ABSTRACT
India and Israel both represent ancient civilizations and share a British colonial past. They were the first states to become independent (in 1947 and 1948, respectively) in the post-World War II wave of decolonization. Both were born out of messy partitions and have since maintained democratic regimes under adverse conditions. Despite the two states’ similarities, it took more than four decades for them to establish a warm relationship with each other including full diplomatic relations, flourishing bilateral trade and strategic cooperation. The strategic aspect of this relationship – a post-Cold War phenomenon – is the focus of this chapter. The rapprochement between India and Israel is an important component of a new strategic landscape in the greater Middle East that includes Central Asia and parts of the Indian Ocean littoral.
