaraswamy investigates the factors that have hindered relations between these two countries despite their numerous commonalities. He also considers how India destabilized relations, the actions that were necessary for normalization to occur, and the directions bilateral relations may take in the future. In his most provocative argument, Kumaraswamy underscores the disproportionate affect of anticolonial sentiments and the Muslim minority on shaping Indian policy.

India and Israel contextualises the varied aspects of the partnership between India and Israel, with a specific focus on the dominant driver — the defence engagement between the two sides, forged in the context of mutual complementarities. India’s broad-spectrum relationship with Israel transformed into a strategic partnership in 2017, a quarter century after the establishment of full diplomatic ties. India and Israel have successfully steered the relationship forward, despite the baggage of fraught and convulsive neighbourhoods. The contributors to this volume include policy makers and military leaders who played an important role in the growth of the relationship, as well as academics who have closely followed its growth, shedding important light on the transformation of the India-Israel bilateral relationship into a strategic partnership over the course of past tumultuous 25 years. Chapters highlight Israel’s increasing engagement with India’s diverse federal polity, the de-hyphenation of the India-Israel ties from India’s relationship with Palestine, as well as the role played by US non-state (pro-Israel US-based interest groups) and sub-state (US Congressmen) actors in shaping India-Israel ties. The concluding chapter examines Israel’s relationship with the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), given that both the PRC and India established diplomatic ties with Israel almost simultaneously. India and Israel will be of great interest to scholars of strategic studies, international relations, Middle Eastern Studies, Asian Studies, as well as those working in diplomacy, government and the military. The chapters were originally published as a special issue of Strategic Analysis.

This book, containing essays on themes relating to India’s relations with Iran and Israel, deals with issues that have been intensely debated in the country for some time now. India’s robust ties with both Iran and Israel – bitter adversaries for more than three decades – have intrigued West Asia watchers. The essays herein highlight the parallel nature of India’s engagements with the two countries and attempt to understand the critical concept of strategic autonomy that defines India’s foreign policy postures on contentious issues. The first five essays touch on the central drivers of India’s Iran policy and discuss the limits on New Delhi’s relations with the Islamic Republic. The last three essays dealing with Israel highlight the significance of India’s intervention on questions relating to Israel as well as Israel’s inspirational connection with India. With its unique treatment, lucid analysis and unusual organisation, this factually informed and policy oriented collection of essays on India, Iran and Israel will be an extremely useful resource for scholars, students, policymakers and diplomats alike. It will also interest business community involved with the West Asian region as well as any intelligent layperson looking for facts and figures on subjects discussed in the book.

The Arab world's strategic location and its considerable material and human potential should allow it to play a major role in world affairs. However, in addition to sharing language, culture and history, Arab states also face common challenges: authoritarian regimes, ethnic and social cleavages, economic underdevelopment, and the need for security from the West. Hassan Hamdan al-Alkim examines the dynami of Arab foreign policy-making in the twenty-first century, taking account of the current political developments in the Arab world since January 2011. Through an insightful analysis of pivotal issues such as the Middle East Peace Process, the food and water crisis and Saudi Arabia's foreign policy, Alkim brings us closer to a nuanced understanding of contemporary Arab politi and its role in world affairs. This balanced and discerning study is essential reading for policy-makers, academi and students of Middle Eastern politi. 'This is an authentic critique by a committed Arab intellectual not only of the weakness of Arab states in the regional and international realms but also of the authoritarian regimes that dominate most of the Arab world.' -- Gregory Gause III, Professor of Political Science, University of Vermont 'Hassan al-Alkim has written a wide-ranging and thought-provoking account of the challenging issues facing foreign policy-makers in the Arab world.' -- Peter Woodward, Professor Emeritus, University of Reading

The global security environment in the last five years has been characterised by a state of ‘no war, no peace’ among major powers, resulting in a state of uncertainty about their national security objectives. For instance, the US has been concerned about the attitudes of Iran, Russia, North Korea, China, and others, and yet did not expect a direct military conflict with them. On the other hand, China has expanded its naval strategy from a mere ‘off-shore defence’ to ‘open seas protection’ and has called for both ‘defence and offence’ instead of merely ‘territorial air defence’, thereby indicating preparedness for the possibility of a military confrontation. The major powers have been thus groping for suitable responses to their threat perceptions. It is in this kind of a complex and confusing international environment that India, as a rising power, has been called upon to wade through its strategic partnerships with major powers and nurture friendships with various Asian and African countries. This sixteenth volume of India’s National Security Annual Review offers indispensable information and evaluation on matters pertaining to national security. It undertakes a thorough analysis of the trends to provide a backdrop to India’s engagement with various countries. The volume also discusses persisting threats from China and Pakistan. With contributions from experts from the fields of diplomacy, academia, and civil and military services, the book will be one of the most dependable sources of analyses for scholars of international relations, foreign policy, defence and strategic studies, and political science, and practitioners alike.

This book is an attempt to find new ways of inter-disciplinary theorisation about this moment when both the unitary idea of the Indian nation and the bureaucratic dream of a centralised Indian state are falling apart. At this juncture, the Indian state has two choices. Either it can recognise the political nature of the struggles confronting it and radically re-imagine itself or it can wage a losing war against the democratic aspirations of people. It is essential that political movements in the subcontinent let go of their differences and organise together to agitate for modernisation. By bringing these disparate struggles together, this book explores the possibility of an alliance between them such that they are able to inform each other against a colonial state. Taken together, this book is thus an experiment in politics, rather than being about specific events. The chapters in this book were originally published in various Taylor & Francis journals.

In managing national security, how Realist is India in terms of cultivating and using power and especially military power? A conventional view of India is that it has been uncomfortable with realism or ‘power politics’ as a guide to policy. This volume shows that it has been more realist than is generally recognized and that it has increasingly become comfortable with power in the service of its interests. The essays in this volume Examine the different aspects and types of realism in India’s national security policy Include a range of perspectives from academics as well as former military officers and diplomats Focus on India’s military and foreign policy in dealing with China, Pakistan, the United States, Southeast Asia, and West Asia. This key volume will be indispensable to scholars and researchers of politics and international relations, defence and strategic studies, and South Asian studies and to government officials, journalists, and general readers interested in the external dimensions of India’s national security.