ABSTRACT
Like its security policy, Indian economic policy has been influenced strongly by globalism. Starting with Nehru, generations of Indian leaders have made clear the desire to play a strong role in world affairs and the belief that to do so is not just destiny but also good for India and the world. While this overarching philosophy of globalism has remained fairly constant in post-independence India, specific economic ideas contained within the larger vision have changed from time to time. One of these ideational shifts concerns the goal of external economic policy. Does globalism encompass the economy, such that India should devise policies specifically to influence the course of the world economy? Or does economic policy (or strength) serve a more instrumental role in a grander strategy of globalism that is expressed primarily in political and military terms? Ideational debates have also surrounded questions of rivalry with China. In what way should a rival’s economic policy matter for Indian policy? Should it be a matter of separation, that is, something that distinguishes India’s approach to economic issues from approaches pursued by a rival – say, China, Pakistan, or the United States – in the same way that Indian foreign policy sought to create a unique brand? Or should India adopt a perspective more realistic in nature,
where success in China’s policy signifies India’s relative failure, and therefore deserves to be studied and perhaps emulated?
