ABSTRACT

This handbook offers a comprehensive overview of South Asian foreign policy, examining the complex history and present state of South Asian foreign policy, the foreign policy of the countries of the region, as well as their relationships with their neighbors and key external players, such as China and the United States, in an effort to understand South Asia’s place in the world order. It illustrates the future trajectory of foreign policy in the region and analyses future of regional arrangements like SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) and BIMSTEC.

The handbook is structured in five parts, each representing a focused area of enquiry:

  • Foreign Policy
  • Relations within South Asia
  • Relations within Indo-Pacific
  • Relations with China, Europe and the United States
  • Security

A carefully selected collection of 26 chapters written by experts on South Asian foreign, economic, and security policy, this handbook provides an objective yet accessible overview of the history and current state of foreign policy of each country and the region. It is an authoritative reference work for academics and students as well as international think tanks, research institutes, and non-governmental organizations working on South Asian Politics, Asian Politics, Foreign Politics, International Affairs, World History, and International Relations.

chapter |16 pages

Foreign Policy in South Asia

Promise and Peril

part I|78 pages

Foreign Policy

chapter 2|11 pages

Pakistan's Foreign Policy

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

chapter 3|20 pages

Sleepwalking into a Great Power Rivalry

The Evolution of Sri Lanka's Foreign Policy in the Twenty-first Century

part II|86 pages

Relations within South Asia

chapter 6|14 pages

India's South Asia Policy

Shifts and Continuities

chapter 8|14 pages

The Kashmir Matrix

Strategy/Policy Formulation in India and Pakistan

chapter 9|13 pages

India–Afghanistan Relations

Pragmatism towards Political Normalisation

part III|86 pages

Relations within Indo-Pacific

chapter 12|19 pages

BIMSTEC

India's Emerging Foreign Policy Fulcrum

chapter 13|14 pages

India's Iran Policy

Civilisational Past, Complicated Present

chapter 14|15 pages

From Distant Relatives to Close Partners

India's Relations with Australia and New Zealand

chapter 15|17 pages

Influence and Hedging

China's Engagement in South Asia

chapter 16|19 pages

Rapid Development of India–Japan Cooperation

Its Chance and Challenges

part IV|118 pages

Relations with China, Europe, and the United States

chapter 17|14 pages

The Transformation of the Indo-China Rivalry in the Twenty-First Century

The Rise of the Maritime Domain

chapter 19|15 pages

China–Pakistan Relations

Understanding Strategic Dimensions

chapter 20|13 pages

Caught between the United States and China

Critical Junctures in Pakistan's Foreign Policy

chapter 21|18 pages

Bangladesh–China Relations in an Era of Globalisation

Dynamics and Challenges

chapter 22|14 pages

Sri Lanka's Foreign Policy: Past, Present, and Future

Infrastructure Diplomacy and Contemporary Chinese Affairs

chapter 24|15 pages

Nepal–U.S. Relations

The Indo-Pacific and Evolving Strategic Partnership in the Twenty-First-Century World

part V|36 pages

Security

chapter 25|20 pages

Terrorism and Indian Foreign Policy

chapter 26|14 pages

Almost Parity

Understanding the India–Pakistan Conventional Military Balance